I think we turned a corner in week 4, and now we are just tearing it up out there. Speaking for myself, I am really feeling STRONG!
I missed boot camp on Monday, because Henry woke up as I was walking out the door – but I did end up getting a run in later that evening [even thought I truly HATE running at night]. I was able to go Wednesday morning, so that was my cross-training for the week.
I ran a total of 12.38 miles — my first double digit week in a while.
I’ve reached that point in my training where I feel good enough to go out and run ALL THE MILES FOREVER … but I have to keep reminding myself that I’m basically a beginner who needs to take it slow and easy for a while longer. As Dimity says, “I’d rather run forever than run one race.”
I originally planned on putting in one half-marathon this year, but I’ve decided to hold off on that until Henry weans. Lucy weaned while I was training for the half-marathon that I couldn’t run due to my miscarriage, and I’m not sure if it had anything to do with my supply or if she just chose that time to wean, but Henry is my last baby, and I’m just not ready to give that up, yet. So I’ll keep my mileage low for a while longer, keep on trucking, and then I will hopefully get to run my first official half-marathon in 2014. Finally.
Weekly high: my fastest 5k since before Henry was born! I turned one day of training into speed work, and I ended up running my fastest 5k in a very long time. That felt kind of awesome.
Weekly low: sneezing through every run. I guess this is the trade-off of having beautiful weather in April … but by the end of my workouts, I’m usually a total snot-dripping, swollen-eyed MESS. [That's hot]
I don’t know if it’s because we are busy moms who make time to run or what, but other moms tend to tell Erin and I why they can’t run or run early or get out of bed or find time to workout with kids.
It’s kind of odd, actually. We don’t ask. We don’t brag. We don’t judge. We just post about how things are going to get encouragement or feedback or as a virtual diary, and someone always randomly busts out an excuse as to why they can’t do it.
So we thought we’d take this week to talk about how WE overcome the excuses in our heads, because, trust me, we don’t LOVE getting up early and running on cold, dark mornings.
I will be the first person to say, I’m not perfect. I am a mom who chooses to make time for working out. Sure, there have been times I’ve skipped a workout because the kids were up sick all night or the weather was junk or blah blah blah. I’ve been there, done that. I’m also the first person to beat myself up over the dumb excuses, but at the end of the day [or beginning of the day, in my case], I really just have to get over myself and get my tushy out of the bed.
The biggest excuse I tell myself is … “I have a 9-month old who still doesn’t sleep through the night, so it’s really hard to get up that early.”
But I remind myself of three things …
a.| how GREAT I feel after my workout
b.| how I will be DONE in an hour
c.| Erin gets up an hour earlier than I do and then teaches all day … now THAT is amazing to me!
I love getting it out of the way so that I don’t have to think about how I’m going to squeeze it in — or how I’m going to excuse my way out of it. Believe me, if I had all day to figure out a way to get out of it, I probably would! I’m also lucky enough to have a husband who is at home to listen for the kids [who are usually still sleeping] so that I can go out and get it done.
If you want to start getting into a workout routine, it CAN be done. There are so many options … Gyms with childcare. Yoga classes in the evening after hubby gets home. Walking/jogging with kids in the stroller. Workout videos [they've really improved since the Jane Fonda days, ha!]
I’ve always preferred running because it’s something I can do right outside my front door for free.
[I'm sure I could make up something that is really prolific and motivational, but I'm cheap and don't like driving places. The end.]
Anyway, if you are a busy mom who wants to start running, a great site to visit is AnotherMotherRunner.com — there are so many inspirational stories of normal moms who lead extremely busy lives, single moms, moms coming back from injuries or babies [hello!], moms who work full time, etc.
source: Runner’s World
The first excuse is the hardest one … once you excuse your way out of one workout, the other excuses come a whole lot easier. But at the end of a long list of excuses is this truth … it’s 30 minutes. I spend more time checking twitter and facebook in a typical day.
