Mommy Marathoner

Marathon Training as a Busy Mom Seems Like Craziness
Guest Post by Becky Reese, Sexy Mom's Running Club

When most people think of being a mom, they don’t normally think of marathon running. After all, who has the time with taking care of kids?  Less than one percent of the population is running a marathon, so mixing in children and busy schedules on top of that seems downright impossible.  I’m here to show you some ways that you can be a great mom and achieve your goal of running a marathon.

First, I suggest looking for a four-day training calendar.  Quality (not quantity) running is what counts.  While I agree that it is important to get running in, too many people only concentrate on running and forget about weight training, biking, or even playing with your kids.  Don’t count out Xbox Dance Central Three!  When you incorporate your kids into the training, it just doesn’t seem like training anymore - more like fun playtime.

Here’s an example of what a four-day training schedule looks like:

MON:  kid workout day

TUES:  speed workout (i.e. 3-4x 1-mile repeats at tempo with 2:1 work rest ratio)

WED:  easy run (i.e. 5-10 miles aerobic)

THUR:  kid workout day

FRI:  intervals or hill workout (5-10x steep 1-2 minute hill repeats with walk or jog down)

SAT:  rest

SUN:  long run (10-20 miles that include race pace intervals and fast finishes)

Make sure to concentrate on your long run.  The most common mistake people make is not getting up to 20 miles.  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 main problem people encounter with the long run is the time.  Pick one day a week where you have someone who can watch the kids.  Remember, you will be building up to 20 miles, which could take four hours or longer.  Here’s a great tip someone gave me: if possible, 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!

Additionally, you need to work your abs.  When you are struggling in the end, that core workout will help you get through.  To incorporate your kids, have them count the time on a stopwatch while doing planks or sit on your feet while you do sit-ups.  You can even get them to do sit ups with you!

Regardless of whether this is your first marathon or if it is your tenth, make sure you check the race route.  If your race route has lots of hills, highway running, or any condition that is different that what you are currently running in, it is important to incorporate those into your training.  Running on cement is a lot different than black top - the pounding is much harder on the body.  Likewise, if you only practice on a few hills and your race is very hilly (like the Nashville Rock ‘N Roll marathon), then you will struggle as the miles get higher.

Remember, marathon training should be fun.  Life is crazy busy and if training is not fun, you won’t complete it and you will not be ready.  Enjoy it - and celebrate crossing that finish line! 

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 to help busy women make themselves a priority again, while still balancing career and family.

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