Fitting running into life

ecoli

There are alot of people who use the excuse of work/family/social life for not being able to get out to hit high mileage

Also the notion that 2-3/4 is the most you can do successfully.

Personally I think this is a load of horse s"£t so I said I would start a thread where people can share advice on how to make the most of their time and how they can fit everything in without being wrecked and can come to ask how the can manage it with help from others

BrendanCro

Obviously benig in my 20's with no kids means its easier to find the time than for some on here but as I work long hours I find if I run at 7 a.m. then I have no excuse and not running = laziness! Anytime I plan an evening run I invarably get caught in work and can't get out.

As have showers in work I do a loop around and back to my house with 2 miles left in whatever I plan to run, grab my bag and run the 2 miles into the office. Got hooked on morning runs very early and now don't feel 100% if I haven't ran pre work and the idea of walking to work depresses me!

Gringo78

ecoli wrote: »

There are alot of people who use the excuse of work/family/social life for not being able to get out to hit high mileage

Also the notion that 2-3/4 is the most you can do successfully.

Personally I think this is a load of horse s"£t so I said I would start a thread where people can share advice on how to make the most of their time and how they can fit everything in without being wrecked and can come to ask how the can manage it with help from others

Are you married? Do you have kids? How many hours a week do you work?

ecoli

Gringo78 wrote: »

Are you married? Do you have kids? How many hours a week do you work?

Work 50+ hours a week. Not married. Dont have kids though make a habit of minding god child once a week though i know this is not a substitution.

I can see people saying that awh its easy for me to say however when I was in college still worked 40 hour weeks (nights and weekends) and managed to keep up mileage. I not having a go at people but I just think that there are ways to make time to still get out and train.

I found the best tips for trying to fit it all in:

Morning/lunch runs: This is a way to fit in when you feel you have no time
Running as a form of transport: Rather than being stuck in traffic for about the same duration as a quick easy run can be another way of fitting it in
Kids Track sessions are great for this allow the kids to play on the inner track (football or what ever they wanna do) while conducting a session

how do other people manage it?

RacoonQueen

Not everyone has the facilities that they can run to work/during lunch. Nor would they have time for lunch, some people don't have desk jobs...

tunney

Gringo78 wrote: »

Are you married? Do you have kids? How many hours a week do you work?

I'm married. 19 month old fantastic daughter. Another due in 10 weeks.

I used to be an active runner and triathlete. Stopped this year. Nothing to do with my wife or SuperTot. It's my birthday next week. My wife wanted to enter me in Dublin marathon as she wanted me back training. (let's ignore the fact that this was 6 days before an ironman). I was even told enter that race I wanted to do, target sub x:00. I was just lazy this year. In 2010 I was more applied. Family never stopped me in 2010. I stopped myself. People stop themselves.

Being married with kids is no excuse. it's a matter of balance. Too fR one way and you are a pr1ck and not being good to your family. Too far the other way and your OH is being a pr1ck and not giving you space.

Ditch the Telly, sleep less, drink less and wow there is time for training. I think you can get to 10 hours a week without the family noticing.

Andromeda_111

I find the only way I hit my weekly target is to get most of my runs done in the morning because inevitably something comes up in the evening time that scuppers my plans. I can't do lunch time runs because I have hair that doesn't respond well to moisture/heat so I'd need to wash, dry and straighten so I just wouldn't have the time

Gringo78

ecoli wrote: »

Work 50+ hours a week. Not married. Dont have kids though make a habit of minding god child once a week though i know this is not a substitution.

I can see people saying that awh its easy for me to say however when I was in college still worked 40 hour weeks (nights and weekends) and managed to keep up mileage. I not having a go at people but I just think that there are ways to make time to still get out and train.

I found the best tips for trying to fit it all in:

Morning/lunch runs: This is a way to fit in when you feel you have no time
Running as a form of transport: Rather than being stuck in traffic for about the same duration as a quick easy run can be another way of fitting it in
Kids Track sessions are great for this allow the kids to play on the inner track (football or what ever they wanna do) while conducting a session

how do other people manage it?

when you have no kids then all your free time is your own....you can be 100% selfish and generally are...you do what you want to do, when you want to do it. There are 168 hours in a week - 56hrs sleep + 70hrs work still leaves a lot of hours (42hours). A 70 mile week only takes 8 hours of training so yeah, if you only need to think of yourself then no excuse for not getting the miles in.

