i just started taking short-release adderall last week. at first it made my heart feel a little speeded-up and i was wary about doing any form of intense exercise at the same time, but the effects have subsided now. my question: i like to run just because it makes me feel better and helps me calm down, generally - just maybe 3-5 miles about 6 days a week. i'd like to get up in the morning and go before work, but find i've been staying up later and dragging a bit in the am. if i take the second dose towards late afternoon/early evening, i find i'd just as soon stay home and read, and my appetite is temporarily suppressed so i don't feel this great need to get out and hit the gym (i also feel like i'm wasting time when i could be focusing). normally i'd probably go run after work and just dink around wandering aimlessly from room to room, wishing i could sit down and do something, until it was time to go to bed. anyway. so i've been sedentary for basically over a week, which i hate, and i am not eating all that much and don't want to lose muscle/screw up my metabolism. any suggestions on best time of day for working out, when to do it in relation to taking meds, etc.? i've been told it's capable of more or less changing your routine indefinitely, but i don't really want this routine that's at the expense of general health.

It's all an experiment of one. No one program is going to work for everyone and all the people I know that excel to their potential, listen and heed what their body tells them. I'm still learning this.

Tought questions. I don't know that I can shed much light on this, but I hate to see this go unanswered.

Maybe we can talk about this and figure it out together. Support is after all is what this place is supposed to be about.

I keep a journal with details of my lowest recorded heart rate, late at night or early in the morning and my mileage and whatever other details seem pertanent at the time. The journal means that I can avoid, if I choose to, some of the difficulties in learning from my mistakes. I can also much more easily recognise patterns of success or failure.

Scheduling is a very difficult task for me. I have many tools in place to try and help assist me in this area, like a pda. Goals help me remain focused on keeping my priorities clear. If I have a reasonable goal race, for instance, I'm much less likely to attend to the details of when I can squeeze a run in.

Now, if I could just do that same thing about shedding a few of these pounds that make me look more like a bowling pin than a runner I'd be away! :D

I sped up too in the beginning, but now not so much as it's all normalised.

You're running between 18 and 30 miles a week? Do you race? I've just begun and the social aspect is so good for me! I race against myself of course, but with that mileage, done with intent, you should be able to do some fun things. I've just committed to dancing with the devil in this run. I know a lot of people that will be doing it. I'll be lucky to finish the thing in the time allotted, but we will have a blast regardless. Some peoples view of fun is weird eh? eheheh
http://www.addforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36351

I ignore my meds. I take them at the same time every day and go along with my day irrespective of when I took my meds. I do not run late in the day if I can avoid it. If I do, I rarely sleep well. I'm taking 15mg of dex first thing in the morning and letting it run out at the end of the day. I now take one 10mg long acting and 5mg short acting at the same time at breakfast. I like to run before lunch, but before dinner is good too. I'm lucky I have a very flexible schedule.

I can't continue to run well and show improvements without good sleep. The older I get the worse this sharp truth is for me. It's come down to how badly do I want the benefits of running. I love, love to run! ;) Giving up the day, task or whatever is always difficult for me. I've just had to practise on the small stuff to gain some skills on the bigger stuff. Everything takes time which sucks in the short term, but rocks in the long term.

I don't give into my fickle wants so easily if I have firm goals that are meaningful for me. I might prefer to head to the computer after work, before dinner, but if I want to prepare for a group run or race more, then the choice to run is easy to make. It actually makes me happy to choose to run. The company of others has been a big motivator. In the beginning it was only here that I had company for this type of activity. Now I have local runners to give me a context and that helps a lot with keeping the priorities of exercise clear.

If I've missed the mark here, please say so and we can begin again if you wish.
Good luck with it all.
Cheers!