Time crunch

Image via Wikipedia

As the year draws to a close and the holidays approach, we all have less free time in our schedules. Between work, family obligations, and social events, it can be tough to keep up with your training plan. However, running can be a great outlet for stress relief, so it’s important to figure out ways to fit it in.

When you know your week will be busy, plan ahead. First, decide how many miles you’d like to run (be realistic!), take a look at your day planner, and then schedule in your runs as you would any other essential appointment. The important thing is to have a plan. Rather than vaguely hoping to run a few miles on Tuesday morning, decide on a specific workout (i.e. hills, tempo, recovery run, etc) and write it down in the calendar. It’s much harder to skip a run when it has a defined purpose.

Even the best laid plans need tweaking sometimes. You may prefer to run in the evenings, but if you know you’ll be staying late at work all week, plan for that. Try leaving a change of clothes in your office and commuting to work via running (and then take public transportation home at night). Or you could slip away for a quick 3 miler at lunch time or fit in a tempo run on the treadmill after you put the kids to bed. If you have a plan that allows for some flexibility, you’ll definitely find small pockets of time to exercise.

If your boss or family members give you a hard time about fitting running into your packed schedule, remind them that a good, sweaty run makes you a more productive (and less cranky!) person. Invite your family to this year’s Turkey Trot or Jingle Bell 5K. Even if they’re not interested in running, they can participate by cheering and then joining you for a celebratory breakfast at the local diner afterward.  And have you ever thought of running errands (literally)? If you bring a small backpack, you can easily run to the library, post office, or grocery store. The more you can integrate running into your everyday life, the easier it will be.

Try to be realistic about your running schedule – November and December may not be the best time to ramp up mileage. If you trained for a marathon this fall, you can cut mileage in half during the holiday season and still maintain a baseline fitness level. And every little bit counts – a 10 minute run before work or even some lunges & push-ups while dinner is in the oven will help you stay healthy and sane!

Do you have any tips for squeezing in runs when life gets busy? I’m planning on being in the office late this week, so hopefully I can follow some of my own advice!

By Megan Kretz