Another day, another reason to run

I was really, really tired this morning when the alarm went off.  It's been a long work week and I didn't get to bed when I wanted to, etc, etc.  I was seriously tempted to snooze the alarm and run tonight, but that is an even less attractive proposition than getting up and running.

I was pondering that on my run this morning.  Thursdays are my tempo/hard run days, and I am getting to really like them.  I have always trained this way:  I try to run at less than a 10 minute pace, and if I have gas in the tank I run faster.  In other words, I would run as fast as I could for as long as I could.  I hadn't yet embraced the paradox that to get faster you need to go slower.  Easy pace, tempo pace were not terms in my vocabulary.

I'm very internally competitive, so one of the reasons I like the easy pace days is that they give me permission to run slower than I would otherwise.  I'm also liking my hard run days for the same reason - they give me permission to go for it.  My trial 5K was (for me) a blistering 8:24 pace.  At the end I was well and truly spent.  Today, 14 days later, I ran 8:42 for 3 miles and it honestly didn't feel that hard.  Well - I was slow to warm up, so the first mile was a little rough, but I ended with a 8:18 pace for the final mile, and it felt easier than the 9:24 I ran for the first mile.  At the end of the run I felt like the dogs you see in the park with the slobbery wet tennis ball in their mouths.  I was having fun not paying attention to my pace and just running, and even though I get a sense of satisfaction in marking the check mark on my training plan, today was about running as fast I wanted just because I could.

That feeling carries through into the work day too.  I got to work a little later than normal, but knowing my workout was done already had my head clear and I could focus on work without worrying about getting my run in later.  The mental freedom running provides is a fantastic boon, and is another thing that keeps me rolling out of bed early in the AM to lace up my kicks.  As nice as sleeping in can be, it's never made my day easier to get through.  Now if I can get to bed earlier, then I'll have the best of both worlds!

What are your thoughts on the subject?  Are you an early riser, or a evening exerciser?