Sunday, January 16, 2011

Making time

With the short days of winter, work, and the boys becoming more active by the second and napping less, time is sparse to say the least.  But I know I need to fit runs in so my body and my brain feel good. 

Introducing - the top 10 ways to make time to run:
  1. Run instead of driving - Matt's folks were in town this weekend and for us to all go anywhere, one person doesn't fit in the car.  I volunteered every chance I got to be the one who didn't fit in the car because I was able to run or bike to meet up with Matt, his parents, and the boys.
  2. Make running the main event - instead of trying to fit my runs in around life, I've been trying to fit things around my runs.
  3. When you can't go long, just go - running any distance always makes me feel better, even if it's just up and down the hill in front of our house.
  4. Pack 'em up and go! - Our boys always get a little wonky in the afternoons between their 1 nap and bedtime.  Popping them in the stroller and hitting the streets is a great way to pass time and get some fresh air for them.
  5. Find time - when the boys are napping I typically try to hit the road (unless it's Matt's turn to climb).
  6. Steal time - I'm not a morning person.  We've been forced into morning life with a 6:30am wakeup call no matter what day it is (toddlers'll do that to you).  A handful of times I've hit the street before the house wakes up - I won't lie, in the beginning it stinks, but at the end of the run it's great.
  7. Make girl time run time - I have a few friends who are also runners.  Instead of bucketing time with mani/peddi/whatever in one chunk and a dirty trail run in another, we do what we all love - run.
  8. Make it happen - I always feel less stressed after a run.  When my to do list is pages long and deadlines seem to sneak up, I still make a run happen because I know I'll do better post-run.
  9. Swap time - on weekends Matt and I both make sure we get "us" time.  He climbs, I run.  We'll go solo with the boys a bit every weekend so the other person can get out.
  10. Stop making excuses and go - it seems there's always one more blog I need to read, or one more email I need to send.  But need and want are very different things and often the mind makes want trump need.  I need to run, I want to see the next sale on Gilt.
A little ditty to wrap up my count...up:

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