road to becoming an early bird ?

[Veeral]

well i have been pondering upon the fact about getting up early in the morning to go riding for a short distance (20-30km) before going to work.

the thing is i love my sleep, i like to sleep alot. so you can understand why i aint an early morning person.

So I am asking anyone here who has been a sleep lover but has managed to convert to an early morning person. i would like to know how you have managed to achieve this.

at least this way i can clock up miles during winter.

look forward to any suggestions
thanks
Veeral

 

[rek]

Sunrises and daybreak are cool. Winter temperatures at that time of day are a bit too cool

Is commuting to work a possibility?

 

[clever_guy]

Veeral;

I have done the morning workout schedule 4-5AM. No big trick, you just don't don't see much nitelife past 8PM. Hard to do week in week out - and I found if you throw in the odd late night it is like re-setting your body clock all over again. I couldn't get a quality workout in the morning, my mind was more on the upcoming workday, and my energy levels were always low. It is also a pain if you have things to do after work, I was good for nothing by 7PM.

I read a study somewhere recently that 3-5AM is when most people sleep the soundest, and that is the optimal time when people replace hormones.

-CG

 

[Shabby]

Riding to work is a good habit, then force yourself enough times to add a few miles before that and it becomes a habit. Having an early morning bunch to ride with stops you from "just sleeping in another 5 minutes". Then, keep a daily check on weather reports and have a good sleep in when the weahter looks like turning to sh*t.

And good clothes makes all the difference between hypothermia and a chilly ride.

 

[J-MAT]

Good luck here, bro. I have been a student of sleep pattens and sleep deprivation for many years. I started my interest when I joined the Army. It's "fun" not to sleep for 2-3 days, and patrol through the woods with 70 pounds on your back while you carry 23 pounds of M-60 machine gun in your hands!!!

I always stayed up late, many guys in the military do. When you are young, you can drink until 0200, sleep for 3.5 hours, then get up and run 5 miles for morning PT (physical training) and work until 1700 without problems. If you keep it up for too long, you can dig yourself in a hole that will take a very long time to recover from.

Your body is like a battery. Fully charged (well slept) and you are good. Deprive yourself of sleep and you will get yourself into a deficit. Most people are in a state of sleep deprivation. Do you yawn throughought the day??? Tired most of the time??? Low energy??? Feel like taking a nap??? You may need a lot more sleep. Indurain said he slept 10 hours every day!!!

I believe people have a true inclination (genetic???) for being a early/late riser. Unfortunately, the cycling lifestyle/culture requires early rising. There is no getting around this at all. You must get your sleep, and this means going to bed earlier than you are used to.

Changing your sleep patterns is not easy. You must know yourself and how far you can push things. If you only get 4 hours of sleep before a ride, be aware of your deficit and pay back your sleep "debt" A.S.A.P.!!!

Good luck!!!

 

[Veeral]

thanks for the responses. I have tried commuting to work, but just riding along North Road in morning, is pretty freaky, since the road is quite narrow and you have some big trucks passing you very close and fast. Plus its getting dark early now and if i try leaving work at 5pm I will just get the weird look from my manager.

I happened to speak to a A grade cyclist today and he admitted that you eventually get used to once you start enjoying it and start getting good results. Hence you have this movtivation to wake up. I realise about getting enough sleep which in turn determines how well you function the next day.

I guess I will try this out starting next week, say once a week and see how it goes. So that means i have to get my sleeping pattern rearranged starting tonite .

 

[Duckwah]

You could always try shift work! I go from night shift at 0600 and ride for about 30km

the other thing to do is get a training partner or club so that you know someone will be expecting you to turn up. I got about 4 hrs sleep last night but got up and rode anyway cause i knew i was meeting someone.

J-MAT what was the longest period you ever went without sleep?

we did 6 days of food and sleep deprivation training in the army that seemed to involve pushing stuff up hills and digging trenches!!

good fun when you start seeing stuff in the middle of the night and you can fall asleep standing up

 

[J-MAT]

Duckwah:

I've done 3 days with no food and no sleep. It's amazing how much earth you have to remove to dig a "6x6" (6 ft deep, 6 ft. across) fighting position!!! We did all kinds of stuff, like carrying telephone poles on the tops of our rucks, pushing jeeps up hills, carrying "downed pilots" which were flightsuits filled with 50 lb sandbags, etc. A lot of the stuff we did was patterned after the British SAS selection course. I've also done 3-4 hours of sleep for close to a month with lots of physical efforts during the day. It sucked!!!

Sleep is so important, I just cannot overemphasize how important it is. Get your sleep - you will be faster!!!

Pleasant dreams!!!

 

[Duckwah]

HAHAHAHAHA

"downed pilots" telephone poles and pushing jeeps uphills man that brings back some memories (most of them unpleasant)

so what sort of unit were you with ?

 

[J-MAT]

Duckwah:

Various airborne/special operations units. In addition to the lack of sleep, what about the shitty food, blisters, colds, water purification tablets, and low pay??? Ah, the memories. Wouldn't trade them for anything!!!

 

[Veeral]

J-MAT & Duckwah

you guys ever thought about doing an adventure race, like the Southern Traverse or Eco Challenge. I mean surviving without food and sleep for 3 days thats just beyong being normal. How do you manage that ? Seriously you guys have more than enough energy to whip some ass at adventure racing. I have tried going without sleep for a day and i am buggered.

 

[J-MAT]

Veeral:

Going without sleep for days is like blowing up on a long climb: Where can you go??? I think most people can do it they just don't have a good reason to do it. The military has a way of bringing things out in you that you would never do on your own.

In military training, you can always quit or "terminate," but nobody wants to be a quitter, so you just do it. Sometimes people do quit. Usually its because they just can't stand another day of foul weather, not the difficulty of training itself.

When every pair of fatigues, socks, and your extra pair of boots is saturated with water, and everything you are wearing is soaked as well, it changes your attitude for the worse. Add daytime highs of 40 degrees and steady rain all day and night for weeks, and your attitude can get bad real quick.

Yeah, I've thought about adventure racing, but so far all I've done is "think" about it. When I was a kid, my family went camping all the time. After the Army, I like to "camp" indoors now!!!

Sleep is so important, it should always be given priority. Your body heals and recovers when you sleep. Neglect sleep, and your body will crash. Only when you pay back your sleep debt will you feel good again!!!

Get your sleep!!!

 

[Duckwah]

Blisters, snow, crappy food, searing heat!!!

oh the memories!! (man i was young and dumb once !!)


Veeral i'm doing the Mont 24 hr MTB race later this year and a 7 hour one man adventure race in June!

will do some longer races once i shed some kg's and get the aerobic fitness up !!

 

[Veeral]

well duckwah all the best for your 24hr MTB, i have to say you are nuts . i have even pondered upon doing an adventure race, after my first mountain race a few yrs ago.. but thats all i have done is think. though have heard of shocking adventure racing stories. especially about blisters.