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Marathon Training as a Busy Mom Seems Like Craziness by Becky Reese

I am participating in a Mommy Blog Tour. Today's post is by Becky Reese from Sexy Mom's Running Club.

Marathon Training as a Busy Mom Seems Like Craziness by Becky Reese

I love the feeling that running gives me.  Okay - I love the feeling that comes at the end and the rush of completing a race.  However, there is no greater rush than crossing a marathon finish line! As a busy mom of five, I know how difficult it is to even think of training for a marathon, but I am here to tell you it is possible! I’m going to give you some tips on how to do it.

I suggest looking for a 4-day training calendar.  With kids, it seems that something always comes up, so with three days available to swap out for the hard core training days, it makes it much more possible. That being said, you must find a training schedule that works for you, and only YOU!

To find the best training schedule for your - I recommend Googling “four day marathon training”.  Here’s why: what worked for Jane Smith up the street with two kids most likely will not fit in with my schedule of five kids and a husband who travels a lot!  This is your key to success. Some people may be better at running for a certain time frame (i.e. 30, 60, or 90 minute intervals), while others need more flexibility in the training schedule.  Check out our training schedules at www.sexymomsrunningclub.com. Most schedules are free and you can download them.

Here’s an example of one 4-day schedule:
  • Monday: kid workout day
  • Tuesday: speed workout (i.e. 3-4x 1-mile repeats at tempo with 2:1 work rest ratio)
  • Wednesday: easy run (i.e. 5-10 miles aerobic)
  • Thursday: kid workout day
  • Friday: intervals or hill workout (5-10x steep 1-2 minute hill repeats with walk or jog down)
  • Saturday: rest
  • Sunday: long run (10 – 20 miles that include race pace intervals and fast finishes)

Make your long run days YOUR day!  The long run is crucial to increasing the storage of glycogen in your muscles and conditioning the body to the pounding of running, according to Robert Chapman, Director of the Human Performance Laboratory at the University of Indiana.  The biggest problem you will run into with the long run is finding the time.  I found if I blocked the whole morning, I would not only allow time for the run, but also time to relax in a bubble bath after.  When my kids were little I could push them for a while in the baby stroller or I would plan loops to check in with the sitter. Luckily, as they got older we moved closer to Grandma and that soon became her special time to bond with the kids.

As you get closer to the race, make sure you try and keep that long run starting time around the same time as the start of the race.  For example the Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas race starts in the evening, so make sure some of those training runs are at night, so that your body is adjusted.  If you are only running at night and your race is in the morning, you need those morning runs so that your body can function.

Lastly, prepare for your race.  I can not stress this enough!  All of the websites and race reviews will allow you to double check that the water stations work for you.  If not, carry some water.  Try to train with the sports drink they hand out so that you don’t have any “issues” during the race. Check out the course to see if there are a lot of hills or some type of running path that you are not used to.  I’ll never forget the San Diego Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon when they ran on the interstate - I had NEVER run on the cement and the pounding was especially hard on my body (not to mention the extreme lack of shade).

Once you find the right training schedule, success will be yours.  Don’t forget to include your family in some of your training and make sure to always have fun!


About Becky Reese:
Armed with a mission to empower moms across the country to feel beautiful no matter what their size, mother-of-five Becky Reece founded Sexy Mom's Running Club (www.sexymomsrunningclub.com) to help busy women make themselves a priority again, while still balancing career and family.

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