Wake Up and Run Before the Sunrise in Nyon

This morning I got up at 4am to go for a run with strangers in Nyon. The meeting time was 05:10 and the run/jog/walk began at 05:30. Before the run Activ Fitness gave us a warm up workout that I followed half-heartedly. I had already walked 3km so my body was warm. I now needed to remain warm before the run itself.

For some people the idea of getting up at 4am to run at 0530 is an absurd one. They would prefer to sleep. In reality I think that waking at 0400 is easier because that’s where I am in a light sleep phase, so if I wake up then I’m fine. It’s if I wake at 0600 or so that I may struggle, because that’s when I might be in a deeper sleep phase. In either case I woke quite easily ahead of this run.

As I walked 3km from home to the centre of Nyon I was worried that my body would not be happy. I was worried that my knees may hurt, and my desire to stop would be strong. In the end I ran my fastest 5k.

It took some discipline. I felt that I wanted to go faster, to keep up with the front of the group but I knew that if I did I would burn out, so I forced myself to slow down, and that paid off. I walked when going up one or two hills, to save my knees, and to give myself a little bit of a rest. Despite slowing down those two or three times I kept pace with the group I was in.

There was a moment when I was in between two groups so I was running alone. I considered slowing down, to let a slower group catch up, and run with them but the group that was in front of me slowed down on the hills so I caught up. There were moments when I was happy to have a flashlight but for the most part I did not need it. I needed it when we were crossing the wooded part but for the rest it was extra weight.

During the run I thought, “I prefer cycling to running”, because I am used to cycling, and with cycling I might be slower than others for some parts but I know that I have the endurance. With running this was a first group run. I didn’t know how I would do. Recently I have been running 3km, not five, so this loop was slightly bigger than my usual runs. If I had not listened to my rational side I would have sped up to keep up with others and burned out and had to walk or limp to the end.

I felt okay during the entire run although I did keep having to think “Don’t give up, don’t stop running” as I could feel my legs request that I stop running. I’m fine with cycling for an hour or two, and hiking, but running builds up lactic acid and my legs ask to rest. As I write this I can feel the lactic acid in my calfs. I need to take it easy for the rest of the day.

And Finally

Some people would hate the idea of getting up so early and others would hate the idea of doing sports at that time of day but I was fine with it. I think it would have been more fun with a group because then breakfast would be convivial. I considered sitting at the Chateau de Nyon balcony to watch the sun rise but when I saw that it was overcast over the Alps I walked home and thought, “I should organise Sunrise run events”. You would run a five kilometre loop and within twenty minutes of finishing you would watch the sunrise.

I could have stayed around longer this morning but felt that if I waited too long to go home I would be cold.

I enjoyed this experience enough to sign up to do it again next week.