Getting up early for practice

[fsk8r]

Oh would you mind sharing the link of your alarm clock? I always want one but never quite know which!

I have a lumie bodyclock. I made sure I bought one with an adjustable sunrise time. I find 15min is all I need. I also wake up before it's fully bright so my alarm time for full brightness is about 5min AFTER the time I want to get up, so I have my old alarm clock to beep at me so I get up in time for skating/work. At the weekend, I just rely on the light.

[twinskaters]

Wow, a 6:30 bedtime is impressive at any age. My kids don't even get home from school until nearly 4!

[FigureSpins]

When I have to get up at a different time than usual, I set a kitchen timer that I keep on my nightstand for a few minutes after the alarm on my phone/ipad. 

The timer's beeping sound is unusual, so it makes me remember that I have early lessons at the rink.  That in turn makes me think about what else I have to do and voila!  My brain starts waking up.  Putting it a little out of reach also helps to get moving since I don't want to make my husband get up earlier than necessary - his alarms go off at the same time every day.

With my kids, I ask them a question when I wake them up and if they think, then answer, they're less likely to go back to sleep.

I have a light breakfast - coffee and an English muffin for example - and bring an après-skate snack such as chocolate milk and banana.

[skategeek]

With my kids, I ask them a question when I wake them up and if they think, then answer, they're less likely to go back to sleep.

Oooo... I may have to steal this trick and try it on my daughter.  Getting her up in the morning is a major struggle.  Doesn't help that I'm not a morning person either!

[FigureSpins]

Oooo... I may have to steal this trick and try it on my daughter.  Getting her up in the morning is a major struggle.  Doesn't help that I'm not a morning person either!

I'm not a morning person, so my questions were pretty repetitive:
"Do you have any tests today?"
"Today is (day of the week) - what's going on after school?"
"What do you want for breakfast?"
"Did you pack your swimming/skating clothes?"
"Did you pack your lunch last night?"
"You slept in your clothes again!?!?"  (Okay, that one's more of an observation, lol.)

[skategeek]

I'm not a morning person, so my questions were pretty repetitive:
"Do you have any tests today?"
"Today is (day of the week) - what's going on after school?"
"What do you want for breakfast?"
"Did you pack your swimming/skating clothes?"
"Did you pack your lunch last night?"
"You slept in your clothes again!?!?"  (Okay, that one's more of an observation, lol.)

Yep, totally stealing this.   

[Bunny Hop]

We skate a 5:30am session three times a week. Neither my husband nor myself are morning people, but the afternoon freestyle sessions at our rink are so busy they're dangerous, and it's impossible to learn anything, so early mornings it is. The mornings are also easier to fit around work.

I make sure I have everything prepared the night before - skating clothes laid out ready to put on, work clothes packed, lunch made etc. In bed about 10pm. We set a 4:40am alarm, which leaves just enough time to get dressed, stick the boot warmers in the microwave, and make a cup of coffee for the journey. We're in the car at 5:00. Husband drives; I drink coffee.

I changed for work at the rink, and go straight from there. I have a proper breakfast at work. I'm busy enough during the day that I don't remember to feel tired (it's different after the Saturday morning session when we go home afterwards!).

I'll never be a morning person, but I can get into a routine. I also get up earlier on the non-skating mornings for work (6am) so that helps as well.

[Loops]

I know you guys are lamenting this early morning skating tradition, and I remember well the 5 am patch, and 4 15 wake up to get there.

But I WISH I had that option here.  The kids can get on at 6 30, but it's only a select group of them, and I still wouldn't be home in time to get my kids out the door to school.  So I'm a wee bit jealous of you all.  I'd happily (albeit painfully) wake up for a 5 30 session, so I could be home before my husband leaves, and have had some good exercise to start my day.

You all are lucky!!!!!

[Bunny Hop]

But I WISH I had that option here.  The kids can get on at 6 30, but it's only a select group of them, and I still wouldn't be home in time to get my kids out the door to school.  So I'm a wee bit jealous of you all.  I'd happily (albeit painfully) wake up for a 5 30 session, so I could be home before my husband leaves, and have had some good exercise to start my day.

