While Philly Slept

beep.... beep... beep... I wake up with a start, its still dark out. I roll over and look at the clock.. this seemed like a better idea when I went to bed last night. It is not really that early for most of the world, but I am not a morning person, so for me it feels miserable to be rolling out of bed this early. Its 6am. I sleepily put on my yoga pants, tank top, and sneakers, brush my teeth, grab my water & ipod.. and with that, I am out the door.

Its 6:15 and I go out to empty quiet streets, with the exception of one man walking his dog. This is something I rarely see in Philadelphia. The world seems calm, most houses are still dark with their occupants far away in dream land. I am waking up as I drive, taking notice of how beautifully empty and not conjested the streets are at this time of day. I never really have been out this early to take advantage of that. My usual routine involves fighting hordes of traffic on an eight mile commute that takes upwards of forty minutes most mornings. I pull into the gym and look inside at the people who are already mid-workout. THOSE must be the real morning people, I thought to myself. I wonder what time they go to bed at night? Probably  not 11:30 pm like me.

I get on the treadmill and begin to run. I have been trying my damnedest to like running, but I really really don't inherently like it. I think I was about 10 minutes in before I actually started to enjoy myself. I finish my run incredibly slow jog, feeling energized. I do some stretching and some weights and I am out the door in record time. Its 7:20 and I head back to my house to shower and get ready for work. I get out of the shower feeling great, go downstairs to pack breakfast, lunch, and a to-go mug of coffee. Its 8:00 am and I am out the door again. The streets are crowded this time. Philly has woken up.. and cars clog the narrow, hilly streets of the Yunk. I flip on Q102 and DJ Pauly D is being interviewed. Wow, I feel great today I thought to myself. I never feel that way, usually I am just waking up as the first car cuts me off in the traffic jam.  Today is going to be a great day.

There are so many pros to going to the gym in the AM before work:
1. Far less crowded, can do a better work out in half the time
2. Afternoons are free to do what you please. I hate feeling like I need to go somewhere else after work. When I am done with work, I just want to go home and eat dinner and relax.
3. I am more energised when I haven't worked all day.
4. I think its easier to get up at 6 and not rush then get up at 7:30 and run around like a crazy like I usually do.

Only one con:
I AM NOT A MORNING PERSON. Thus, I plan to try and fit this into my morning routine twice a week. I think this is doable, and not unreasonable.

Another addition to my morning routine I want to share comes courtesy of my sorority sister from college, Erica, of http://4thesakeofcake.com. She has been talking about "overnight oats" on a lot of her recent blogs in her quest to find a healthy, but filling breakfast.I had read a few posts of hers so I decided to give it a try and have loved it. Here is the recipe I use, but you can do a lot with this.

Overnight oats:

• 1/3 c. old fashioned oats
• 1/3 c. plain Chobani
• 1/8 c. milk
• 1 tbsp. honey
• 1 handful blueberries
• 4 thinly sliced strawberries
• a sprinkle of chocolate chips

Directions: combine first four ingredients & stir. Place in refrigerator over night. In the morning, stir again and add more milk if necessary. Top with next 3 ingredients and enjoy.

This is cold oatmeal and awesome for a breakfast on the go. The oats absorb the milk and yogurt overnight and create a filling cereal with a great consistency. Give it a try. The best part is, this recipe can be modified to include all different flavors and tastes!