Throw marriage and kids into the equation though and everything changes.....you can't be selfish anymore. Every hour you spend running is an hour you're not spending with your kids or your wife. Yeah, things might be easier when the kid is older and can play in the centre of the track unattended or is off at their own sports session but with the age of my kid, can't do that yet.

I do fit the training in....not as much as I would like, but as much as I can..lunchtimes at work, long runs on evenings when I have to stay the night away with work (very hard to do an 18 miler at 8pm in the evening after being up since 5.30am) and at weekends I run with the buggy or else run while wife cycles alongside with kid in bike seat.

madon

OasisGirl wrote: »

I can't do lunch time runs because I have hair that doesn't respond well to moisture/heat so I'd need to wash, dry and straighten so I just wouldn't have the time

See this is my problem too, its not the time to go running that is the problem its the having to have a shower, wash, blow dry straighten hair afterwards sometimes that takes longer than the actual runs for me anyway!

rainbow kirby

madon wrote: »

blow dry straighten hair afterwards sometimes that takes longer than the actual runs for me anyway!

There are certain perks to having very short hair :cool:

huskerdu

ecoli wrote: »

I not having a go at people

Yes you are.

You don't have kids, you are clueless about the amount of time that young kids take. Minding one kid for a few hours a week is nothing.

I have three kids, aged 10, 7 and 3. I am not looking for sympathy. I dont "use them as a horse**** excuse" to use your phrase to get out of running.
I just dont have a lot of time for myself outside of work and the kids, and I have to fit running in when I can.

You ask how to people do it ?

Its simple.

Once both of you are home from work in the evening you do the following

Housework
Spending time with the kids
Spending time with each other
Fun stuff ( ie running, social life etc )
Sleep

Its not rocket science, decide who much time you want to dedicate to each of these items and get on with it. What balance between these things which works for me wont work for you or anyone else.

My top tips

Find a spouse who doesn't mind doing all the housework and minding the kids
Find a spouse who doesn't mind never seeing you
Have kids who sleep a lot
Develop low standards of household hygiene or employ a cleaner

Andromeda_111

rainbow kirby wrote: »

There are certain perks to having very short hair :cool:

If I could pull off a 'Sinead O'Connor' look I would be very tempted

tunney

huskerdu wrote: »

Yes you are.

You don't have kids, you are clueless about the amount of time that young kids take. Minding one kid for a few hours a week is nothing.

I have three kids, aged 10, 7 and 3. I am not looking for sympathy. I dont "use them as a horse**** excuse" to use your phrase to get out of running.
I just dont have a lot of time for myself outside of work and the kids, and I have to fit running in when I can.

You ask how to people do it ?

Its simple.

Once both of you are home from work in the evening you do the following

Housework
Spending time with the kids
Spending time with each other
Fun stuff ( ie running, social life etc )
Sleep

Its not rocket science, decide who much time you want to dedicate to each of these items and get on with it. What balance between these things which works for me wont work for you or anyone else.

My top tips

Find a spouse who doesn't mind doing all the housework and minding the kids
Find a spouse who doesn't mind never seeing you
Have kids who sleep a lot
Develop low standards of household hygiene or employ a cleaner

This I can see the sense in. Once the TinyTunneys are older a time intensive sport just as long distance tri is out. I'll revert to the goal of a fast marathon. Achieviable on 8 hours a week. Feck all sleep and no life outside family, work and training, but as any family man knows all you need is family!

madon

rainbow kirby wrote: »

There are certain perks to having very short hair :cool:

OasisGirl wrote: »

If I could pull off a 'Sinead O'Connor' look I would be very tempted

I'm the same and the kids would 'die of embarrassment' if I got dreads:p

tunney

Having thought about this further and having previously been that misinformed childless person I am refining my opinion to what I know. Having a child under 24 months is no excuse for not training. More and older kids, I'll tell you in a few years

kit3

huskerdu wrote: »

ecoli wrote: »

I not having a go at people

Yes you are.

You don't have kids, you are clueless about the amount of time that young kids take. Minding one kid for a few hours a week is nothing.

I have three kids, aged 10, 7 and 3. I am not looking for sympathy. I dont "use them as a horse**** excuse" to use your phrase to get out of running.
I just dont have a lot of time for myself outside of work and the kids, and I have to fit running in when I can.

