Today was a classic example of fitting running in when you have family chores. My youngest , Charlotte, had basketball at 11am and then Acro (Dancing) at 1:30. I had been assigned chauffeur duties so seized the opportunity for some heat training as the temperature was due to hit 37c around midday. So off we went to basketball, Charlotte resplendent in her basketball uniform and me in my running singlet and shorts. Charlotte could tell something was up (maybe the running clothing gave it away, she’s not silly my youngest!) and guessed it would be a drop off and pick up. My youngest wasn’t overly concerned as she loves basketball with her friends and it matters little whether Dad is court side as she is in the zone. (By in the zone I mean charging around like a swarm of bees around the ball with little or no idea of team tactics,  the way the game should be played by nine year old girls.)

Anyway the first part of the plan was successful as I managed to get in a relaxing 8k while paying attention to the fact I’m racing tomorrow (albeit a 4k or 8k?) . This was also a good chance to get in some more heat training ahead of the ADU in late January. Because the temperature was so high I ran on heart rate and tried to keep the BPM under 130. This was do able bar the hills when you really find out how hard it is to run in the heat and keep the heart rate down. There was only one hill on this 8k loop but when I ran up it my heart rate spiked and I could feel my legs complaining with the extra effort required. I remember thinking to myself how quickly the whole feeling of the run could change when the temperature is so high. One minute you’re cruising along enjoying the warmth but as soon as some effort is required the body knows it is in a battle. Noted for the 6 inch in a weeks time.! ( http://www.6inchtrailmarathon.com )

After a quick pitstop at home for some marmalade on toast and yoghurt it was back in the car for the trip to DanceETC and Charlotte’s dancing. This was to last an hour so I was confident of getting in a 10k, again in the heat of the day. I have a 1k loop in an industrial estate mapped out when Charlotte has dancing so round I went 10 times again using my heart rate as the pace limiter. Mission accomplished nicely on the second run and it was straight back home for a cup of tea and blogging.

These extra training runs are important if you want to improve as a runner. Rather than sit with the rest of the parents waiting for their offspring,  faces buried in their iPhones,  get out there and sneak in a 8-10k run. Just round the block 10 times will make a difference in the long run. All these runs snatched from various family commitments add up and truth be told running is what we do so if we can kill two birds with one stone then so be it.  Everybody needs their own ‘Balcatta Industrial Estate 1k loop‘…

I am often asked how I manage to find the time to run twice a day and on the weekend these are the sort of logistical exercises that need to be created and followed to keep the kids and No1. Wife happy, well happy would probably be stretching it, not too unhappy is a better description. Weekdays it’s all about getting up before anybody else and getting back from a morning run before they awake. I understand I may sneak off to bed just after putting my youngest down and this may affect time with No1 Wife but as I said before spending too much time with my Wife always puts a strain on the marriage….

On the subject of fitting running in around family I wrote a post in October that is worth revisiting because most of you probably missed it. This is the first time I’ve reposted one of my previous posts because it does compliment  my day so far.

While I holiday with Rottnest I have made an effort to read as much as possible, in-between running of course. One of my favourite books is the running bible by Tim Noakes , ‘The Lore of Running’. A 921 page book of biblical proportions containing just about everything you ever need to know about running and more. It must be noted though, as pointed out by my friend Mike, ‘how can anyone write so much about running, it ain’t that complicated’. 

There are hundreds of extracts I could post on the blog but this one section caught my eye this morning which I think is worth sharing. It describes the selfish runner syndrome and balancing running with life’s other commitments (There are other commitments ? ….) Noel Carroll, an Irish double Olympian, describes runners as an introvert lot. ‘They like keep their thoughts to themselves. Their behaviour is at best antisocial , at worst utterly selfish…‘

What amused me in the book by Noakes was a section where he offered pointers to avoid the selfish runner syndrome, or at least mask it. One of his offerings was :-

Don’t allow running to affect the way you carry out your household responsibilities. Doing so provides your family with a tangible reminder that they come second.

What a classic quote from a by-gone age (I think?). So runners if you load the dishwasher once in  while and maybe even mow the lawn intermittently you may disguise the fact that running is far more important than your family.

It gets better,

Be aware of “danger times” – you will know what these are in your household. At these times, be at your most attentive and, at all costs, do not open your mail to see if your running magazines have arrived, discuss running, or, worst of all, go for a run. Weekends too must be handled carefully to ensure that running conflicts as little as possible with the family’s weekend recreation.

Not sure what to do when I live in ‘danger times’ constantly. ? Luckily we now have the internet so I can pretend to answer emails while secretly reading my online running magazines.

One last gold nugget from Noakes.

Don’t get overtired. As a runner with a family you just have to accept that, for the sake of your family, you simply can’t train hard enough to run your best. That is the price that must, realistically, be paid.

He is a wise man Noakes, I just hope my Wife never meets him or reads this.

All joking aside, which I assume Noakes was doing when he wrote these little gems, family life and running are not ideal bed partners. I often say to my non-running colleagues that I run early morning before the family awakes and lunchtime , when the family are miles away.  Truth be told this has the knock on affect of course that after I read my youngest her bed time story I sneak off to bed myself,  leaving my Wife to do whatever she does for a few hours. (‘Karen time’ I think she calls it )

When I was training for Comrades in 2008/2009 and 2010 I have three young Daughters. After my long runs, which would sometimes be up to 50k, I would return home and like limpets the girls were on me, excited to see their Dad return. Karen, my Wife, would of course then hand then over as she had looked after the girls till then. It made the afternoons as challenging as the previous 50k of running. Many times I would bundle the girls in to the car and find a park where I would position myself to watch over them from beneath the shade of a tree but that would be my contribution. The legs would be stiff and tired from the mornings exercise where as the girls were full of life. Sacrifices had to be make. Looking back I can see why most ultra-runners are older as after the mornings training nothing would have beaten a nap, after a good sized lunch of course.

Funnily enough I only started to run marathons ,and then ultra-marathons,  when I had my third daughter, I’m not sure if it was a conscience decision but running further, although harder, was still easier than looking after three young daughters, I’m sure Noakes would understand, not so sure about Karen.

As I get older I have managed to keep my love of running and even managed to up the training but this has the negative affect on any other sporting activity with my girls. Basketball, Tennis and Netball are all far too dangerous to an ageing runner who is one bad injury from retirement. As soon as any ball based game is offered I retort with how dangerous it would be for ‘my hammy’ and runners are ‘built to go in straight lines not move from side to side !’ The girls are less than impressed, another sacrifice us selfish runners make.

Truth be told my family does realise that running is important to me and they also realise it has stolen time that would have normally be assigned for them. Because of this they are flippant to the point of uninterested in any of my achievements which is a pity because it would be nice if they were to share in my successes (or failures)  but it seems I may have not followed Noakes successfully enough.

Running is a selfish sport and families do suffer because of it but I would hope my family realises that although I love my running nothing is more important to me than family. (Just don’t tell them I said that!)