Lindsay asked me how I find the time to swim/bike/run so much. The "so much" is relative, as I am doing little compared to others.
In 2009 when I started training for my first marathon, I panicked when I saw a 13 mile run in the middle of the workweek. How would I fit it in? Now I can manage to run 10 miles and bike 90 min during the same day. I confess that it is not only time management, though that has a huge component, along with the mind set that I can fit everything I want to (reasonable want here) into my day. But what really helps me make it all happen is my husband. I have a great one! I am going to put it out there. All I do is work, train, and spend time with Petru. I don't cook. I don't do dishes. I don't clean. I don't grocery shop. I don't pay bills. OK, I do these things once in a while, but not regularly. My husband works part time and also has a large part of the summer off, so he is the one who does all these things on a regular bases. It is an arrangement that works for us. Before you hate me, let me just say that I sometimes wish I could be the one working part-time, and that grocery shopping and cooking seem kind of nice to do when you don't get to do them. So all is relative here. But I wanted to let you all know that I am in no way super woman, and that I could not do all that I am doing if both my husband and I had to work full time, or if my husband was not so amazingly good about the household responsibilities, and overall supportive.
How do you fit training into your schedule?
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19 comments:
even though I am a stay at home mom, my husband is very similar to yours. He does all the outside yardwork, makes dinner (and the dishes) gives the kids a bath....supports my crazy trainings....we are very very lucky.
Well, to be totally honest with you, while I was working I could not find the time to train. The demands of both my husband and I working full time plus having two kids left us drained at the end of the night and too tired to get up early in the morning. Excuses...because if we really really wanted to, we could have done it. I was laid off yesterday, so I went ahead and penciled in my workout training schedule on the calendar and will be putting my jogging stroller to good use!! I have been very impressed that you have the time management skills to juggle the demanding training plus the regular family needs. Kudos to you, and keep it up!
How lucky are you to have a husband to take care of those things for you!!! I haven't quite found the perfect balance yet, but I figure if I get most of the training in, that'll do (haha maybe not the best approach....)
That is a great arrangement you have going! I am very good at time mgmt and also willing to get up very early, so that's how I fit it all in. Sometimes I don't feel like I give 100% to every area, and that can be frustrating, but overall, I think I have a good balance going.
a supportive spouse is HUGE and definitely helps, and i dont even have kids :)
a housecleaner has been my saving grace lately and chris just got someone to take care of the landscaping now that he is training all the time too.
to me, its all about priorites and being efficient, and knowing things are going to suffer because of training (cooking, cleaning, etc) but that's ok. those don't have as high a priority for me :)
Don't even begin to think we could begrudge you your supportive husband - having a family and a home is truly a JOINT effort and it really does take two. I'm sure he is happy that you are prepared to work as hard as you do.
I am a stay at home mom and do my running when everyone else is out - I rush back to do the admin and shopping and then carry on "working". But i have also worked full-time and part-time and my husband has picked up more of the work then - I think flexibility is the key.
Well done you three though on working through that balance - it is working for you so keep it up!
Your husband is awesome! Go kiss him right now. David is great but he does NOTHING around the house. I manage to get it done because I get up early in the morning and often have the ability to train at lunch. If my job didn't provide some flexibility I would be screwed!
I'm with Angela. My husband doesn't do jack around the house. But then, I didn't really have a job until recently so I figured the house WAS my job. But now I actually have 2 jobs even though they are both part time and flexible, I definitely am starting to struggle a bit more to fit it all in. I really should cut out the blogging. ;) Lol.
well i am not training that much but i go to the gym so the kids can be in a sitting room, that is the only way to get my workouts in, my husband works and leaves at 7am and home at 8/9pm. on weekends i wake up early and get a run or something in and home by 9ish am...they are usually just waking up
Whatever. Your totally superwoman. Don't sell yourself short. But I totally understand. I have the same 'superman' husband.
It all comes down to priorities. When I was in college all my peers were always like, "how do you fit it in?" Well, I wake up two or three hours earlier than you that's how. I loved it so it wasn't a problem. Not always easy, but you know what I mean.
Time management. YES.
You are obviously very driven and deserve a great deal of credit for all you can accomplish! Kudos to your hubby for being such a support and helper. My husband works opposite of me a lot of the time and is AWESOME with the household stuff and I know that makes a huge difference in how much I'm able to train. I ran in different cities every weekend through the winter, in between hockey games and late at night on hotel treadmills. There are NO excuses and if you want something bad enough it can always be done! You are obviously living proof of that!!!
i so agree that it takes 2, to make it work. i just recently started cooking (my dh was/is the chef of the house), and he takes the ~%50 charge of duties so we can both train.
it's the only way it works with kiddos too;-)
I still think a big part of it is simply deciding it will fit. This causes me to steamroll sometimes. I can become insistent and ugly about it. I think if you are a mom, sometimes insistence and ugliness is required if you want to have something --something large -- for yourself.
I really believe that finding the time to train is all about how badly you want it. Before Kaylee was born I was training maybe 5 hours a week, and would always complain about how I had no time. Yes, I was working full-time and traveling for work at times, but honestly I must have had loads of time to train. It obviously wasn't a priority. Now I want it bad, have a lot less time, yet I'm still managing about 10 hours a week. I have to be creative, but manage. I really believe that it's all about what you really want, being creative, and finding a balance that works.
You are so lucky to have the help of your hubby! Ithink that you have a great arrangement that is good for the both of you:) I wish that my hubby helped out more but it is my fault that he doesn't. When we first got married I wanted to take care of him and he got spoiled. It has been hard to retrain him. One thing that he does do...he does watch my four year old if I need to go out on a run:)
I am a big fan of doing whatever it takes to make a family work - whether it's exercise, cooking, cleaning or grocery shopping. Kudos to you for finding a way to make it work.
I have a spouse who supports all my crazy working out, I simply don't know how I could fit in a long bike ride and run on the same day unless I got up at daybreak! Even then, I'd be too tired.
Keep it up!
a supportive husband/partner is important! it is great that you both share the responsibilities in raising your family :) does your hubs have any hobbies like your crazy training? :) (crazy in a good way, of course)
LIndsay, my husband plays basketball and tennis, but he is in no way as "crazy" as I am about his training. That's a GOOD thing:)
Your husband sounds awesome. Mine is too. I couldn't do what I do w/o him. You still do fit a lot in!
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