You ask how to people do it ?

Its simple.

Once both of you are home from work in the evening you do the following

Housework
Spending time with the kids
Spending time with each other
Fun stuff ( ie running, social life etc )
Sleep

Its not rocket science, decide who much time you want to dedicate to each of these items and get on with it. What balance between these things which works for me wont work for you or anyone else.

My top tips

Find a spouse who doesn't mind doing all the housework and minding the kids
Find a spouse who doesn't mind never seeing you
Have kids who sleep a lot
Develop low standards of household hygiene or employ a cleaner

In the same boat with 3 kids - 10, 7 and 5 and a full time job. Getting by on lunchtime runs and the odd very early weekend one. Work, kids activities and just time with them take must of my time. Have been known to run around the gaa pitch while my son is training on occasions when the other two are not with us. Must say I just love the 'head space' running gives me when all else is so busy !

griffin100

I have 4 kids, 7, 5, 3 and 3 months. Having kids does not stop you training, making the choice to spend time talking, playing and reading to your kids stops you training. I have a busy job and I commute 3 hrs per day. When I get home I have to make the choice, do I spend time with my kids before they go to bed or do I arrive home, say hello and head out for a swim, a run or cycle. The kids always win and so they should. That said with careful time management and a very very understanding wife 10-12hrs per week is doable, great for marathon training; not so good for ironman training.

Krusty_Clown

I count myself lucky to have only developed an interest in running when my kids were already pretty grown up (ran my first marathon when my kids were 8 and 14).

It gets so much easier. Sure, the kids need to be dropped off to Kung Fu, Gymnastics, swimming, football, and every other interest under the sun, but you manage. We all compromise, and the runs still get done. The dinners still get cooked. The home-work is checked. The shopping is bought. The grass is cut, and the cleaner cleans.

woodchopper

I going to back Ecoli up on this thread. The reason people do not train that much is because they do not want to train that much. Simple no excuses, also what difference does the wife make. Sure she could be busy cooking the dinner while you go out running!

kit3

woodchopper wrote: »

I going to back Ecoli up on this thread. The reason people do not train that much is because they do not want to train that much. Simple no excuses, also what difference does the wife make. Sure she could be busy cooking the dinner while you go out running!

Problem is when the wife is the one running (along with the cooking, cleaning, laundry ......... ) (insert 'smilie' - can't find them on this phone !)

nerraw1111

Who cares.

Care about your own training. End of. Obviously if your working 50 + plus hours and yet still care what others are doing, you're not training hard enough etc I'm awesome ad nauseam

ger664

Anyone who is married with kids is not going to get 8-10 hours training in without the support of the other half and the kids. I started running when my kids where old enough to raid the fridge, so hats off to anyone who can get it done when there kids are in the feed me wipe my arse stage of life.

Under the current circumstances there is no way I would have done the training I have done this year without the help/support of my kids (14/10) and extended family as herself indoors has been pretty much laid up since January.

hunnymonster

as usual Tunney makes a lot of sense.

Most people have relatively predictable work lives. Even my husband whose job is b it's definition to deal with he shi-hitting-the-fan at least knows what hours he will be working and can plan training sessions around this. I think it would be rare enough that work is a valid excuse for not training on a regular basis.

Similarly, we all choose our partners/spouses. If you've got one that doesn't support/encourage/facilitate your training, you chose badly.

Having recently moved from the non-kids to kids category, I would say that kids are the one factor that can throw a spanner in the works. Babies take a whole lot of time. One day I timed it and I was feeding for 15 of 24 hours. Noone else can do that (unless ecoli, you reckon your godfathering skills are up to lactation?). So in the other 9 hours, I still need to eat, clean, wash pukey baby clothes, have some sort of occassional conversation with my husband and try to recover from pregnancy and birth. There just isnt enough time to sleep so do I squeeze in some training on exhsusted body and risk even longer injuries than the broken tailbone I already have from birth? I know the baby stage doesn't last forever, but there will be teething (what do you mean yo've sore gums and need a cuddle at 5am, do you not know this is when I have a run penciled in my diary). I've not done it yet but I understand weenning can make the current feeding times seem like fast food. etc.., etc., etc... Baby Zuppymonster didn't pick two endurance athletes as parents, and I'll be damned if I'm going to give ZM second best to go training. If it fits ZM's schedule, great (I managed an hour on the spinning bike last night, I helped out at swimming events the last two weekends for example, Zuppy was in California running across the sierra nevada mountains when ZM was a week old) but if Zm needs me, then yes, that will be my "excuse" and I won't be training.

