Tomorrow my 3 day training schedule has me going on a 13 mile walk. The following day I'm doing a half marathon. Did I mention the high for tomorrow is forecast for 86 and Sunday 88 degrees? Chuck Bartlett of Run Chuckit suggested that the Seafair Marathon be more about hydration and less about PRing. I am going to agree, for me, it will be a training walk with no real stops, a nice tshirt and a banana at the end.
I've been reading a lot about productivity, time management and stress reduction. One thing that struck me was the concept of visualizing what your day is going to be before you commit yourself to one more thing.
In this case, let's take my tomorrow.
TH is out of town, that means Ernest is all mine.
That means I have a 5:30 am dog walk at the park, shower, 8 am start to a 13 mile walk with lots of stops. We won't finish until 1 pm. I won't get home until 1:20 pm. I have time to wolf down something to eat, walk Ernest again, deal with whatever crises come my way and then run to Bellevue to pick up my race packet for the next day's half.
I should return home at 3 pm.
Walk Ernest again or at least do something to mildly entertain him.
Take another shower, do a few chores for tomorrow's potluck/bbq.
5 pm - go to 'rents to have dinner with a childhood friend and my mom and dad. I'm off the hook for making anything, but I'm responsible for bringing a box of mac and cheese and the legos.
Home at 8, walk Ernest.
Aunt P and cousin Scruffy are in town for Pride, hang with them. Walk Ernest and Scruffy, go to bed for a 5 am wake up.
Does that sound crazy?
It does to me once I put it all into my brain, buffered each activity for crap that could happen and then decided that it just isn't going happen.
My 13 mile walk is now a 7 mile walk at 7 am by myself. I have enough time to come home, run to market and chill in the heat. With dog walks, I'll finish the day at about 9 to 10 miles walked, not bad.
My training will survive my not being there for the 13 miles. My wallet will appreciate not stopping at Starbucks with the Hotties and I'll do things at my own pace.
Recently I started to really calendar, mostly visually using Google Calendar which synchs to the blackberry. It gives me a better idea of what my day is going to look like. I am trying to make better use of my time and resources - gas being one of them, so like every other person in the world, I'm starting to really combine trips.
I'm also learning to say no.
That is the hardest part.
nm
1 comment:
I was reading about all of your plans for today, and thinking how does she DO it all? Glad you decided that something had to give.
Learning to say no is the hardest part; I'm working on that one, too.
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