Runners training for long distance how do you find time for

kbella67

Do you do double workouts? I am upping my mileage again and doing a 1/2 in a few weeks, I'd like to do annother this fall and then a full in the spring. I spent all winter lifting weights and doing low mileage runs 3-5miles. I lost weight and fat that way and now my fat percentage is going up and my weight too, without weight training..I am a working mother of 3 young children also so it's hard to find time! Any ideas?

YogaRunner

My weight training only takes 30 minutes 3 times a week so I find it ok to fit in even with my current training for a half in mid October and a full at the end of October. I do the ChaLEAN Extreme workout at home.

Schwiggity

Are you talking about finding time to incorporate strength training? I've found that doing a 3-day body part split has made lifting less time consuming personally. As far as long runs go, it just comes down to finding a few hours where you can have time to yourself. I have to wake up really early usually to get this, but it's worth it to me.

getsveltEagain

Do you do double workouts? I am upping my mileage again and doing a 1/2 in a few weeks, I'd like to do annother this fall and then a full in the spring. I spent all winter lifting weights and doing low mileage runs 3-5miles. I lost weight and fat that way and now my fat percentage is going up and my weight too, without weight training..I am a working mother of 3 young children also so it's hard to find time! Any ideas?

I run the short 3-5 miles through the week and spend one day on the weekend to do a distance run. That seems to be the easiest way for me. On the off days of running I do the weight training or other cardio.

aunienue

Plan, plan, plan....make sure you get one long run in each week. I completed my first half in May. I ran with a run group but sometimes on my own....when I could fit it in - after work or sometimes at lunch. I was running Tues, Wed, Thurs, Fri, Sat off, long run Sunday and off Monday. If you can't do four runs per week increase mileage. Most of all, have run. I had an awesome time running my first half-marathon. I still smile when thinking about it. Friend me if you wish.

Sue

CaptainAmerica1970

I run the short 4-6 milers through the week and spend one day on the weekend to do the Long Distance Run. That seems to be the easiest way for me. On OFF days of running I do the Cross Training/P90x/Weight Training or Bike/Swim.

kbella67

Yes you guys I'm talking about how to fit in my strength training..I loved it while doing it over the winter 3x a week with shorter runs and no races. Now I am back trying to race and having trouble finding time for strength..I guess I could do 30min at night on my off days. thanks for the advice.

minnesota

I hear you on the time! I run 4 days a week during marathon training. I run right when I get off work (I work nights so it's at 0600) Finding time to weight train can be difficult, but you can get it done is 30 min workouts by group muscles such has Mon- Chest and Triceps Wed. Back and Biceps, Fri. Legs and shoulders and of course abs every other day.

I am currently marathon training and I had started P90x but had to stop because I couldn't find the time to run 12 miles and then do another hour of p90x and still have time to sleep and run errands and take care of the kiddo. I am waiting for off season in order to complete p90x. Sometimes finding that balance can be difficult.

Good luck to you and happy running!

aj_rock

True endurance runners don't work out a whole lot anyway... You want to be light on your feet, and having excess fat OR muscle mass goes counter to your goals.

Look at pictures of the guys who compete. They have no upper-bodies to speak of, and even their legs aren't big.

Mrs_TrimWaistFatWallet

"True endurance runners don't work out a whole lot anyway"

What?

Ok if you want to be a long distance runner, you need to run long distances. It doesn't mean you run every day; you could add cycling or P90x a few days a week.

Anyways, to have more time to workout, you have to make more time to workout. It's as simple as that.

Pack or gather ALL your food in the morning including your workout drinks, snacks, and recovery protein. That saves time scrambling around to find your gatorade when you should already be at the gym/on the road.

Pack / gather all your workout gear ahead of time. Including water bottles, shoes etc. This saves time scrambling around later...

Go straight to the gym/workout if you can manage. Stopping at home in between only adds extra time futzing around, getting the mail, letting the dog out, etc.

