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Women's Perspective: You Can Get It All Done and Find Time to Run
By Amanda Loudin
March/April 2011
For the Washington Running Report
It can be challenging; but with a little work, you can make it happen.
On tap for today: Getting the kids off to school; heading to the office for work; grabbing groceries on the way home; helping kids with homework; cooking dinner; driving son to lacrosse practice. And, oh yes, it would be nice to fit in a run, too.
Sound all too familiar? For most women today, juggling many balls is pretty much the norm. We all want to be good wives, good moms, good friends, and good employees. Sometimes, managing all that makes it seem just about impossible to include time for running. But it can be done and you don’t have to be superwoman to make it happen.
Here are some good time management strategies that work for me and what I advise my clients.
Get out your calendar
Sit down with a calendar at the beginning of each week and plan out exactly when you will do your runs. Something about having it written in ink makes it seem more real and therefore keeps you more accountable. It also makes it tougher to crowd out your run with other activities.
Try to follow a hard/easy approach to your training—that is, alternate your harder days with easy recovery days. A typical week might include an off day on Monday, speed work on Tuesday, a recovery run on Wednesday, and so on. Compare your running plans with your calendar and see where you can fit them in.
The weekends are the obvious place to put the long run thanks to fewer commitments and the support of your spouse, if you have children. Look ahead to your coming weekend and see which of the two days allows you more free time, then make a date with your long run. Conversely, a weekday might make the ideal place to schedule an off day, thus freeing up time for other activities.
Get up early
When I first started running, I wasn’t much of a morning person. But I was also working full time. My husband suggested I try getting my run in before work, so I decided to give it a go. I didn’t like the sound of the alarm at 5:00 a.m., but I quickly learned to appreciate the fact that, once the workday was finished, I was done for the day.
Today, runs that aren’t at the crack of dawn are the exception in my world. Yes, going to bed early and getting up in the dark can be a drag sometimes. But there is nothing else going on at that hour to interfere with running, so why not take advantage of it? Having running partners who are willing to meet me at ‘o’dark thirty’ makes it that much better.
Get creative
If you are a mother and have a spouse who also likes to run, you may find yourself fighting over who gets to work out, when. Fix the problem by setting up a schedule that works for you both. One of you might prefer to run in the morning, for instance, while the other likes the evenings. If you both like the early time slot, figure out who gets which days and then stick to the plan.
Treadmills are a good alternative if you are a mom and you have a spouse who travels. They’re also useful if you are on an alternating workout schedule with your spouse. I don’t cherish my treadmill workouts, but there are plenty of times when I wouldn’t have gotten in my run otherwise.
Also, consider your lunch hour if you work full time. Plenty of people make the most of this time to squeeze in a run. If you don’t have a shower at work, you can always make the most of the bathroom sink. Again, not ideal, but if it’s your only chance to fit in a run, it’s worth it.
Once you have put some of these strategies into place, you will likely find that you’re running more and stressing less--and that’s a goal worth pursuing.
Amanda Loudin, a Maryland-based freelance writer, is married with two kids.
An RRCA certified coach; she enjoys helping women reach their goals. Follow
her blogs: www.misszippy1.blogspot.com and www.misszippycoaches.blogspot.com