Finding Time to Run

We're busy.  We always have things to do... so much that we don't have time to take steps towards our goals.  For me, in order to get to my goal, I need a lot of time running, cycling, or doing some kind of exercise.  Becoming an ultra-endurance athlete means that I am going to need a lot of time in order to excel.  How can I find time to do that?

I work two jobs, one a full time job, and another a part time job.  I work Monday through Friday 8:15-4:30, commuting takes 30 minutes off that each day.  For my other job, I work Wednesday nights and Sundays, as well as some prep time at home during the week.  I have to prep my meals, eat my meals, and do a lot of things every day.  All this takes away a lot of time from running.  Sleep is important, and some days, I feel as if I don't get enough.  Six hours is a must, and seven and a half is preferred.  Every so often, I would hang out with my friends, which takes away a little bit of time... but the job and life takes up most of my time.  Where do I find that time to run.

I do what I can in order to fit in running with my life.  For example, tomorrow, when I wake up to go run, I'm going to get the rice cooker ready, and by the time I get back, I'll have rice for the day.  I also like to do prep work once a week and cut all my onions and other vegetables up so it'll be ready any day.  Same with the chicken.  I bake the chicken in the oven and all I have to do when I want to eat chicken is to get it out of the freezer (where I store them) and microwave them for a little bit, and we're back in business.  During work, I make sure that I am standing at all times, in order to burn more calories and work on my endurance.  Standing burns more calories than sitting, and during the day, I would spend more than half of it standing, walking, and doing calf raises.  After work, I would go back home, and either take a break, run/exercise, or eat.  Depending on what I have planned, I make sure to spend some time exercising.  Every moment does count, and I want the moment to last a bit, so that I would be able to help myself achieve my goal.

There are times when I don't feel up to par, and I just waste time and not do anything, and each time I do that, I take away from my training, and I won't be able to improve as much.  If my goal is a priority, I need to make sure to follow it no matter how I feel.  It's tough sometimes to make that time, because life hits you.  But no matter how hard it is, if you keep the main thing the main thing, you'll be able to conquer that and advance towards your goal.  Time doesn't magically tell you what to do.  You need to take the initiative and schedule things out so that you could balance your life with your goals.  Work is important because it helps your food, electricity, water, home, so it's important to continue that.  Playing on games... not as important, and so that can be dropped.  Eating... very important.  Not just for life, but also for training.  I view eating as a time of growth, and the time taken into preparing and cooking is needed.  It helps to manage it in a way that maximizes efficiency, but I don't skip a meal in order to run.  Endurance running is important to me, and food is something that supports my goals.  No matter how busy your life may be, there will always be time that you can spend to go towards your goals.  Sometimes it's really easy to find that time... but there are times when that is hard.  During those times, as long as your resolve is strong, time can somehow be made in order to run towards your goals.  You control the time.

I've heard of some business men that travel around different places all across the US.  With them, they bring the important papers for their jobs, their computer... and their running shoes and gear.  They are the people who understand what it is to make time to achieve their goals.  Today, I woke up and ran 6.25 miles in 56:31 (an average of 9:01 min/mile).  I was rather proud of being able to run at a slow pace.  It was hard... but I managed to go slowly.  After a long day of standing at work, I went to a young adults group, and left a little bit early to go play 50 minutes of indoor soccer.  It was definitely a good speed workout, and pushed my body to work hard for small bursts and recovering in a small amount of time.  Next week, I'm planning on running to the soccer game as a warm up, working on my pace, and then do a speed workout.  But before that, I'll have to worry about tomorrow.  I'll have to run in the morning, work, and then run or cycle in the afternoon.