Balance

Welcome back!

For our conversation today, I wanted to dive in and talk about how I balance training and my other activities (family, work, life). I’ll be honest, it’s an evolving process that doesn’t seem to have a 100% success rate. No matter how well you plan ahead, there will always be hiccups in your training schedule and life will always get in the way. When I was training for the Malibu half marathon last year, I was hyper focused on my training and would get so upset when something would interfere with my training. If I had to alter my training schedule in any way, I would put myself in a negative headspace and it affected me in other parts of my life. I don’t recommend having that mindset because it truly does alter your mood and energy. It makes you feel bitter and it makes you believe that you’re behind with your training when in reality, it has no major impact. The moment I had some time to myself after I was hospitalized last fall, I realized that things would never go to plan. If I was going to have a successful training program, it would depend on my ability to adapt and adjust with the changing circumstances.

I’m currently training for the San Diego half marathon in June, and I decided to take a completely different approach. I started my 14-week training plan 18 weeks before the race. I learned from my mistakes last year and wanted to have what I call “buffer weeks” incorporated into my training, meaning if I had an event that would throw off the timing of my training, I could use a buffer week that would keep me on track to finish the training plan on time. I signed up for the race around the middle of January and knew I had some events throughout the next couple of months (weddings, parties, etc). I planned for those events and had some additional buffer weeks in case anything came up out of the blue. A challenge that I’ve found is figuring out the mileage to run for the buffer week. For example, I had an 8-mile run planned two Saturdays ago, but I wasn’t going to be able to run it because I would be in Mexico for a wedding. I used a buffer week in my training, and just did 3 runs that week, each 4 miles, to not lose conditioning but to give my legs a break, since I had been training nonstop since January. When I resumed the training plan, I felt fresh and knocked out the 8-mile run the following Saturday. Implementing buffer weeks into my training has proved to be very beneficial.

When I’m on a normal training week, I do my recovery run on Sunday, speed run on Monday, rest on Tuesday, 2nd recovery run on Wednesday, 2nd speed run on Thursday, rest on Friday, and my long run on Saturday. This is an ideal week, because I work from home on Monday, and I can run and lift. Working from home eliminates my commute, which saves me time. On the days I run and commute, I like to be running by 7 am, depending on the type of run. I usually have to be out of the house by 8:20 am to make it to work on time at 9 am. I like to completely rest on Fridays to save my legs for the long run the following morning. It’d be amazing for me to say that I’m very disciplined and wake up everyday at 6 am, do my workouts on time, and never miss a beat. That’s just a big fat lie. I hit that snooze button about 3 times every morning (my fiancé is a trooper for going through that every single morning), take forever to put on clothes, and then get upset for being late to work when it’s all my fault. From the time I wake up to the time I start running, it’s usually about 45-60 minutes. So don’t feel bad when you wake up late to exercise and you’re rushing to get ready for work because you woke up later than usual, because I literally do that every single morning.

The important thing is that you get out there and do the workout. It doesn’t matter if you do it in the morning, afternoon, or evening, but as long as the workout gets done, then you did your part. I have to remind myself that there is no such thing as a perfect workout or training program. Things will always go wrong and there will always be minor inconveniences. You just have to get out there and get the work done. You’ll have to make some sacrifices to make your schedule work, like waking up early on a Saturday to go run or going to sleep earlier so you’re not exhausted the next morning for your run. I try to wake up earlier on Saturdays to knock out the long run so I can spend more time with my fiancé throughout the day and not be too tired to socialize if we go out. Training is important and should have a priority in your life, but just remind yourself that there’s a balance to everything.

Thanks for sitting down and reading another post, I am so grateful for everyone that’s dropped by since our launch. I’m excited to grow with you and I’m looking forward to our next conversation.

Have a great day 😊