I have spent the past two days in an all day training in Denver. Tomorrow will be the same (the training has been really interesting – I will be teaching parenting classes to at-risk families and I have learned so much. Nothing like taking a parenting class to make you realize how much better YOU could be as a parent. My kids will be in therapy for sure).
This training schedule means I am gone from home from 7:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. 2+ hours of that is in traffic. I know that many of you do this day in and day out, but I don’t. I work from home, so I’m not accustomed to being gone certain hours or having this much structure to my day.
How I felt this morning:
I am used to seeing my kids off to school, working in my PJs for a few hours (maybe farting if need be), going for a run, looking in my refrigerator for leftovers, walking the dog, working some more and being here when kids get home. Yes, I am a bit spoiled with this schedule, but there are pros and cons.
The cons mostly include working weird hours – days, nights, weekends. Also, working from home means you don’t have colleagues to shoot the shit with or play practical jokes on. I miss that side of being in an office (did I tell you about that time we put laxatives in the staff meeting muffins? I was really immature back then).
The real reason for this post is to find out how those of you fit in training/running with an incredibly busy schedule. I think we could all learn from each other.
Tonight for example, I rolled in after 5pm, had a few moments with the kids, grabbed Ken and off we went for a 6 mile run. In the dark and cold. With head lamps. Driving home from Denver I had to really psych myself up to run when all I really wanted to do was snuggle on the couch with wine. Instead, we had a brisk run, caught up on our days, got our hearts pumping, and released some pent up energy from sitting all day. Ken summarized it well when he said, “Thanks for the run. I really needed that.” Me too.
I’m no expert, but here are some tips I have for fitting in your running when you think you simply don’t have the time:
1. Use your legs or bike instead of your car to commute. When we lived in Denver many years ago I used to ride my bike 12 miles each way to/from work.
2. Sneak out for your lunch break. If you have an hour for lunch squeeze in a 3 to 5 mile run. Leave yourself a few minutes to clean up and eat (that’s what wipes are for).
3. Be organized in other areas of your life so you can fit it in after work. For example, tonight I had all the ingredients in the house for a quick dinner. I knew that even if I didn’t finish my run until 6:15 p.m., dinner would still be on the table before 7:00 p.m. If your kids are older, get them to cook while you run.
4. Watch one hour less of TV per day and substitute with exercise.
5. Get up early. Yes this is a drag. Yes it might be dark and cold. But, this is THE BEST WAY to ensure you will get your run in and not blow it off after work.
6. Take the kids. Part of why some people run is to get away from their kids, so this may not be an option for you. However, pushing kids in a stroller is not only a great workout, it means you get to multi-task being a parent and running at the same time.
What is your best tip for fitting it all in?
SUAR
