Making Running & Strength Training A Priority Again

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February was a positive month for me when it came to working towards my running and fitness goals. I try to stay active for my physical, mental and emotional health and running is a passion of mine so it was important for me to find a way to fit it into my schedule and I want to inspire other moms out there that it is possible!

Marathon Training is Demanding

After running the New York City Marathon in November, I chose to take a break from training because running felt like a chore. Granted, getting out for my runs was time for myself, my opportunity to engage in adult conversation with my running friends and do something I love, but it still felt like something I had to do, rather than something I was doing for fun. Training for a marathon can feel like a second job at times, especially when you are logging 15+ miles each weekend. It was physically and mentally draining me.

The New York City Marathon was my 5th marathon so I was well aware of the training involved. However, this time around, I was a mama to my sweet girl, which meant I was juggling my running with the demands of motherhood. During my training cycle, my daughter was still inconsistent with sleeping at night. Thankfully, she only woke up once, but it was interrupted sleep for me. Also, since I was breastfeeding, I needed to wake up about 40-45 minutes earlier to pump before a run. She was still nursing 4-5 times per day at this point.  No more days of rolling out of bed, throwing on my running clothes and heading out the door! The demands of being a mom AND the demands of marathon training were pulling me in two directions! That’s why I knew I needed a break after completing the marathon.

I heard somewhere that you are supposed to take off 1 day for every mile you ran in a race. I took 14 days totally off and then started to run a few miles here and there starting the last week in November. I ran a total of 6 times from November 20th to December 24th because I wanted to focus more on other things that got put on hold while I was busy with the demands of marathon training.

My Next Challenge

I am registered for the Dark Side Challenge in Walt Disney World in April. This is one of the runDisney events and involves running a 10K (6.2 miles) on Saturday followed by a Half Marathon (13.1 miles) on Sunday. 19.3 miles in two days. I love participating in the runDisney events and completing the challenges they offer. The Dark Side Challenge is my 5th runDisney event and it is Star Wars themed. There is something so magical about running through the Walt Disney World parks and resort area. With this running event on the horizon, I need to make sure I am trained and ready to run it.

In January, I made it my goal to get back to running 3 days per week. The cold weather was preventing me from running outside. I do not enjoy running in the bitter cold and my fingertips turn numb no matter how many layers of gloves I put on my hands. Plus, there were several mornings when icy roads were an issue. Since I need to run very early in the morning, I didn’t want to risk slipping on ice. The last thing I needed was a sprained ankle or broken bone! So, I usually resort to the treadmill during the winter.

It made more sense financially for me to get a gym membership for a few months than to purchase a $1,000 treadmill for our basement. While I miss running with my group of friends, the cold weather lessened my desire for getting out there and logging miles on the road. So I reactivated my gym membership to Planet Fitness.

I use the Garmin Connect App on my phone to log my runs. When I run outside with my Garmin watch, my activity is synced to the app via a Bluetooth connection. When I run on the treadmill, I manually log my run distance and duration into the app after I finish.

There are 31 days in January and I ran 10 of those days. My goal was 12 days or 3 days per week so I was close to my goal, but did not reach it. My runs were very inconsistent, too.  I ran on different days each week and didn’t follow any sort of training plan.

My strength training was sporadic, as well. I didn’t have a consistent plan for getting my strength training done each week. I would do a few sets in the morning, some sets during the day and some more sets while making dinner. It was all over the place and I wanted to get my workout done in one session, not multiple sessions throughout the day.

Setting Goals, Making A Plan & Crushing those Goals

Now we are into February. About a week into this short month, I realized my half marathon was only 10 weeks away and I hadn’t done any long runs since December! Yikes! I needed to get my butt into gear, get serious with my running again and figure out a training plan.

My go-to race training plans are written by Hal Higdon. I use his plans as a starting point and adjust the mileage or training days to better fit my training goals and current level of fitness. To my surprise, I was not as far behind in my training as I thought.

I also printed my strength training calendar for the month. I am part of a Facebook group called Strong to the Core. Each month, a strength calendar is designed for us that includes daily exercises to strengthen our core, arms and legs. All of the exercises are geared towards runners, focusing on the muscles we use, and helping us become stronger and more efficient while logging our miles.