DULLAHAN2

What ya need is a job that has flexi time. I fit my work around my running and family. I dont run mon and fri so i go into work early to make time up for the week my wife doesnt work mon-fri as she is a nurse and works every other day.

I pick my child up at five when she is in the babysitter, my wife drops her off in the morning so for me it is tough but very doable. Without the support of my wife mind i would find it hard to keep running.

Having a spouse who understands why you are running helps greatly. Having a child makes you better at time management that's for sure. I bring her to the track when i can and she spends her time kicking a ball into the soccer nets and because there is 2 she gets double the fun.

Also when i want to do a long run on a sunday and my wife is working my parents take my daughter and tell me to do double the distance so they can spend more time with her.

At the end of the day its about TIME MANAGEMENT, WANTING TO DO IT, AND HAVING A SUPPORTIVE FAMILY

TheRoadRunner

I've started to train better and more frequently since we had kids. I plan my day and select a time to run. I make sure I get out at that time unless an emergency pops up. yes I've had to miss the odd day here or there but you should always find at least an hour ot "you" time per day. I decide to spend that time running. Since Christmas I've had about 7-10 nights of 8+ hours sleep. The rest have been seriously interrupted. I'm sometimes like the walking dead but I never use it is an excuse not to train.

DublinDilbert

I've no kids, so can't comment on that, but do have family that need things done on a regular basis. When I'm very busy I find early morning is great for the short runs (<10 miles). Find I'm much more productive when I'm busy, much less procrastination!

LSR on a Saturday takes 2 hours, maybe up to 3 if your doing a marathon, that's not a massive amount of time from the w/e. How many people go to the pub to watch a match? Or stay in bed hung over on sat/sun? Some people do waste a lot of time, without a thought.

Reading some posts above one thing that makes a difference is that I don't have a big commute to work and hours are some what flexible.

racheljev

I'm a SAHM with 3 kids - 11, 8 and 5. I don't work outside the home but OH does and puts in long hours (not complaining, just glad he has a job) So I run early. And that's my only option. I tried bringing the kids to the park and running around while they played in the middle. But I was too distracted making sure they were ok. And they got bored of watching Mammy run around them in circles, shouting "are you ok??" Alarm goes off before 6, and I get the run in before OH goes to work. Can't rely on him being home at a particular time, so it's basically get up and get out, or don't get it done. It's not easy, especially when one has a nightmare at 2 a.m. and another pukes all over the place at 4 a.m. but hey, what else am I going to do? This way, I can guarantee 10 hours during weekdays. Weekends are also a juggle with gymnastics and GAA but it gets done. I'm not eating into the time I spend with the kids or OH, I'm just eating into my sleep time

ThisRegard

woodchopper wrote: »

I going to back Ecoli up on this thread. The reason people do not train that much is because they do not want to train that much. Simple no excuses, also what difference does the wife make. Sure she could be busy cooking the dinner while you go out running!

I'm hoping your tongue is firmly in your cheek there, and you'd be thumped around for that last line in my house. I've been fortunate enough to have flexible working hours and home working recently so can get lunch time and early afternoon sessions in before collecting my baby from the creche and wife getting home.

When on a client site it's a completely different storey. Having to be in their office 9-5 involves the following
Up between 6 and 6.30. Get the baby changed, fed and dressed. Get the dogs walked and fed. Get myself washed, dressed and fed. Eventually drop baby to creche and get to office wherever that happens to be at the time.

Work in the office with an hour lunch with no shower facilities. Leave office at 5, collect baby after 6 traffic depending. Feed baby, feed dogs, walk baby and dogs. My wife travels a lot for her job so she probably won't be home until around 7 or 8 so I'll get the dinner going while entertaining said baby and dogs. Eventually baby goes to bed and by the time she settles it's usually 8.30 or 9. Only then can I think about heading out.

Anyone without a baby or child would not understand how big a time sink they are, I didn't until I had one. When the weekend comes around you can get out early so you can then spend the day with your wife and child.

