So you wanna train and still be good at your relationships?

(Leggings, top, shoes)

I found my dream workout morning.  It started with eating breakfast and cuddling in bed for about 45 minutes before getting the kids to school. Then, I drove to a new area to meet friends for a 9:30 am workout.  It felt so good to have had a big breakfast and adequate time for it to digest along with it being light outside so I wasn’t freaking out over every step.

Photo taken and edited by Brooke:

Winter running tip—> Drink water wherever you can find it.  You’d think my bout with Giardia in 2014 would cause me to think twice about this…

I saw some donkeys along the way!

And I got in a solid 15 miles with what felt like a lot more left in the tank at the end.  3-mile warm-up, 3 miles @ 6:35 average (felt very comfortable here), .5 miles easy, 3 miles @ 6:22 average, .5 miles easy, 9 (did an extra one for extra credit… or I just lost track of how many we had done) x 1 min @ 5:50ish with 1 min recoveries, cd.

I am positive that the treadmill is twice as hard as running outside.  These paces on the treadmill felt so much harder than outside.

The more I have worn the Vaporfly 3s, the more I realize I like them much more than the 2s.  I was pretty amazed by the grip on these yesterday… the 2s felt like skis.

Skye got in some mediatation during reading time.

This wasn’t bad for a Costco meal that came together in 5 minutes.  My biggest resolution is eating dinner together at the table most nights and so fast meals like this often times save me.

A question I often get is how to train while still being a good wife/partner/parent/sister/daughter/friend, etc.   Training is exhausting, and balancing everything ideally just isn’t possible.  But my biggest goals for training aren’t time-related anymore; it’s being able to do the hobby I love (marathon train) without my family really knowing about it.  Of course, I want them to see I’m working hard towards a goal (yay!), but I don’t want them to feel like our plans revolve around that, or I’m too tired to do things like play soccer with them because of my training.

I won’t say I’m an expert at this, but I will say I’m an expert at failing at this and finding some ways to do it much better than I was, so get ready for my bullet points:

*If you want, you can try and find that in between place.  Fast marathons and dream times are huge.  I get it.  I lived with those for a very long time.  But the difference in a few minutes or seconds doesn’t really motivate me anymore.  St. George 2022= = I feel like I put a lot into training, didn’t travel as much, was a stickler with my bedtime (sorry I was boring, Andrew), and felt tired a lot from higher mileage.  St. George 2023= I was much more chill.  I worked hard but also went on more trips, took unexpected rest days, and switched workouts for my family’s schedule.  I also lowered my mileage so I didn’t feel like a robot—>  I ran 20 seconds slower in 2023 than in 2022.  Finding this fine line has been huge for me.  A few seconds or minutes isn’t worth upping my mileage to the point I’m a less fun wife and mom.   I guess the question now is, how bad do you want it?  For me now, I love that in-between place where I’m still pushing myself and setting goals but not so worn down that I can’t keep up with the rest of my life.  But I also see when it is worth it to go all in on a goal, so you have to figure out where you are on the spectrum.

*OUTSOURCE if you can.  Training doesn’t last forever, and hiring cleaners to help you when you don’t have the energy to clean on top of training is so worth it.   Outsource your meals or household help during those peak weeks because we can’t do everything.   Or learn to live with a messy house:). It’s a short season; mold won’t accumulate fast enough in your three peak weeks leading up to the taper so don’t feel bad about not cleaning;)

*Ditch the phone.  My biggest nightmare is getting to heaven (hopefully) and having a clock that shows exactly how much time I have spent scrolling or doing meaningless things on my phone.  When balancing heavy training and my relationships, the phone scrolling is the first to go.  Ditching social media (social media is my job, and I’m telling you to delete IG if you need haha) will also help you to go right to sleep at night to help you to wake up feeling fresh for everything on your plate for the day.

*Your goals matter.  Talk to yourself the way you would your best friend.  You would tell them that they are doing an amazing job making it all work.  Your goals matter and are important, so if you slack off on friends, neighbors, coworkers, or events for a few months, that is okay, and I give you permission to do so.  If you have big goals for your running, remind the people in your life that this is just for a season, and those who love you will do everything they can to help you reach your goals!

*My goal of not having my kids know I’m marathon training involves continuing to take them to see the world daily.  Some afternoons, my body and brain say absolutely not, but forcing myself out the door brings me to life again.  The fresh air wakes me up, and before I know it, I feel alive again, so sometimes we have to push ourselves out the door.

*Seville is my 20th marathon, and I finally feel like I’m figuring out my nutrition, which has brought me more energy than previous training cycles. I can’t believe I marathon-trained on soda and candy like I used to.  I finally get enough protein daily (thank you, Core Power), and my green smoothies hyper-nourish my cells.  Now, I make sure I’m getting enough food through the day on top of those two things, and my energy levels are better than they have been in a long time.  I really can’t believe the difference drinking 3/4-1 lb of greens  (chard, spinach, kale) a day has made for me.  It’s fun to feel like I have more energy at 37 than 27.

From my 1st marathon… I was so naive, thinking it was a one-and-done situation;)

*Please remember training is a running influencer’s job.  DO NOT, I repeat, do not compare your training to an influencer’s training.  You are doing amazing juggling everything you do, and while I still juggle, it’s not the same because this is my job.  I’m here for any pep talks you need.  I am so impressed by you.

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Do you have any thoughts on this topic?  How do you help balance training with the rest of your life?

Ever had a parasite?  Has anyone ever had Giardia?

-I still shudder thinking about when I had it, and I still haven’t had Indian food since (the last meal I had before I went downhill).

Have you ever had food poisoning (the above answer got me thinking about this)?

-Papa Murphy’s Pizza in 2001.  I still take detours to avoid driving in front of Papa Murphy’s establishment.

Any quick meals from Costco that you love?