Everyone seems to have the same challenge when it comes to adventure racing- finding enough time to train! If you are a mum with small children or children with a myriad of after school activities, or are working or maybe even both or all three (eeek), you will know exactly what I’m talking about! “How the heck am I going to get enough training in to be fit for an adventure race?” Throw in winter, shorter days and less than ideal weather and you may just put training into the ‘too hard basket’ for now.
I’ve been there (and still am), but have found a few things that have helped me fit training in around a fairly full schedule. Here are my top tips for training around a busy schedule:
1. Try to organise your day the night before.
Sometimes easier said than done, and there are always going to be curveballs. But the more you can plan out what is coming up the next day or for the week ahead, the more likely you are able to find time for it. Your window might be early morning before the kids are up, during your lunch break, or while the kids have swimming lessons (if you don’t have to look after younger ones). This in particular is such a missed opportunity I see so often. Why not get in the pool and belt out a few lengths while your kids are getting their lessons. Great inspiration for them as well! Or maybe your window might be when your husband or partner is home. Where ever it is in the day, identify it and schedule it! Which leads me on to the next tip…
2. Prioritise Your Training
When you make a commitment to a team, it’s important that everyone puts in equal amount of work and effort to get the desired results for your team. If that is one hour 3 x a week, that’s fine. If your goal as a team is to improve, be competitive or perform as best you can then you will need to make training more of a priority. It’s not fair if one person consistently does 3 hours a week, while the rest of the team is clocking up to 6-8 hours a week. Talk about your goals as a team and how much training you think you all need to put in to get there, then make it a priority and schedule it in as above!
3. Find or Build a Support Team Around You.
It’s important to let those close to you (partners, parents, inlaws, friends) know what you are up to, what your goal is and what is required to get there. If they understand what you are trying to achieve they are much more likely to help you out when you need it (such as entertaining the kids so you can go and play in the hills/train for the day).
Another effective way to get your training in with small children is by sharing childcare with another friend who needs 2 hours childfree time a day also. You could take turns day about or just a couple times a week.
Now with the creation of the Whaiora Spirited Women regional training groups it will open up an even bigger support network for those looking for training/accountability partners or even the possibility of setting up a training/child minding group within your region. This is a fantastic addition to the WSW community, I encourage you to reach out and start making connections!
Happy training days 🙂
Kym