I simply do not accept that the reason I don't get out as much as I did is because I don't want to. I can either decide I want to spend more time working and training, or I can sacrifice some training for family time. There's only going to be one winner every time.

littlebug

With kids it does take some juggling but not impossible especially as they get bigger. Two evenings I try to get out as soon as my husband arrives home. Weekend long runs I'll usually be up and away while he's still in bed... kids usually just go up and torment him there anyway :pac: Once kids are back at school I have lots of time to run. Have to say it'd be way harder for him to do any decent level of running... gone from 7am - 7.30 pm Mon-Fri. He makes do (and is reasonably happy with) a couple of treadmill runs a week.
As others have said having a very understanding partner is crucial. When you're as slow as me long runs take a long time.... when I was up to the big miles last year I'd be gone for hours on Sunday morning.


eta... couldn't have done it when kids were in the baby/ toddler phase. Kudos to those who do.

dna_leri

ecoli wrote: »

There are alot of people who use the excuse of work/family/social life for not being able to get out to hit high mileage

Also the notion that 2-3/4 is the most you can do successfully.

Personally I think this is a load of horse s"£t so I said I would start a thread where people can share advice on how to make the most of their time and how they can fit everything in without being wrecked and can come to ask how the can manage it with help from others

The intentions in this post are laudable - its interesting to see how other people juggle their schedules.

However I would not give advice to someone trying to break into senior ranks as I have no experience of this. Likewise advice to parents about managing their time with their family comes across as patronising and "a load of horse sh1t" if you have no experience of it.

ecoli

dna_leri wrote: »

The intentions in this post are laudable - its interesting to see how other people juggle their schedules.

However I would not give advice to someone trying to break into senior ranks as I have no experience of this. Likewise advice to parents about managing their time with their family comes across as patronising and "a load of horse sh1t" if you have no experience of it. Come back in 10 years.

My horse sh1t reference was that you to previous comment about the notion that you cant successfully manage college/work, girlfriend/wife, kids/social life all together not directed at people with kids

It is interesting that people jumped on the kids aspect with only one poster referring to the social life aspect

Again I am not trying to preach advice, the idea of the thread was to get people to share time management tips amongst each other so that posters who feel they dont have time can see them and think "hmmm never thought of that one" and get ideas. My post of tips was simply how i coped with college work and social life as well as training and was in relation to the questions I was asked rather than to preach ideas

The reason I posted this was in response to a lad in work who i was chatting with telling me how he can only manage 20-30mpw because of the missus and family yet still manages to make to the pub 1-2 nights a week or out with the lads as well seeing X,Y and Z tv shows throughout the week/films

And in response to poster who thinks this is an attempt at self praise at training i get done or my lifestyle its not.

I agree that unexpected training setbacks can happen from time to time as HM said ( and no i dont think my lactation skills are up to scratch these days:D) but overall as tRR said if you plan your day out you can fit it in if you want to.

Again this thread was set up as an attempt to get people to share time management tips moreso than anything not having a go as people seem to be interpretting my post as

nerraw1111

Fair enough ecoli. I initially interpreted the thread as having a go at people. Sorry! I’ve nothing to add as I’m footloose and fancy free and can train whenever.

dna_leri

In my experience, the main restriction on how much time and effort you put into your training is your own motivation and desire. That does not change whether or not you have children. However what does change throughout life is your priorities and at each stage you need to see where running fits into those priorities.

At some stages, your social life may take priority - hence the number of athletes choosing to drop out at that critical late teens stage, which I did.
At another stage, your priority may be your work and you choose to put in the long hours etc, which I did.

If you have children, the level of support you get from your partner determines how difficult those choices are. With a very supportive partner it is an easier choice to put long hours into training (or other time-consuming hobby) because they will cover your back. Even with that high level of support you still make choices e.g. do I read Lord of the Rings to my son at bedtime or do I go for a run OR do I stay and support my son at his football match or use that time to go for a run.

In the end it still comes down to your own choices which are driven by your motivation and desire - to paraphrase Honeymonster "you choose your partner" and you can always change that choice or you can change your priorities.

woodchopper

Of course Ecoli is the 'bad guy' in all of this. All he did was ponder a few questions yet the masses who have children jump on their silly bandwagon and pillage myself and him for a variety of reasons. Some posts on this thread have been borderline abusive which is amazing considering the OP is the top moderator on the Athletics forum in quite a long time. None of this dictoral nonsense that some others have taken in the past.

