Underfueled in the mornings
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All right, so here's an issue that's been plaguing me for a long time.
I almost never do early morning workouts just because I feel so underfueled and weak, even if I have a modest breakfast (say, a few hundred calories) beforehand. This is especially true for swimming and running, even if it's easy. It's apparently not as bad for cycling (i.e. I can at least go for an easy spin), but there have been plenty of times when I've gone out for some early FTP work and just couldn't do it. However, I do get "stronger" as the day goes on, especially after I've had a good lunch. That said, I pretty much do all my quality workouts in the late afternoon and early evening because I'm usually well fueled by then.
So I think it's pretty obvious that I'm just not eating well enough. I definitely need to take in some calories before a morning workout if it's going to happen at all, but how big does that breakfast have to be? There have been times when I've tried eating a small breakfast (say, ~400 calories: a bowl of oatmeal, some juice, and a gel), waiting an ~hour for it to digest, going out for a run or something, and still feel like crap. 
It's pretty frustrating for me because not being able to do workouts (easy or quality) early in the day really constrains the number of workouts I can fit in a week, and I think in the long term this really constrains my potential for training and developing as an athlete. How do you folks manage to do it? 
Comments
I'm all for suggestions for breakfast ideas. I'm the type of guy who eats the same damn thing every day (ex. oatmeal), so I'd love to add some variety to my diet.
I also remember Coach P mentioning something along the lines that Kim mentioned above, but I think it was more like a glass of milk with a tbsp of protein powder but always a gel and gatorade before the workout, even if it is a 30min workout.
We have remember that we workout every single day and sometimes 2x a day so we need to be taking in calories. Since we concentrate on doing that during our workouts, we do have to be careful after the workout and during the day so that we compensate for those calories.
Do you take any supplements?
What's your diet like?
I generally recommend 1.5g/kg (body weight) of protein daily and as we train dozens of times/wk. with the last meal of the day a high protein one and very low carb (no insulin spike). I also recommend your last meal being 2-3 hrs before falling asleep to maximize your growth hormone release for added recovery (it's released inversely with insulin, during the first 3 hrs of sleep). Try to get as many hours of sleep before midnight as you can. Each hr. of sleep before midnight = 2 hrs of sleep after midnight from a chemical and hormone perspective (recovery).
Lots to think about here, could be very multi-factoral.
I've tried fueling in the morning with applesauce and Fig Newtons (yum!) and going for a short, easy run. Unfortunately, I've had little success so far and I'm still feeling really weak and bonky halfway through. Having tried so many different things in an attempt to fuel in the morning, I'm starting to think that maybe that's not the real issue, but rather, how I'm eating the night before.
@ Sukhi: You have an interesting point there. I don't think recovery is the issue, as I have this problem even if I'm training very lightly (as I am nowadays). However, my diet is probably causing problems here. As for sleep, is there a particular reason why that delineation is at midnight (i.e. does that assume I'm waking up at a particular time?)
The only supplement I'm taking is protein powder. Between a protein shake and a chocolate milk, I'm getting at least ~63 g a day. I'm not eating a whole lot of meat nowadays, so I might be a little low on the protein (by your recommendation, I should be getting 95-100g a day). I wouldn't mind adding a serving of chicken or something to my dinners, as that should be enough to cover the deficit.
It's interesting that you mention insulin spikes, because I usually have a dinner with very high carbs (think pasta, rice, the occasional pizza, etc.) and very little protein!! I really wouldn't be surprised at all if that is throwing me off in the mornings. That said, my breakfasts are fairly small (ex. small bowl of oatmeal or cereal), and my lunches tend to be carb heavy too (though lunch tends to be smaller than dinner). Perhaps I'm a little too obsessed with carbs, and I should redistribute how I'm consuming my carbs throughout the day. Any suggestions for that?
@ Dino: Man, I can't tell you how lucky you are to have such an easy pre-workout breakfast. Wish it was that simple for me!
My $0.02 worth is this, before an am workout I have 2 x piece of toast with jam or marmalade, then like Brenda, a gel and some Infinit about 20 to 30 mins before the workout. Then just before the work starts, another gel and Infinit.
I just figure that if I intend to do some serious work, then I need to properly fuel that work. Just sayin.
The midnight sleep pattern is believed to be related to circadian rhythms.