Making time

Well, as I previously mentioned, the kids are out of school and Jack is busy with all-star baseball, and time is short. I have been keeping up on workouts as best I can. When the kids are in school, I usually start my workout between 8 and 8:30 am, and am done between 9 and 10 am. Lately, I’ve been lucky to start my workout by 9:30 am. I get busy writing while the house is quiet and then the kids are up and I’m pushing to finish writing and then have to squeeze in a workout. But there are only so many hours in a day, and I can’t seem to make time.

Last Friday, for example, I had to be out of the house by 8 am to drive to a tournament, and we didn’t get home until 10 pm. Then had to be out of the house by 8 am on Saturday. Got home at 6 pm, went to our church picnic – no cooking for me after two long days in the sun – YAY! And then, the next morning, we were at church at 7 am for our parish’s first annual Fun Run/Walk/Bike event, which my husband and I helped plan and organize. Now, where do we fit in a workout during all of that? Well, the fun run was it.

Brian has a leg injury and he’s never been much of a runner/walker, but he loves riding his bike, so he did the 6-mile course. The kids and I did the run/walk. Audra did a full mile with me – pretty good for an 8 year old, and she never complained once, which is amazing if you know her – then went to hand out waters. Jack did two miles, and even ran the last lap. After two long hot days of baseball, I was amazed that he had that much energy. I also did two miles, at a slower pace, walking and talking with a friend. Sunday is usually my rest day, so I figured I had a jump on the week. Which came in handy since I got busy doing “secretarial” work for the all-star team Monday morning and never got a chance to work out. That afternoon, I was mad that I’d let it go. Again.

So today, I took a different approach. I laced up my Nikes at 7 am and headed outside. Work can wait a few hours. I walked up to my local high school (about a half-mile each way) and did 6 laps on the track. I kept up a pretty good pace, walking most of it. The last lap I jogged all the way. That felt great.

When I’m on the track, I can’t help but think about my high school track days and it’s distressing to me to see how out of shape I am now. I remember jogging two miles around the track in high school like it was nothing. And now I get a half a lap in and I’m wanting to walk. But the beauty of the track versus the treadmill is that I have that visual cue right in front of me at all times. You know how each lane of the track is divided into quarters for a sprint relay? When I jog now, I tell myself, “Just get to the next quarter.” And then I repeat that. By the time I get to the last quarter, I’m at the top of the track, and I make myself run hard. Not a full sprint. But hard. And I feel myself getting stronger. Maybe one of these days I’ll be able to jog two miles around the track like it’s nothing. I don’t see that in the very near future, but someday. I’ll get there.

When I got home today, I made myself a delicious shake with chocolate protein powder, the iced coffee I made before I left the house, a banana and some spinach. (forgot the flax – dang it!) It was really yummy and although I usually only do the chocolate protein powder once a week, I think I’ll definitely do the iced coffee for summer. What a refreshing treat, without all the crap stuff you get when you order one from Starbucks.

So, it’s 9 am. My workout’s done. I have some writing to do but it’s nothing too difficult and I think the kids know by now that they need to be quiet when I’m working. It will all get done today. Because I’m making time.

OK, let’s hear from you: How do YOU make time for workouts during the summer?