Lark or Owl?

I went out for my first run post-SFM on Friday night, an easy 4 miler. I felt pretty good actually, if only a little tired toward the end. I took Saturday off because I had a mandatory all-day training and moved my long run to Sunday morning. I had to be at work by 10:45 so I got up earlier than usual and headed out for 11 miles on the bike trail. Felt pretty good, just a little tired. It was pretty warm already despite the early hour, and I think I was just still dragging from the marathon. I finished with a decent average pace, and had to hurry to get ready for work, leaving no time for recovery or refueling...oops : / I've really got to get into the habit of making time for this as it's just as important as the run!

Monday I got up early again (a record for me, I think) and squeezed in a quick 4 miles before work. My legs were dead and heavy when I started, especially my quads. At first I felt like I couldn't even maintain a normal running gait because they were so stiff, and I was afraid someone would see me and think I didn't know how to run! Eventually they warmed up but I had to deal with some serious chaffing and knee issues for the remaining miles. I think the culprit of these aches and pains is my shoes, which are well past their expiration date.

This brings me to the issue of the lark versus the owl, or in more blatant terms, the morning runner versus the night runner. As I've mentioned before, I've always been a night runner, except for my long runs which I've always done in the morning. After getting up early to run two days in a row now, I've come to a few conclusions. First, although I'm initially energized, I'm pretty pooped by the end of the day (although this may be a result of working on my feet all day after the run, or maybe I should just go to bed at a decent time?). On the flipside, I love having my runs out of the way and my evenings free to do whatever. I think my work schedule is going to require a little bit of both, so I may become more of a "hybrid" runner in the future. What kind of bird/runner are you?

I took today off as I had a 9 hour shift at work and wanted to give my tired legs a little break. Tomorrow I'm headed to Santa Cruz to meet up with my folks for vacation til Saturday. My BFF will be joining me for a couple days, too, and I can't wait to see her! I'm also looking forward to running in a new place with cooler temps and the ocean : ) Oh, how I've missed it...