You all are lucky!!!!!

I know what you are getting at. The rink we skated at in the UK only allowed higher level skaters on their early morning sessions, so I didn't qualify. I have no in principle issue with there being higher level sessions, but they basically assumed all adult skaters were stay at home mums who could skate mid-morning, or who would be satisfied with trying to progress skating on crowded weekend public sessions. I used to have to use up all my flexi-time to skate one morning a week for 2 hours. It was frustrating.

[slcbelle]

I'm waking up at 4:30am or 4:45am to get to the rink by 5:50am on ski days so I'm back home by 8am.  I seem to be waking myself up a few minutes before the alarm because I'm so excited to skate.  I make myself a cup of coffee and eat yogurt with granola, dried coconut, blueberries, and toasted pecans.  Once at the rink, I jump rope for 10-15 minutes and stretch for another 15 minutes.  Then I'm on the ice for the 6:30am freestyle.  I can't say what makes me get up and go other than I'm obsessed.

[littlerain]

Lol slcbelle, you are one of the first I think of when I think of dedication. Me on the other hand... Sleep and food top everything else lol.

[cbskater]

I am used to getting up early, I have to be at work at 5am. Don't like it but I'm used to it. I work part time, 3 or 4 days a week. Occasionally I do an early morning skate. I need extra warm up time if I do to be loose enough & awake enough to skate. I can do my job on autopilot, but not skating.

Whether it's work or early skating I prep everything the night before. I am out the door 15 -20 minutes after I get up for work. I set my phone alarm to go off 2 minutes after the 2nd snooze on my bedside clock. The phone is across the room & it never fails to get me up if I didn't get up to the bedside clock.

[Query]

Just an idea:

Some people claim that people's sleep rhythms respond to light.

I.E., if instead of using an alarm, you have a timer turn on a light, would that work?

The light might have to be far enough from the bed that you actually get up. That idea might work for an alarm too.

Of course if you share a bed, this wouldn't be very nice to your bedmate.

Neither would it be nice to build a mechanism that rolls you out of bed onto the floor. 

[karne]

I used to start work at 8am, and it was horrible.

Before that I used to start at 5am on Saturdays, and that turned me into an insomniac on Friday nights, so...no early morning practice for me.

I'm very much a night owl. Now, if my rink offered 7pm or 8pm practice, I'd be ALL OVER IT.

[Kitten23]

Back in the day, I used to skate a 5:45am session.  Since I took public transportation (I live in an outer borough of NYC), I had to wake up (yes, WAKE UP) at 3:30am so I could catch a 4:15am bus to the subway.  Half of the time, the bus wouldn't come, so I'd walk the mile to the nearest subway station, through a darkened tunnel.  I was much braver back then...  I'd go to bed by 9:00.  You couldn't pay me to do this now.

[littlerain]

I'm very much a night owl. Now, if my rink offered 7pm or 8pm practice, I'd be ALL OVER IT.

Yes!! A rink I visited in the Bay Area had evening publics & adult skate every weeknight. I'd be all over that here!!

[irenar5]

I swear by my Sunrise clock  (http://www.amazon.com/BioBrite-Sunrise-Clock-Advanced-Charcoal/dp/B00196LFIU).  The idea behind it is sunrise simulation. 

Before my sound alarm goes off, it starts softly glowing, increasing intensity until the sound (15 or 30 min- you set it). 95% of the time I am wide awake before the alarm goes off, as the light wakes me up.  I have had it for almost 20 years (I am on the second model), it works! 

[littlerain]

I swear by my Sunrise clock  (http://www.amazon.com/BioBrite-Sunrise-Clock-Advanced-Charcoal/dp/B00196LFIU).  The idea behind it is sunrise simulation. 

Before my sound alarm goes off, it starts softly glowing, increasing intensity until the sound (15 or 30 min- you set it). 95% of the time I am wide awake before the alarm goes off, as the light wakes me up.  I have had it for almost 20 years (I am on the second model), it works!

Awesome! I've always thought about getting one so I may just order that!

[Query]

I swear by my Sunrise clock

A lot of people people swear at alarm clocks. You've a sunnier disposition.