Today was my first official day of triathlon training. At the gym, I rode on the stationary bike for 30 minutes of hill intervals and proceeded to take a plyometrics-filled group fitness class. To accomplish this, I woke up at 4:45am and slept for 6 hours. Six hours of sleep is not sustainable, which means I’m going to have to get to bed even earlier to accomplish my training goals. Even though I typically arise between 5:00 and 5:30am, that extra 15 to 45 minutes surely impacts my sleep cycle.
An early dinner, a stretch and foam roll session, and a little mindless television or magazine reading all help me lull me to slumber as close to 9:00pm as possible. As someone who wakes up multiple times during the night, it’s essential I get to bed as early as possible to ensure my wakeups don’t detract too heavily from the number of hours I sleep.
As Jesse and I both put in double workouts before our 9-to-5 gigs, we’ll have to be smart about unwinding early and often to wake up and train early with smiles on our faces.
Unabashed gym selfie.
Single-tracked Mind 
Going to bed by 9:00 has been so beneficial for me. I no longer dread my 4:30 alarm and don’t need coffee to get through the work day.
Every night, I prepare my food and clothes for the next day. This saves me a lot of time in the morning when I’m getting ready for work after my workout.
Welcome to the old lady bedtime club! 🙂
haha, thanks! I also prepare food and clothes, which helps a ton. I hope one day I don’t dread a 4:30am alarm!
Same situation here (getting up by 4:45), which made our previous bedtime of 9 start to come around a bit earlier. However, we are just getting up for a single workout. The thought of a double BEFORE work would put us in bed by 7! Nice work out of you two!
I’m trying hard to get to bed earlier, as very early morning starts are difficult for me. I’ll keep trying, I think it’s just the discipline to turn out the lights that I lack, as I sleep well. Good luck with your triathlon training – personally, I love the very start of a new training cycle, as there’s so much to look forward to (although I’ve never done a triathlon). I look forward to reading more about how you get on!