From the outside, it seems that endurance athlete power couple Ben True and his wife, Sarah, don’t relax all that often. True is a professional runner sponsored by Saucony who’s finished as top American in two IAAF Cross Country championships and has won numerous road races, including the 10K and 5K U.S. road championships, the B.A.A. 5K, and the 2018 New York City Half Marathon. Sarah, meanwhile, is a sponsored triathlete who finished as the first American at the 2018 Kona Ironman World Championships last fall.
“Sarah’s usually swimming when I wake up in the morning,” True, who lives and trains near Hanover, New Hampshire, tells Runner’s World. “She’ll be back home from her first workout just as I’m about to leave for my first run of the day.”
True’s 2019 season got off a rocky start, thanks to a bad bout of the flu in January that knocked him off his training plan. The 33-year-old began to build up strength again in February, then on March 17, delivered a solid performance at the NYC Half, placing 10th in 1:02:56. For the rest of spring, the runner says he’s focusing on track work in preparation for the 10,000 meters at California’s Payton-Jordan Invitational in early May.
Between training 95 to 110 miles per week, traveling to races (both his own and his wife’s), and running one half of the Linden & True coffee business, True has a lot on his plate. So to balance it all—and keep his sanity—he takes his mornings at home in New England slowly, filling them with, as Sarah says, “a pretty serious coffee routine and a lot of lounging.”
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Here, True describes his typical morning routine during training, from when he wakes up to when he rolls out for a run.
Wake Up Fully Rested
I’m a firm believer in not waking up with an alarm clock, so my wake up times vary by day, depending on how much sleep my body needs. On a normal night, I’ll head to bed around 10 or 10:30, then wake up sometime between 8 and 9:30 the next morning. Lately, I’ve been getting up a little earlier than usual, because Sarah and I recently got a huge English Mastiff, Buddy, and he likes to run into our room and bark as soon as he wakes up in the morning.
Carbs First Thing
Since I train alone and set my own practice time, I have a bad habit of moving very slowly in the morning. My rule is that I have to leave for my first run before noon. I try to be out the door by 11, but sometimes, I’m rushing out at 11:45 to hit that time.
After I wake up, I’ll make breakfast, which nine times out of 10 is a big pot of oatmeal mixed with peanut butter and whatever fresh and dried fruit we have on hand, like banana slices, apples, pears, or raisins. Occasionally, I’ll make a stack of pancakes instead. I like to eat breakfast about an hour before an easy run and two hours before a hard workout, so I feel properly digested.
If I’m racing in the morning, I like to have my breakfast finished four hours before the race start time. That gives me time to stomach my full race-day meal, which basically is as many bagels as I can cram down in one sitting. I can usually eat all six Thomas cinnamon raisin bagels that come in the package. If I’m eating larger bagels, though, I might just have four or five. I eat them plain without toppings.
I won’t eat anything else before or during the race like gels or sports drinks, because my events aren’t long enough to need to fuel during them. Of course, it might be smarter to have quick sugar in my system rather than be weighed down by a ton of bagels, but the bagels have worked for me so far, so I haven’t changed it up.
If I’m getting brunch after a race, I’ll eat just about anything—but I’ll steer clear of bread groups, since I had way too much bread earlier. I’ll usually have an egg and potato thing.
Coffee and Contemplation
While I’m cooking my oatmeal in the morning, I’ll make two cups of pour-over coffee, using between 40 and 42 grams of coffee and 600 and 680 milliliters of water. I like to brew our own Linden & True coffee, but I also mix it up a lot, to see what other brands are roasting.
Currently, I’ve been drinking Augie’s coffee, which is from a little company in California. After pouring my coffee, I’ll sit down to eat my oatmeal, and I won’t touch my coffee until after I’m done eating. My wife—who’s usually out swimming at this time—always gets concerned that my coffee isn’t going to be hot enough by the time I drink it, but I think the flavors are so much better after it’s cooled off a little. Most people drink their coffee too hot, and then they can’t really taste it.
Ben True’s Morning Must-Haves
$4.69 Thomas' Cinnamon Raisin Bagels
Linden & True Ethiopia Sidama Guji
Augies Always Sunny Blend
R8 Roll Recovery
During breakfast and coffee, I like to watch the previous night’s Daily Show with Trevor Noah. Then I’ll open my computer, check my emails, and just lounge around. I like to call this the “time suck” hour, because I just don’t know where it goes. Eventually, I’ll see the time and start prepping for my workout.
Roll Out and Run
Before heading out for a run, I stretch and do a quick roll out with my R8 Roll Recovery tool. Then I change into my clothes and shoes, and make sure I’m out the door before the clock strikes noon.
Hailey first got hooked on running news as an intern with Running Times, and now she reports on elite runners and cyclists, feel-good stories, and training pieces for Runner's World and Bicycling magazines.
