Need motivation for early am workouts

Wake up earlier

Seriously though, you might want to start off slow if you are that tired when you get up, maybe only run for 20-30mins, at a slow pace, to get your body used to working in the AM. I know I personally have the opposite problem, I am up at 430-5AM every morning and do whatever I can in regards to running or biking, and then cant seem to get it in gear when I get home and want to do something else, like strength or an afternoon workout.

Good luck!

Well, if you really need 8+ hours of sleep then waking up earlier shouldn't really be an option unless you get to bed earlier and it sounds like that isn't possible on swim nights.  I would look to adjust my schedule.  Don't short yourself on the sleep you need.  I guess I'm lucky that I can function well on 6-7 hours. 

Having 4 kids in 4years I have learned to function (all though same say not well) on 4-5hours sleep...My suggestion would be swim on your own at an earlier time..Get some sooner and to bed sooner...

Most of my training is early morning and I wake up between 4:30 & 4:45. I need to get in bed by 9:30 or 10 to get enough sleep. It takes a while to get used to it but once you get in the routine it isn't difficult. I feel no worse getting up at 4:30 then at 6:00.

Motivation: do a search for Team Hoyt. Look at their picture and what a loving father does for his son. Then just try to make an excuse for not doing a work out. When I loose motivation I go to their web site and realize that whan a father can pull, pedal and push his son through an Ironman, my "I'm too tired" or "I don't have the time" seems pretty lame.

You know what you have to do, find a way to do it.

Rearrange your schedule so that your early morning runs aren't scheduled for the day after a swim practice.

If you skimp on sleep, you will negatively impact the benefits of your training.  It's not about needing motivation, it's about getting enough sleep.

-C

There's your motivation right there. I've switched my running from midday to around 6:45 AM to avoid the heat. Most of my biking is done commuting to work.

You might switch your workouts around so that you run early on M & W, then you can sleep in on T & Th.

WOW, what a story Team Hoyt has. The pictures are amazing.

More than motivation, you need some practical planning and solutions.

[1] Eat an hour or so before you swim. Your practice is over at 9PM, and you don't get home till 10PM. Drink a healthy, post-workout smoothie on the way home from practice, and/or a sandwich, etc.

[2] It takes you 1:30 to eat and shower? I dunno what to say.

[3] Make the changes, and you can be in bed by 10:30. Eat on the way home, shower, go straight to bed ... no fiddle-fartin around channel-surfing or web-browsin.

[4] In the room next to your bedroom ... lay out your workout clothes the night before. Set up an alarm clock in this room for 4 or 4:30AM. When the alarm goes off, you have to walk into this room to shut it off (no snooze). Instead of turning around and going back to bed like a sissy, reach down and put on your workout clothes.

[5] need 10 hours of sleep? Good Lord, how intense are these swim practices?

[6] "So by the time I "naturally" wake up (around 8-9am) its 80 degrees and 80% humidity. " C'mon, Man! You live in the Midwest! We're tough! We train in the heat (in case you haven't noticed it's 95+ with 50%+ humidity allover the Midwest this month), we train in the cold. We're tough!

Seriously, you can do it. It's a matter of priority. Plan ahead.

Maybe this is just easy for me to say ... I've got two young kids, so 5 hours a night is pretty standard for me.

Sometimes in life you just gotta get tough. Your sig line says "Tough just the way I like it". Prove it.

[Note: I wrote this post in the spirit of "motivating and toughness (like your sig line). Please read it like that ... and not like I am trying to be a jackass towards you. I am challenging your desire and your machismo, so you can get your ass out of bed.

thank you for all who have replied and made helpful suggestions. No, it doesn't take me an hour and a half to shower and eat dinner, more like 15 minutes to do both. However, I am 22 years old and have full custody of my two younger siblings. So I have laundry to accomplish, house needs to be cleaned, grass needs to be mowed, and bills need to be paid. So I end up staying up till 11:30 getting laundry done, tiding up the house, or paying the bills. My mornings are hetic with trying to get my sisters to their activities, I'm taking summer classes, and doing a internship. I have practice for 2-3 hours, 4x a week, and then we also train on our own the other 2 days. I go full force from 8am-11:30/12am. I have gone without sleep before and end up sick everytime. I have finally realized that my body needs on average 9 hours of sleep, if not, then I'm no help to anyone. Thats just me. So thank you for those who have made suggestions.

I am 22 years old and have full custody of my two younger siblings. So I have laundry to accomplish, house needs to be cleaned, grass needs to be mowed, and bills need to be paid. So I end up staying up till 11:30 getting laundry done, tiding up the house, or paying the bills. My mornings are hetic with trying to get my sisters to their activities, I'm taking summer classes, and doing a internship. I have practice for 2-3 hours, 4x a week, and then we also train on our own the other 2 days. I go full force from 8am-11:30/12am. I have gone without sleep before and end up sick everytime. I have finally realized that my body needs on average 9 hours of sleep, if not, then I'm no help to anyone. Thats just me. So thank you for those who have made suggestions.

Wow, I can relate (really). I would prefer to be busy from 6AM to midnight to being able to go to bed at 10PM and not really accomplish much all day. You and I sound similar in that we try to shove 27 hours worth of stuff into one day. My advice is to stop that (or at least try to limit it to short stretches), or you'll be 23 going on 45 in no time. Pick the 5-7 most important things that need done each day and get them accomplished. Sometimes training may have to be missed. Prioritize. There is a fine line between doing a lot of stuff, and spreading yourself too thin. Try not to cross the line too often.
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Next time include the background information in your original post (would be helpful). You basically asked, "How can I go to bed at 11:30PM, wake at 4:30AM, and still get 8-10 hours of sleep?" Do we even need to try and answer that?