My sister and I say that we should get paid to work out. We love to exercise, especially running. I have tons of "dream" jobs. Well, they probably wouldn't be well-paying jobs. Hence why they aren't my job, but things I really enjoy doing that I could do a lot more of. You know, like taking care of my kids. If only I could be my own nanny. But, I digress.
Unfortunately, I am not paid to run or exercise. Which means that I have to fit it into the midst of a full life. I am of the mindset that whatever your life holds, fills it. My life is full with three kids and an almost full-time job. Your life is probably as full being home with your two kids. Or, fill in the blank with what fills your life.
Unless you are paid to exercise, you have to fit it in. Unless you have been an avid athlete your whole life, you most likely have to work at being active. It's not your default. I'm right there with you. I do love to exercise, particularly run. And there are some weeks that I do it quite a lot. But there are other weeks I don't.
Yes, making fitness a priority is key. Scheduling it into your life is important. But it is optional. Feeding and bathing my children, keeping their laundry clean and working for a paycheck are not optional. So, sometimes exercise has to go.
Each week is different for me. I am learning to love running in the morning. I don't love getting up early. But I do like starting off the day burning a few hundred calories and as the day goes on, knowing I don't have to figure out when to run.
Here's how I fit it in.
I run early 2-3x a week. I run early at least one morning that I go to work. Which means setting the alarm for 5:30am in order to run for 30-40 minutes and be back in the house to shower, get ready and finish getting the kids ready.
I have an amazing husband who loves getting up early. I'm more of a "get up with enough time to get ready+5 minutes." Bean will get ready and sit on the couch for 15 minutes in the dark before needing to leave for work. He typically gets Miss Rose up and gets her started on getting ready for school. This is super helpful to me and helps me have the time to run.
Right now, training for a half marathon, my long runs are on Saturdays for the next 10 weeks. This Saturday, Bean has to leave a little after 8am. So I'll be getting up at 6am (again, the waking stinks but the finishing is awesome). I'll probably run 3-4 miles on the treadmill until it's lighter and there is enough neighborhood activity for me to feel comfortable on the streets and I'll do the rest of my run in the neighbornood. Yeah, I have to run 8 miles. Did I mention that?
A few runs I'll do later in the day after Bean gets home, or on my way home from work, or sometimes after dinner. Today I ran on the treadmill in the garage at 2:30pm. The little girls went down for late naps after we picked Miss Rose up from school. Miss Rose had some down time watching TV after school while I ran. It was my best option for how the day was turning out. And I got it done.
I'm really slacking on cross-training and strength training right now. I would love to get up another morning or two a week to do a DVD or other fitness routine. I can tell that focusing on my core would help with running.
There are days that I don't want to run, or can't and so I do a DVD like 30 Day Shred or Banish Fat Boost Metabolism. I also like finding short routines on Exercise TV to fit in. When I remember, I'll do core work in the evening while Bean & I relax before bed.
If you are a {married} mom, whether you work or not, having a supportive husband is crucial to fitting in exercise. Long ago, Bean recognized that running makes me a happier person. He is often the one to push me out the door, even when I'm worried the kids are going to drive him crazy or when I'm feeling guilty for being at work all day and leaving the kids for another 30 minutes.
The bottom line: you will have to fit it in. Enter your goals into your calendar for the week. Develop a tentative plan, but be flexible because you never know when sick or non-sleeping children will mess up a plan. Get creative. I've had my kids play in the driveway while I run on the treadmill. I also will do a DVD with them playing around me. If you have a jogging stroller, yeah it's heavy and you might have to stop a time or two--but getting a few miles in feels so great.
Training re-cap: First week!
Monday: Labor day. Intended to run, but our activities stretched longer than anticipated, so I just skipped it.
Tuesday: 1st day of school. Woke at 5:30am and got in 3.36 miles
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: 1 mile warm up, 3 miles @ 8:54, .5 mile cool down, total: 4.5 miles
Friday: Plan to do arms & abs in the morning
Saturday: 8 miles (the longest training run I've done ever)
Sunday: Rest or strength training
I missed 1 run (4 miles) but I did my tempo run today and will do my long run Saturday. I'm happy with how this first week of training is going. Last Saturday I ran 7 miles to gear myself up for this week's 8 miles. My route had some good hills which was a good challenge. My pace ended up eing 10:06.
I was supposed to run 10:30 pace, but I guess faster is better than slower. But...to get my ultimate race time, I will need to run 9 minute miles for the entire half. I could probably do it on the treadmill, but transferring that to the street will be interesting. Hopefully my training will work the way its supposed to.
Thanks for tuning in to Fit Friday! Sometimes it's kind of rambling, but I hope you find a bit of inspiration, encouragement--but with a sense of reality :)
How do you fit it in?
OBOB
7 years ago
