We’ve all been there… you’ve got a target race goal, a solid training plan, and your motivation is high. But then life hits, and you are struggling to balance it all – demanding work schedule, stressful life events, an upended schedule AND training for your next race. It’s important to remember that training plans are exactly that – a PLAN, and can (and should) be adjusted to accommodate your lifestyle and schedule. The goal for these adjustments is to maintain your training and fitness during periods of increased demand in your life outside of training. We’ve got some scenarios that we often see athletes go through, and how to adjust training and still stay on track.

Balancing Physical Demands

If your job or lifestyle is physically demanding, you want to take that into consideration during a training cycle. Muscles and tendons need time to repair, and while light activity is usually okay (and can often aid recovery), heavy physical work should be accounted for during your training plan. A move to a new house could mean a weekend of lifting heavy furniture, loading boxes, and lots of fatigue. Or, a family vacation could mean tons of time on your feet and daily activity that you aren’t accustomed to.

During periods of extra physical demands, make sure to manage your overall training load and monitor for signs of fatigue. If it is just a temporary increase in demands (a weekend move) plan ahead and make your training cycle incorporate a down week during that time. You also want to ensure that you are getting enough sleep and proper nutrition so your body can recover both from your training and from any extra physical demands.

Managing Stress and Running

Whether you have a work deadline, a sick family member, or other mental stress piling up, this still causes pressure on your body which can interfere with recovery and adaptation from your running training. Running can be helpful in managing stress, and often we feel better after clearing our head for a bit on a nice, easy run.  

During times of life stress, keep your running easy. A 30 minute recovery run can help you maintain your fitness AND relieve some of the stress you are experiencing. This isn’t the time to push your pace, and if you have speed workouts scheduled, make sure you stay within your limits so you aren’t overextending your body.

Training With a Crazy Schedule

Easy run Monday. Track work Tuesday. Long Run Saturday. As runners, we thrive on sticking to a schedule. But sometimes, life gets in the way. If you have travel plans or work disruptions, it might be better to change your training around rather than sticking rigidly to your plan.

Feel free to move some of your runs around to accommodate your fluctuating schedule. Just try not to schedule two back to back “hard” days (such as speed work and long run) if possible. You can also split some of the runs if time is an issue. Maybe while on vacation, you can’t fit your hour long Thursday run in, but a 30 minute run on Thursday followed by a 30 minute run on Friday would work much better. And if you need to miss a day of training here and there, it is not the end of the world. You won’t lose your fitness by a missed run or two.

Make Your Training Work For YOU

Running should be an enjoyable pursuit, and making sure it fits into your lifestyle is an important part of that. It’s easy for committed runners to get laser focused on their training plan, but allowing for adjustments to accommodate life is a smarter and more sustainable way to train and still reach your goals. If you are still struggling to find balance in training, we’d love to help. We help athletes build their training to fit their goals and their lifestyle. Contact us today to get started.