A lot of people have asked how I manage to fit everything in. A busy work schedule, crazy commute, marathon training and of course life!
It’s not really a surprise that it doesn’t always work out. Life happens, but chatting with a friend of mine who is a coach, he says there’s scope in most plans to miss some runs. Even so, marathon training is definitely almost a full time job… so I have some tips for you on how to fit marathon training in to a busy schedule.
#1 Be flexible
I’m not one for saying XYZ are running days and sticking to them. Plans happen and maybe that friend you’ve not seen in ages is free on your running day. I have a number of runs in mind for the week and go with that. On Monday I roughly plot out when I will run (Monday is ALWAYS a rest day) and move them about if I need. The only thing that is truly sacred is the long run, which I try to keep to Sundays.
#2 Use travel to get some run tourism in
When I’m away with work, especially if it’s over a few days, I pack my running kit. I take to Strava and plot a route, as well as looking at heatmaps on Strava to see where’s popular to run. Google maps is also my friend here. I had two great runs in Nottingham the other week when I was away. My work trips have also allowed me to run along the beach at Aberdeen, through the streets of Glasgow (to find the Duke and his hat), through the parks of London, around the old town of Krakow and the parks of Leeds (to name a few). I seriously recommend it! Parkrun is also gaining popularity, if you’re away over a weekend, why not try some Parkrun tourism.
#3 Don’t panic
If you miss a run, don’t try and catch it up. It’s all about quality than quantity. If you bunch too many runs together you might get injured or to be honest, just really put off running. As much as marathon training is hard work, you want to be able to enjoy it as much as you can. Take the extra rest and make the next session awesome – it’ll work better, I promise!
