Running while still having a social life!
When I decided to run the GA Marathon a few years ago (my first), I knew the months leading up to the race would be physically taxing. What I didn't realize was that training for a marathon would be extremely taxing on my social life as well.
In the throes of training, spontaneity pretty much goes out the window. In order to train for a big race, you follow a training plan. Girls want to grab a glass of wine after work on Tuesday? You can't, you have to run 6 miles.
Impromptu offer for concert tickets on a Friday night? Nope, you have to sleep so you can do your long run the next morning. Your life starts to revolve around preparing for your race and if you're not careful, your social life takes a nosedive. But it doesn't have to.
Here are four tips to help you maintain at least some semblance of a social life while training for a marathon:
1. Run in the Morning
Chances are you're not going to get a phone call at 5 am asking if you want to do something fun in the next hour. It's much more likely that will happen at 5 pm so if you get your run out of the way, you'll have all evening free.
2. Run with Friends
I ran three half marathons with one of my good friends and we did most of our long runs together. While we might not gab over margaritas together on a Friday night, during training, there's no reason we can't catch up while running. Friends who run understand what you're going through. They'll understand how you can love and hate training so much at the same time and push you when you want to give up.
(That's me in the white shirt with my friend Joan at the 2011 Publix GA Half Marathon.)
3. Schedule Plans Ahead of Time
And fit training around those plans. Just because your schedule has you running an eight miles on a Wednesday doesn't mean you can't flop-flop your schedule around and do that run on Tuesday instead. (This really applies more if you run at night.)
4. Plan Creatively
If you have your long run in the morning, you're not going to be closing down the clubs. But that doesn't mean that you can't do anything. Try to find something a little more relaxing that will allow for a good night's sleep like cooking a carbo-loading meal with friends or going to the movies.
Do you have any tips for maintaining your social life while in the midst of training? Let me know by commenting below!
Article originally published in Date Night Magazine.
