Scheduling Conflicts

Sunday, December 11, 2011 · Mike Davis

Good Morning! My dad took a mini vacation this weekend so I am guest posting for him today, my name is Jenn I am 22 years old, and I am Mike's youngest daughter. If you find yourself struggling to fit in a run to your schdule hopefully my post will help you!

My sneakers are sitting by the front door right now, and I wish I could say they are simply there because I am getting ready to go out for a run, but I’m not, I’ll be honest. My sneakers are sitting there like they have been since last Sunday, mainly collecting dust and occasionally being used to kill a spider. Last Saturday I ran a race called the Santa Shuffle, it was a 5k, and everyone running dressed up in a Santa suit. It was a pretty funny site seeing 1,300 Santa’s running down the road. My running has been anything, but consistent for the past month, life always seems to have other plans for me, but after the Santa shuffle I made a promise to myself that no matter what life threw at me and no matter how busy I became I was going to run at least three times a week, even if it meant it would be a short 20 minute run around the block, some is better then none right? Well the week was well under way and it was already Friday, I was so mad at myself for not keeping the promise I made to myself. I felt like I had let myself down and I was beating myself up over it. I then stopped and thought to myself, I really hadn’t failed, because running and exercising is something you can start doing at any time. If you fall off the bandwagon, then get back on. If there is one thing I learned it’s that you always have the chance to lace up you sneakers and hit the pavement, there is no need to beat yourself up of over days you have missed. Life can be overwhelming and stressful this time of year between work, the holidays, and family. If you are finding yourself struggling to fit in a run, don’t beat yourself up for it, because it accomplishes nothing other then making yourself feel bad. I find that I stick to my runs if they are scheduled; I schedule almost everything I have going on in my life, so why not schedule my runs to? I have 3 scheduled for this week and unless something unexpected comes up I know that I will complete my runs. If you find yourself being busy during the day and at night, try scheduling your runs in the morning. I am always on the go in the mornings and afternoon, so I tend to schedule my runs at night. Just because I missed a week of running does not mean I failed my goal; it simply means that I had to wait a week to start my accomplishing my goal. I enjoy running because it is something I get to choose to do and it makes me feel good about myself. So remember this week, why you run? Hopefully it’s because you love it! And if you are struggling to find the time to fit in runs, try scheduling them, and don’t beat yourself up if you miss one, running is something you can always start doing!