← Blog/May 13, 2026 · 2 min read
Running at 5am for My Head
Not every workout is about watts or miles. Sometimes you lace up at 5am because your head needs it more than your legs do.
The workout nobody asked about
This morning I ran 2.67 miles in 24 minutes. 18 feet of elevation. 6.8 mph average. By any training metric, it's a nothing workout.
I almost didn't log it.
But here's the thing. I was out the door at 5:08am, before most of the Bay Area was awake, and by the time I got back I felt like a different person. Not faster. Not fitter. Just better.
Why I'm writing about a 24-minute jog
I've been honest here about where my fitness is right now. FTP sitting at 216W, down from a peak of 295W. Weight at 209.8 lbs. W/kg at 2.27. Those numbers don't lie, and the gap between where I am and where I need to be for 135 miles around the Bay is real.
Some weeks the pressure of that gap gets loud.
I'm running an event. Running a startup. Running a household. And some mornings the training log starts to feel like another thing I'm behind on instead of something that helps me.
This morning I didn't go out to move the fitness needle. I went out because I needed to quiet something down.
What actually happened
2.67 miles. Flat. Early. Quiet streets. No plan, no intervals, no target pace.
Just moving.
By mile two I'd worked through something that had been sitting on my chest since the night before. I don't know if that's biology or just the benefit of 24 uninterrupted minutes away from a screen. Probably both.
I came back clearer. More patient. Ready to actually sit down and do the work the day needed.
The part I want Bay Riders to hear
If you're training for TheBayRide, whether that's the 135-mile full loop or the 35-mile crossing from SF to Oakland, there will be days when the workout you planned doesn't happen. The legs are heavy, the schedule collapsed, or you just don't have it.
On those days, moving anyway, even badly, even slowly, even for 24 minutes, is often the right call. Not because it builds fitness. Because it builds the habit of showing up when it's inconvenient. And that habit is what gets you to the start line.
It's also just good for your head.
Current numbers (for context)
- FTP: 216W
- Peak FTP: 295W (July 2022)
- Weight: 209.8 lbs
- W/kg: 2.27
- Weeks to ride day: ~15
I've got ground to make up. Today's run didn't close that gap. But I'm still moving, and this morning that was enough.
From the ride
Ride the Bay with us
The Bay Ride is a charity bike ride around the Bay Area. 135 miles all the way around, or a 35-mile option from SF to Oakland.
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