Hitting a Busy Season
Suddenly my life is feeling crazy busy! I’m so glad I’m entering a taper period just to try and catch up. Does anyone else feel like this, at least occasionally? Here’s the thing, most of us will put ourselves last when life gets busy. If you have a family, are working outside the home and/or have other commitments that keep you busy, you understand what I’m talking about. I’m in a season of finding a new normal, I think.
Putting running or fitness as a priority in your life can be hard. I have been struggling lately with getting out for my runs, period. I’ve been training consistently for over a year and a half. I think mixing things up and creating a schedule again will help me re-commit to what honestly is very important to me, running. 🙂
So what’s my plan? Well, that’s just it, I need to create a plan and set some new goals for the rest of the year. My two big races are coming up this month and then I have two months to play. So I’m looking at mixing up my workouts, working on some core/strength exercises and keeping a running base. Come January I’ll be back to training, but in the meantime I feel like mixing up my fitness goals. In the end, it’ll benefit my running.
Last week I ran the CIBC Run for the Cure. The weather was perfect! I love witnessing the variety of runners/walkers who participate in this run. Most, if not all, have in some way been touched by cancer. My mother passed away after a 7 year long battle with breast cancer, my mother-in-law beat breast cancer and most recently my sister-in-law has just completed her treatment for a rare form of breast cancer. Raising awareness and support especially for those who are battling this disease is close to my heart. Our team raised over $1,700!
You’ve Got 24hrs!
How do you spend your 24hrs? Let’s face it, many of us live very different lives. BUT in the end, we all have 24hrs, correct? So, what fills your time? What is important to you? Are you giving time to the things you “say” are important? If not, how come?
Sometimes we need to look at how we spend our day and weeks and see if they line up with our overall goals. Are there hours that are wasted online or watching random tv shows that we could instead use to achieve some of our goals? Can we find even 30min. extra in a day to do something for our health?
I know I can! I can use time online and television as “down-time” that I tend to relax with. It’s a mindless activity and quite frankly I enjoy it 😉 However, if I am complaining I’m running out of time, I think I can re-prioritize some extra time for working out. I have a number of home workout DVDs that I LOVE. I find trying to get to the gym and working a fitness class into my already busy schedule is difficult, so working out at home lets me control the time I do it.
So I’m re-focusing some of my goals to what is important to me. I’ll be making a plan, writing it out on a calendar (I still use a paper calendar 🙂 ) and staying accountable with a few friends online.
Do you have a plan written out that you follow? OR do you pretty much wing it when it comes to getting a workout/run in? Do you prefer to workout at a gym? Or does working out at home benefit you most?
It sometimes can be so hard to stay on top your training, especially as a Mom I put my family first, but working out or maintaining a training schedule counts as my d
own time. Especially when it comes to outdoor running. I prefer running outside the most:)
Yup! I also find that often it is not just mom who makes sacrifices in our training but the rest of the family often has to step up and help out where they can. Especially as your kids get a little older. I also prefer to run outside and it’s my “ME” time.