Regards
Woodchopper

ecoli

woodchopper wrote: »

Of course Ecoli is the 'bad guy' in all of this.

Im out to re invent my image. Chics dig the "bad boy"

ThisRegard

Woodchopper, it's your post I have issues with, it covers everything from verging on sexism to making wild assumptions about people and domestic situations you know nothing about. You removed the chocks from the ' silly bandwagon' and let it roll away.

woodchopper

ThisRegard wrote: »

Woodchopper, it's your post I have issues with, it covers everything from verging on sexism to making wild assumptions about people and domestic situations you know nothing about. You removed the chocks from the ' silly bandwagon' and let it roll away.

No need for this

ThisRegard

Too bloody regular !

Edit: should have quoted your post I just replied to, it was smart post enquiring if I was a regular here and as to whom wears the trousers in my household, which you since removed.

ecoli

Mod: Gentle reminder to play nice or ill have to start handing out "time outs"

robinph

If you're posting on here then you have time for more training, or your boss doesn't work you hard enough during the day.

ThisRegard

Or you're sitting around relaxing while the baby is asleep or just so good at your job you're either the boss, or can do what the boss asks you to do in half the time expected and use the other half as me time.

Ironically I'm on the way out for a hill session, baby just awake and having dinner before her and mammy go out on a play date. You see, there's a balance and an understanding in my house too !

huskerdu

Interesting thread.

I am part of it, but I have just reread it and here is my further analysis upon mature recollection ( ie. I am soberer then when I replied last night)

Ecoli raised a legitimate issue, but in my humble opinion worded it dreadfully badly and came across all wrong (unintentionally)

It is notable that it is the parents of young kids ( like myself) that replied about the difficulties of finding time to run / train.

Good reason for that is that if you have a choice of drinking / socialising / watching telly / other hobbies / running then it is completely up to you how much time you dedicate to running, and saying that you don't have time is a weak excuse - decide how much time you WANT to dedicate to running and live up to your plans / targets or drop your targets. No one is interested in your excuses.

Having young kids or a job that demands long hours and/or long commute or elderly parents who need care ( or all three ) is different . You can't do what you like with your spare time ( if you have any) and you have to compromise.

Its still the same answer - work out what time you can dedicate to running and stick to the plan, as best you can and enjoy life......

Arthurdaly

Ecoli is talking rubbish in my opinion. He/She is obviously blesseed with little commitment and lots of time to play around with training!

Just because your experience leads you to belive the general public has that same time to dedicate to their hobby is fawed! I highlight the word "hobby" because almost all people in here will never be on the podium and have no aspirations as such.

Your outlook does not apply to all!!

RoyMcC

Arthurdaly wrote: »

Ecoli is talking rubbish in my opinion. He/She is obviously blesseed with little commitment and lots of time to play around with training!

Just because your experience leads you to belive the general public has that same time to dedicate to their hobby is fawed! I highlight the word "hobby" because almost all people in here will never be on the podium and have no aspirations as such.

Your outlook does not apply to all!!

Huh Did you not read ecoli's post #31?

Larry Brent

Can I throw the question back to you ecoli? What excuse do you have for not running 120 miles a week? Based on the premise that the vast majority of top distance runners run 13-14 times a week and 100-120 miles. If this is the optimal way to train, anyone who is not doing this must have some excuse?

I'm playing devils advocate, but with 2 kids now I can only manage 70miles a week (run at 5am) if I also want to have the time that I want with my family. I have made the choice not to do an extra 5-6 miles every evening (even though I could fit it in when the wife is there to mind them or they are sleeping) because I'd rather spend the time with them. So I've sacrificed my running potential. But I'm happy for now to get as much as I can out of myself on 70 a week. But I know that I'd do better if I could run more. For me family is the only reason to allow this. I wouldn't let work get in the way. Certainly not social life.

I only wish I'd realised this before I had the kids...

I take it this may have come up on the back of a letsrun.com thread? On there a father wanting to run twice a day went looking for advice. Some sad stories posted back about children not being close to their parents due to the parent always running. Makes you think...

huskerdu

Maybe its time to answer the original question - how to people fit running into a tight schedule.