So, back to February! What I started doing this month was actually scheduling my runs into my weekly calendar, like I would a doctor’s appointment. I would also schedule “Daily Workout” on each day. If it is scheduled by being written into my planner, I know it will get done.  February, I made a plan and stuck with that plan each week.

I knew my run and workout needed to get done early in the morning. For me, getting to the gym before my husband leaves for work at 6:45 was essential to my success each day. The one convenience of Planet Fitness is they are open 24 hours a day so arriving at 5:00 or 5:30 in the morning is not a problem. Finding the time that works for your schedule is crucial to being able to achieve your fitness goals.

According to the Garmin Connect App, I ran 15 days out of the 28 days in February! That means I ran 54% of the month, compared to January’s 32%. I also ran at least three days per week for 3 of the 4 weeks in February. I attribute this to writing it down in my planner and making time for it.

My daily strength workout was completed every day, too! I put an “X” on each day as I completed the workout. Now, being a part of the Strong to the Core Facebook group helped keep me on track. We hold each other accountable by sharing a daily post of our run and strength work for the day. Having a group of people to keep me accountable, cheer me on, support me each day and motivate me to go further is extremely helpful.

I developed a positive routine and gained a lot of momentum during February and was motivated to keep it going in March.

What I Learned

Here are the important takeaways or the lessons I learned during the month of February about my training and fitness:

Set Goals! I set a goal of running at least 3 days per week and doing my daily strength workout EVERY DAY. Setting goals is the first thing that needs to be done in order to make something happen. You need to know where you are headed and what you want to accomplish.

Make a Plan! I printed a half marathon training plan and a monthly strength training calendar. These two sheets of paper were my fitness bible for the month. They stayed folded inside my planner and were referenced each day and week.

When planning my days, I use time blocking. This means, I think of my day in terms of blocks, or chunks, of time instead of hourly. I have 6 blocks of time in my day: Morning 1 (Before Daughter Wakes Up), Morning 2 (After Daughter Wakes Up), Naptime, Afternoon, Evening 1 (Dinner & Before Daughter Goes to Bed) and Evening 2 (After Daughter Goes to Bed & Before I Go to Bed).

Morning 1, Naptime and Evening 2 are the time blocks I use for running and my daily strength work. I usually get my run and daily strength workout finished during Morning 1 (5:00-7:00), but some days my daughter was up earlier, I hit snooze too many times, or my husband needed to be at work earlier. On days like this, I would use my daughter’s naptime to finish my strength work. If I was unable to get my run done in the morning, my in-laws would watch my daughter so I could get it done during the day. I get my run done and they get bonus time with their granddaughter, which makes it a win-win for everyone 🙂

All in all, I had a plan for each day, which helped me reach my fitness goals.

Write it Down! Writing my runs into my planner when planning out my weeks guaranteed it was accomplished each day. I treated my runs and daily strength workouts as appointments or events.

When planning my weeks on a Sunday, I write in all scheduled appointments and events (play dates, date nights, story time at the library, coffee dates with friends) first. Then, I fill in my time with MUST-DOs for the week or the things that HAVE TO get done. This is followed by the MIGHT-DOs or the things that I might get done during the week if there is time.

Have an Accountability Buddy! There are over 100 members in the Strong to the Core Facebook group. This means, there are over 100 accountability buddies. They were looking for my daily post!

One of my best running friends was also looking for my daily run reports. I would send her a text message or Facebook message with pictures of my weekly speed work and long runs. This held me accountable and kept me motivated each week 🙂

Another friend of mine is also training for a half marathon that happens to be on the same day as mine. We talk via text message throughout the week and check in with each other about our runs. Seeing her messages about her runs inspires me 🙂

My husband also encouraged and supported me each day! He asked about my runs and made sure I went to bed early each night so I didn’t have any trouble waking up in the morning. Having an accountability buddy and a great support system helps you reach your goals!

Overall, February was a positive month for me in the world of running and strength training. I set goals, made a concrete plan to reach those goals and put my plan into action! My husband and running friends really helped keep me motivated and on track each week. Running and strength training are important to me, so I made sure to find time for these activities.

You can make time for running and strength training too! By setting goals, making a plan and writing it down, you will be well on your way to getting it done!

What activities are important to you?  How do you make time for these activities?  I’d love to hear about it in the comments 🙂

 

 

 

 

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