Argh! My Alarm Didn't Go Off!

The only problem with working out in the morning is waking up.  In fact, for me the HARDEST part of morning workouts is getting up at 4:50am.  Why 4:50am?  I need:

1. Time to quietly find my shoes and socks
2. Time to let Dennis (our dog) out
3. Time to quietly stumble to the bathroom
4. Time to get the extremely f****ng slow blu-ray player started
5. Time to do the workout
6. Time to shower

All of this must be done before my kids wake up at 6:30am.  I have to be quiet otherwise the kids wake up.  I have to do most things in the dark otherwise the kids wake up (yes, their doors are closed).  I have to keep the volume down on the blu-ray otherwise the kids wake up.  Can you take a guess as to what unpredictable variable I have to be extremely cognizant of?

Today, my stinkin' alarm clock didn't go off, and I didn't wake up until 5:40am  Or maybe it did, and I turned it off without actually waking up.  Whatever.  I'm not here to cast blame (or accept responsibility as it turns out).  If I do not get this workout done in the morning, it is likely I will not get a chance to do it until after 9pm.  Aside from avoiding my little monsters, I have a number of reasons for working out right away in the morning (before eating):  

• Physiologically, working out on an empty stomach pulls energy directly from fat reserves within muscles (according to Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, the journal of the American College of Sports Medicine, published in 2008).  Since I'm still working on the 6-pack of rock-hard abs, this is important.
• Productivity at work goes up - this is not just my perception, there have been studies (e.g. 'Exercising at work and self-reported work performance' from Carnegie) which show that incorporating exercise into your work day enhances focus and calm and improves performance.
• If the rest of my day goes to sh*t - at least I got my exercise in.  This is just common sense.

If you are used to exercising in the afternoon or evening, exercising in the morning is quite a bit more efficient.  Personally, I feel like I can accomplish in 30 minutes in the morning what it would take me 60 minutes later in the day (I'm sure there is data to support this - I just didn't feel like looking for it).  You should, however, be aware that exercise is much more difficult in the morning; your runs may be slower than you are used to, you may not be able to lift as much weight or do as many reps, etc.  You are also limited in how much exercise you can do before running out of energy; it may be wise to limit your workouts at first.

Now, if I can just remember where that damned alarm clock went...