Make your workout part of your personal time...whether its watching the news or your favorite tv shoes.

If it's important to you, your family/friends need to understand. You might even be more upset than they are. Get over it and focus on your goals.

Accept that some nights you may get home with only enough time to shower, eat, and go to bed. That's my nightly ritual, but my fiance understands and I make it work. That's that. Good luck..

"now my fat percentage is going up and my weight too, without weight training" Your weight and BF shouldn't be going up! I'd take a hard look at what you're eating, how much, and the calories MFP thinks you burn when you workout. You might be eating too much because you think you burned 1500 cals/workout when you actually burn 600. Its common to want to compensate for such a hard workout, but you only need slightly more calories. I found this out when I got my BodyMedia FIT..

aj_rock

"True endurance runners don't work out a whole lot anyway... You want to be light on your feet, and having excess fat OR muscle mass goes counter to your goals. "

Read all of what I said. I was referring to weight lifting. Obviously you need to run lots, but what I'm saying is to run better AND save time, omit time in the gym.

You will NEVER see someone look like schwarzenegger and run endurance/marathons. Marathoners are skinny people!

Schwiggity

"True endurance runners don't work out a whole lot anyway... You want to be light on your feet, and having excess fat OR muscle mass goes counter to your goals. "

Read all of what I said. I was referring to weight lifting. Obviously you need to run lots, but what I'm saying is to run better AND save time, omit time in the gym.

You will NEVER see someone look like schwarzenegger and run endurance/marathons. Marathoners are skinny people!

Sure, the top runners will look like that, but not every person looking to run in a marathon or Half is looking to beat Kenyan/Ethiopian record holders.

rachel5576

i've been thinking about this myself. Im not sure why its so easy to skip the strength training. I had planned to change that this week by getting up early and running to the gym. The gym was closed for cleaning this week.:( but thats ok. i'll go back next week. just going to do mwf focus on one group of muscles at a time. I am also trying to do pilates a few times a week. i have a video so i can do it at home when my kids are around. i also have hand weights so i can lift at home. i just dont. i thought getting out of the house might give me the push i need. Good luck. We can do just about anything if we want it bad enough. Thats the real question. How bad do you want it?

rybo

I haven't lifted weight in a while, but I have been doing lots of body weight exercises while running also.
I did find when I got into the bulk of my marathon training, my upper body routine went out the window. The extra time to fit it in wasn't worth it to me, when it was hard enough just to fit in my running.

But now that I'm just in maintenance running mode, I've gotten back into my upper body routine.

Mindful_Trent

"True endurance runners don't work out a whole lot anyway... You want to be light on your feet, and having excess fat OR muscle mass goes counter to your goals. "

Read all of what I said. I was referring to weight lifting. Obviously you need to run lots, but what I'm saying is to run better AND save time, omit time in the gym.

You will NEVER see someone look like schwarzenegger and run endurance/marathons. Marathoners are skinny people!

Sure, the top runners will look like that, but not every person looking to run in a marathon or Half is looking to beat Kenyan/Ethiopian record holders.

^^Exactly. There's no reason the average long distance runner should omit strength training. More and more people are running, but the average Joe isn't going to be aiming to break any world records. I'm running my first half this fall and plan on doing a marathon eventually, but I have no intention on becoming a "single sport" athlete. I want to be well-rounded in my fitness which includes strength training and cross training.

Lots of people have had good suggestions - it doesn't have to take long to get a good strength workout in. 2-3 short (but intense!) sessions a week should do it. You also don't have to run every day to train for long distance running. Running 4-5 days a week (one long session, a few moderate/speed/other sessions) should do it. It's also not a bad idea to incorporate other cardio at least one or two days a week to workout your muscles differently - it's good for overall fitness and muscle health.

iplayoutside19

"True endurance runners don't work out a whole lot anyway... You want to be light on your feet, and having excess fat OR muscle mass goes counter to your goals. "

Read all of what I said. I was referring to weight lifting. Obviously you need to run lots, but what I'm saying is to run better AND save time, omit time in the gym.