Running to/from work - If its possible, its great. We have showers and a locker room, which makes it very easy

I am the obsessive Mammy who shows up at every kids event in running gear. As soon as they are dropped off to birthday parties / GAA practice / ballet lessons, I am off ( and I wonder why I have no friends ?)

Late at night / early in the morning

This all works if you want to run two or three times a week. Its frustrating if you want to follow a training plan.

All I am trying to do is improve my PBs at 10k and half marathon ( 50 minutes and 1.57 currently). It is hard to plan specific training sessions like intervals / tempo / LSRs when you are dictated by your schedule for other stuff and your run is dictated by having to be somewhere ( work or pick up kids) in exactly 70 minutes.

robinph

huskerdu wrote: »

I am the obsessive Mammy who shows up at every kids event in running gear. As soon as they are dropped off to birthday parties / GAA practice / ballet lessons, I am off ( and I wonder why I have no friends ?)

Join a running club with a kids section. Turn up with kids, leave someone else to "train" them for an hour, you go running with other people.

BrokenMan

Firstly I dont train a lot compared to most folks and secondly I never ran before we had kids so I dont have anything to compare it to.

It's all a matter of balance I suppose. And it's an individaul question for everyone. You have to prioritise the demands on your time and then fit them into the available hours in the day. Taking that there are 4 main categories in life for a runner
1) Work, for those of us who have jobs. I include stay at home parents in this.
2) Family time
3) Down Time, be that going out to the pub or sitting watching TV
4) Training/Racing

Now for everyone their priorites will be different, for me its Family, Work, Training, Social Life. Other will put their Social Life at the top of their list, and thats is absulutely their right.

Now the OP was probably slightly badly worded and acknowledged as such later, however the point is valid. Someone using for example family time as an excuse for not training is being a bit unfair on their family for starters. It's not an excuse, it's a reason. You choose not to train in order to spend time with your family, or socialising or whatever.

I'm hoping that I'm making my point properly here, basically you have a choice of what do do with your free time and you allocate it as best you can. What each person does is their own decision and no one else should critisise that. Im not implying that Ecoli was critisising here as I dont believe that is the case.

Anyway to answer the OP, I have 3 kids 2, 6, and 8, work full time and fit my training in as best I can around that. The main ways I have found to maximise that is

1) I have one evening a week that's 'mine'. what i decide to do in that is totally up to me and I use it to train. My OH has one as well. The other evenings are usually spent together, at least until the kids are in bed and then I might get a run in or she gets in a walk.
2) I'm lucky enough to have shower facilities at work and get a run in 3 or 4 lunchtime each week.
3) Up early one morning at the weekend to get in my Long Run.

Like I said I could train more but I decide not to in order to spend more time with the family.

Bloody hell I don't normally write rambling posts like that. I must have too much time on my hands, I'm off for a run

RayCun

robinph wrote: »

Join a running club with a kids section. Turn up with kids, leave someone else to "train" them for an hour, you go running with other people.

This is handy alright, the reason I run with Knocklyon Runners these days. (Running while my son is training, and running in and out of work are the runs that don't mean leaving OH to look after the kids)

But it only became an option when my son turned 8, and depended on him liking it, and the club is off for the summer, and it's only an hour long so doesn't help for the long runs, and OH still has to be home to look after our daughter...

RayCun

BrokenMan wrote: »

It's not an excuse, it's a reason. You choose not to train in order to spend time with your family, or socialising or whatever.

But they're not really the same.
I enjoy socialising with my friends, but if I say "sorry, can't meet you tonight, I've got to run", the worst thing that will happen is that after getting snubbed too often they'll no longer be my friends.
I enjoy spending time with my kids (usually :rolleyes:) but they can't just be left on their own because I want to go for a run. Someone has to look after them. And while its okay for me to sacrifice my socialising time for running, it's not okay for me to sacrifice my wife's down time.

BrokenMan

RayCun wrote: »

And while its okay for me to sacrifice my socialising time for running, it's not okay for me to sacrifice my wife's down time.

Very true.

I suppose in my case its that we both ensure that we have our own down time each week and it's up to us what we do with it. Certainly I wouldn't be suggesting that we can sacrafice our OH's down time.

As I said family comes first for me and that includes ensuring that my wife has her free time as well.

My point was more that it's up to us how we spend the time we have available to us as 'our time'. We can chose to run or we can chose to do anything else that we want.