I've been taking advantage of the early sunrise and running before my family wakes up. It takes a bit of discipline, but it's so nice to check something off the daily to-do list before 7:00 a.m. Aside from patting myself on the back while brewing my cup of Joe, early morning exercise can translate into a more productive workout. The hormone cortisol, which helps break down fat for fuel, is higher in the early morning — it rises with the sun. This boost in cortisol can add a bit of power to your morning run, helping you to run a bit further and with a bit more speed. When you're debating with yourself to run or not to run next time your alarm rings, hopefully this tidbit will get you up and running.
When your alarm goes off in the morning, do you curse its very existence and hit the snooze button eight times before you actually pull yourself out of bed? If you're not a morning person, there's no way you could begin to understand how other people can wake up early and fit in an hour workout before getting ready and heading off to work. Yes, some people are just naturally perky in the morning and prefer sweating it out in the a.m., but then there's the rest of us who make a point to work out in the morning because it's the only time we can fit it in. 