You will NEVER see someone look like schwarzenegger and run endurance/marathons. Marathoners are skinny people!

Sure, the top runners will look like that, but not every person looking to run in a marathon or Half is looking to beat Kenyan/Ethiopian record holders.

This^. However, I have pretty much religated ST to push-ups & sit-ups in the summer. Summer means water. Swimming takes up all my weights time. Running and cycling get the rest. I'll go back to the weight room after my Half in October.

ttaggert

I get up at 5 every morning and run usually a 5k's distance, but I have bumped it up to a 10k. Sporadically throughout the week, I try to shoot for 10 on any given day and then on Saturday's I push for a big distance and run anywhere between 12 to 15 miles. I'm training for a marathon in December, so my mileage will be increasing, even more so once the cooler weather comes back

RippedNShredded

Here's my weekly schedule. Training for a marthon.

M, W, F - Strength Training Mostly Full body, then i change it isolation 2 weeks later

Running - Tue, Wed, Thur - Friday is day off

If I miss my long run on Sat, I try to make it up Sun/Mon (6 - 6:30am i'm out the door)

LilRedRooster

When I'm trying to up my mileage, but don't have time for the long runs in addition to my strength training workouts, I will usually break up the runs into two, so I'll do one run the morning, usually going a little harder, then another in the evening, not going as hard. I'll usually add my strength routine in the middle somewhere, taking bands with me to I can go on a lunch break (or during a baby's nap time, now).

If I don't have time for a full strength training workout, I'll do a small workout before or after my first run, depending on how much time I have left, where I'll do pushups, situps, lunges, and squats for about 20mins. Sometimes, I'll bring my bands, do the short workout before my run, and then stash the bands in a bush or back in my car. I'll basically just pick a park with some decent grass, and decide to start/end my run there to make it happen. It's not as good as going to the gym, but that 20mins is enough of a quickie to keep the maintenance level up for the next time I have the time for a full workout.

DonPendergraft

It is a challenge. All I can tell you is what I do. Personally, I never want my running to get in the way of my family, so I choose to do all my training when they are asleep with the exception of Saturday runs. Even then, if the family has to be somewhere Saturday morning, I will get up extra early to work in the long run. I run slow, so if I need to put in 12 miles on a Tuesday morning, I may set my alarm at 2:45. If you are motivated, it’s doable. And so far I’m sticking with it. So here’s what I do week to week:

Monday – Weight training 5AM
Tuesday – Slow recovery run. Usually a good distance. Between 7 and 12 miles depending on schedule.
Wednesday – Hill work or Speed work (at the track). Both take about an hour. The distance isn’t important. If fact, the longest part of these workouts are the couple miles I like to put before and after the intense workouts.
Thursday – Recovery run. But I usually have some pep and it may end up being more of a longish tempo run. Usually a couple of mile shorter than Tuesdays run.
Friday – Weight training 5AM
Saturday – Long trail run. Distance depends on schedule. I’m doing 18 miles this Saturday.
Sunday – Cross train. This is just to relieve some of the pounding. I can do the StairMaster (the one that looks like a real set of stairs – it’s amazing!) or sometimes I do the thing called a Cybex Arc Trainer.

That’s about all I can work in. If I needed to go higher mileage, I would be forced to run Monday’s and Fridays and just finish by 5am for the weight workout. This would suck. At the end of cardio, I’m seriously not interesting in working out anymore. If the gym opened at 4am, that would be great. I could do weight routine and head out the door for a couple hours of running. Oh well. It’s a choice. I just wouldn’t feel right coming home from work and telling the kids I would hopefully get to see them before they go to sleep. Not only that, I’m at a low energy point when I walk in the door from work.

Good luck!

tigerbluefly

I run 4 weekdays before work and my long run Saturday's, in the morning before my kids get up. Yes it's early, but then it's done and out of the way for all the other things that pop up in the day of a single mother. LOL!