Another early start

I appear to have the bug, the bug of getting up early and going for a run - I love it. So this morning I was up just after 5am and hit the roads for another 6 miler around the quiet streets of Balmain, just how I like it. I hate running near traffic, and love the peace at dawn over here. It's like when I do road races - I like them quiet, I'm not a big glory hunter as I love the challenge of just me and the road.

It's dark when I set out, but as I'm coming to the finish near my house by the harbour water overlooking Sydney Harour Bridge, the sun is just about to rise and it's simply beautiful. I really should get a picture up here. Running first thing also sets up your day so well - I feel fresher and more alert and the change in pattern means that I generally feel so much better. I go for my run, come back have a lovely breakfast with fresh fruit and generally take my time before getting ready for work, which is a simple ferry ride across the harbour. Previously I would get up right at the wire, shower, change and onto the ferry. The true test though is if I'll keep it up, as jet lag makes it quite easy to get up at 5m at the moment, as I'm waking up and not tired. Although if I keep the routine up, I'm usually in bed by 10pm, so getting up at 5am means a good night's sleep too.

This is probably old hat to a lot of people, but quite new for me, and it means I have my evenings free as well - bonus! Marathon on Sunday and I'm feeling OK about it all. I've had two back to back good runs following the calf injury. This morning it was a little tighter, but to be expected I think given that I havent done a lot on it in the last two weeks. A good sign was that both were tight, so it meant that I didn't get worried about just the one being tight and me being paranoid that it was still not right.