How to find time for running and fit running into your daily life with work, family and everyday life? I will share several working options. It is not a fact that they will suit you (everything is individual), but perhaps you will come across new ideas and search for opportunities. As they say, make time, not excuses.
Those who want - look for opportunities, those who do not want - excuses. The undisputed leader among them is "I don't have time." Yes, there are circumstances in life when devoting time and energy to training is really too difficult and does not make sense, but in most cases this is not the case. Usually, it's only a matter of desire and motivation.
Time management for runners?
Morning runs
The easiest and most effective way to allocate personal time for physical education, without separating it from family or work, is to get up early in the morning. I shared the bonuses of morning runs: the day is longer, there is more energy, and the "done" checkmark next to a useful task sets the right mood. Personally, I still become an order of magnitude kinder and more tolerant of people? Going out for a run in the evening is morally more difficult: sometimes urgent matters and meetings suddenly arise, then the working day drags on, then overcomes fatigue and laziness. In addition, it is often the only time when the whole family gathers at home.
And there are beautiful dawns in the morning
What is needed for this:
- make a habit of going to bed and getting up earlier. Can I vividly imagine the expression on the faces of the entrenched owls, who have already had enough of this valuable advice? Three years ago, I would have beaten him myself, fiercely proving that you cannot change an owl's biorhythms, and even after one and a half dozen years of getting up in the morning, I suffer terribly and begin to function closer to noon. In fact, the regimen is solely a matter of habit and motivation (provided you get enough sleep to recover), and the body is an adaptive system.
- develop morning rituals and bring all the necessary actions to automatism. Morning meetings and going for a run should require a minimum of effort from the brain - like brushing your teeth.
- for the autumn and winter season, when it is dark in the morning, separately consider the illuminated route, equipment, and safety issues.
Running to / from work
Run commute is a very popular thing in Europe. Of course, our conditions are less conducive to running to/from work, especially in the cold season, but it is worth considering as an option. This is a good opportunity to save time, especially when you need to gain volume at an easy pace and use running for its intended purpose - to move in space.
A less applicable format in practice is running to work. Showers in our offices are not the most common option. But running away from work in this regard is a more interesting idea. A nice added bonus: a complete switch and clearing of the head after a working day.
What is needed for this:
- plan and scout a suitable route. It is clear that running in industrial zones or along busy roads is not an option. If only part of the route is suitable for running, you can combine it with public transport.
- calculate the time it will take to move and put yourself in order.
- buy a comfortable backpack for running - small, light and with good fixation on the body. For extra layers of clothing, carry-ons, etc.
- think about the turnover of clothes in which you are at work.
Here are my experiences and statistics of the year of running computing.
For moms "on the go"
Often, mothers of preschoolers and younger schoolchildren drive or take their children to all kinds of clubs and activities, spending time waiting for them in a useless conversation with the same parents somewhere in the corridor of a children's institution. Meanwhile, an hour and a half, during which the child is neutralized, is quite enough time for a run (or other useful work).
What is needed for this:
- explore the surrounding area for suitable routes.
- provide comfortable clothes and take extra layers with you to change clothes and not get cold after the run.
Family cycling-running format
Cycling-running format
If the child is confident riding a bicycle, you can arrange joint runs and rides in a safe place, having agreed in advance to stay together. An easy walk for a cyclist = a good work pace for a runner. So other members of the non-runner family can also be involved, and at the same time be used as a mobile food station.
Running with children
Joint training at the stadium
A good option for older parents of children is training at the stadium, which includes jogging and walking together with the child. Mandatory condition: children must be sufficiently aware and trained adequately to perceive the rules of behavior in the stadium and follow them (comrades, some adults, does it not hurt you to know that it is not accepted to shake the player on the first track?) If this is not the case, then it is better not to risk: firstly, the child can interfere with others, and secondly, it is simply not safe.
Together, you can do a warm-up and a delay for a couple of kilometers (for an adult, this will be an easy option before / after the main work, and for a child - a full-fledged workout), short accelerations, exercises to strengthen the feet. While an adult does speed work, children play moving games (not on tracks, of course), long jump and engage in other activities - there is usually enough space in the stadium. A good opportunity to combine a full-fledged training and a high-quality active walk, especially relevant for schoolchildren.
What is needed for this:
- convey to the child the rules of behavior at the stadium and check how they have been learned. Control in the process, especially at first.
- come up with options for mobile games and activities while you do the work.
- motivate the child to run and do exercises together. For example, joint participation in a competition where there are children's races can work.
- don't forget to take a drink, snack and wet wipes with you.
Running + communication
If you are not just running "for health", but also preparing for a half-marathon or a marathon, there is nowhere to go from long ones. Usually, such training is carried out every week, most often - on a weekend, because only the run itself takes 2-3 hours of pure time. Plus, in many cases, it takes time to get to a convenient place (you can’t run 30 km around the house, and not everyone has the luxury of a park or a forest under the house), plus stretching after plus drinking tea plus sleeping to wake up - the result is pleasure stretches until almost noon.
You will have to allocate time in any case, but there is also good news: long training sessions are well combined with communication, because. the best pace for them is conversational. After an interesting conversation, the kilometers are counted faster, and running is easier, and the whining of the brain is not so annoying. It is not difficult to find interlocutors: there are running clubs, communities in social networks, invitations to joint runs and running excursions regularly appear in thematic groups. There are more and more diverse people: if you want to find a company or a long-term partner of interest to you, it is not a problem.
More options suggested by readers.
Running with a baby
Usually, babies have a positive attitude to moving quickly in a stroller, which is manifested in a healthy sound sleep. However, there are limitations: the younger the child, the more critical it is that the surface is flat and there is no shaking. I agree that we don't have many places like this, but if you are lucky enough to live near a park with flat paths, it makes sense to consider buying a jogging stroller.
As an option, use a stroller for jogging in a stadium with a good surface. I won't talk about logistics, are mothers of babies already professionals in this matter?