I turns out that 5am comes after 4am. This has been a question I’ve had for a very long time. I knew from college that 4am existed, but I was pretty sure that after closing time the night stopped (true, some people push this into after parties, which lead to after after-parties, which lead to eventually missing all of Monday’s classes, but I like sleep to much for that.). I’ve also known about 5am for a long time. That’s the hour when you hit snooze a dozen times before actually getting up for a 6am workout, which is still an hour before you really want to be awake.
Then the 5am swim workout was introduced to my schedule. This involves waking up at 4:30am (a time which did not previously exist in my chronological perception) to a cell phone with no decent ring tones, staring at the mirror wondering if my toothbrush will move itself, chugging down some Base Water and a Clif Bar, and heading to the closest pool to my house, at 25 yard, 83 degree hot tub with blue paint on the bottom to hide the yellow tint of the water. Sure enough, standing there in a drag suit and University of Hawaii swim cap the clock rolls over from 4:59 to 5am and about a dozen of us dive into tepid water.
Why 5am? We swim for 90 minutes, and the kids (I swim with high school kids who beat my like a rag doll) don’t have to be at school until 8am, so it blows my mind that high school kids – notorious for staying up late and falling asleep in class – would agree to swim practice any earlier than necessary.
I know a lot of age group athletes with families and normal lives who manage to do 5am workouts everyday, and I welcome your accusations, but I question why the sun would still be hiding if we were supposed to be out training?
Loren probably has an answer to this, as every time I’ve stayed with him he’s insisted on 5am swim lessons. This means I get up at 4:45 to go watch him swim. I don’t even get a workout from it.
here’s what you get out of it: you get to learn that when you’re not a pro that ALL of your workouts — sometimes even on the weekends begin at 5am. The Lesson: work hard and you won’t have to get a desk gig. After all, a desk job scared Macca so bad that he HAD to win. I’m glad you’re used to 5am because we’ve got swim lessons coming up.
I don’t even swim 90 mins total a week. Egads. Ok, maybe I do. Barely.
5 a.m. workouts are just stupid.
I work a full-time job and I can manage 6 a.m. but that’s IT.
Now, I do not have children, so maybe that’s how I do it. Still…5 a.m. is an ungodly time to be STARTING a workout. To actually successfully get through a workout I have to be awake, which means I would have to wake up at about 4:15. That just does not seem right.
I can wake up at 5:30 with the intention of being ready to go by 6 a.m., but it really only works if I’ve gone to bed by about 10 p.m. Ugh, even then, I still dread it. My swim team has Tu/Th practices that start at 5:45 a.m. (1.5 hr workouts) and I still haven’t made it to one. I hope one of these days I can do it. It makes me sleepy just talking about this subject.
*yawn*
I wake up earlier on “vacation” at home to get to workouts, because my parents think 4:45am is an appropriate time to start making noise in the kitchen and yes I too get to experience the Loren 5:15am bayclub icky pool workout. Although sometimes my phone beeps at 5:02am with a text that great fully sends me back under the covers.
I would much rather wake up ridiculously early and workout than have a job, think of all the nap time you would not have Ben.
Oh and Loren I swim about over 2times what you do now.
I think it’s stupid too. You need sleep. And, besides, I’m proud of myself for getting up around 6:45/7.
I’m proud of you too kelly, because there is no way I would go to the pool after stay ing up late at night afraid of being attacked by sharks and trying to write the next great american novel.
an early day for me is 8 a.m., getting in the pool by 8:45. i try to only do that like once per week.
if i do them at 5 will i improve faster?
bleh. after working overnights in radio (1 a.m. alarm) and then 5 years of big-city living (ranging between 4 a.m. and 6:20 a.m. alarms), i really don’t want anyone to say “yes”
also i namedropped you to gain access to the lieto-mobile this weekend. then i accidentally spit apple pieces on his fancy green carpet so i think he hates me now! oops.
hah, that is so true. wow, now i feel even better about myself
Courtenay, 5am will not make you a better person, but when you take a nap at work it will be the best midday sleep you’ve had on a desk since watching Donald in Mathmagic Land in high school algebra.
Ben, I agree with you. There’s no good reason to ever start your day before the sun comes up, swim workouts especially included.
I might even take a desk job over triathlon if I had to wake up before 5 to train, seeing as how a desk job would pay much better and allow me to wake up at a reasonable hour. or switch to duathlon/cycling.
I think getting up early to swim is awesome, you feel great all day! But only if you have a partner in crime, and only if you get to be the one to rudely rouse them from dreamland.
Oh if only I had a partner in crime that would jump up and down on my bed to wake me for morning practice.
Ugh, that must suck. I barely make it to my 7am swim practice without falling alseep in the water!