Finding Time To Run – A Tale Of Motivation and Opportunity
Our lives unfold on a fast forward pace and finding time to run feels like an impossible mission. Work usually takes us the biggest chunk of our days and it also adds fatigue and stress. Yet running is one of the best suited physical activities that we can do on a busy schedule. Let me explain why!
Back when I was thinking about consistent physical activity one of the challenges I had was finding the best possible activity to fit into my schedule. I’m a software engineer by heart, but most recently I have mostly a technical management role. This adds a lot of stress at times and my schedules are tighter and tighter. I also often need to travel for work or talk at conferences.
One of my favorite sports was always cycling. However, cycling was not an option to fit the above mentioned schedule, because I can’t really take my bike with me on my work travels and it also requires more time. You can’t just ride 5km and that’s it! That’s when running came into the landscape. Finding time to run is actually a lot easier. The only thinks you need is a pair of running shoes, some shorts, a t-shirt and sometimes a hoodie. That can easily fit in my luggage no matter where I go. Also, running requires less time, because you can literally go out and run for 30 minutes and that’s it.
Finding Time To Run – A Tale of Motivation
Unfortunately, finding time to run is not as easy as mentioned just above, because it still requires a high dose of will fo fit the runs into a tight schedule. There are mostly two options: either you go for runs early in the morning, before work, or after work. Finding the will to wake up earlier is not easy. On the other hand, finding the energy to go for a run after a stressful working day is not easy as well.
I have talked previously about motivation and some techniques I use for myself keep me motivated. As a very brief summary, I like to set myself some SMART goals. If you do that, your brain will get a decent amount of gratification and that keeps my motivation high. On a different note, signing up for races is also something that can keep you motivated. If you want to dig deeper into these concepts and especially if you want to understand how you can apply SMART goals to running, please read the post linked above.
Finding Time To Run – A Tale of Opportunity
On the other hand, finding time to run is also a tale of opportunity, because no matter how and where you work, no matter if you travel or not, you can still fit those 30 minutes of running. At least that’s what I told myself when I was heading into 3 weeks of work travel right in the first month I started to train consistently.
My schedule in Sofia was very busy, with day trips to Plovdiv and a lot of talks I needed to deliver to univeristy students and 3 different meetups. Most of the talks took place in the afternoon, so running after work was not an option. Yet on two different mornings that week I woke up extra early fo fit some runs into my schedule.
The first run was a fairly brief one of around 3.25 km. The second one was a little bit longer, of about 5.4km. What I did discover there was that running in the morning is actually a great way to discover the places you visit. There are no crowds and you also get the perfect light for some stunning photos.
Then I went straight to Bucharest. There, I also managed to get two runs early in the morning. One of around 6km and one of around 3.4.
On the way back home me and my wife stopped at some friends in Cristian, near Sibiu. They have a very nice fortified church there. Guess what I did early in the morning? Yes, you guessed it: I went for a run just short of 6km.
But that’s not all. One Saturday organized a BBQ. What’s the best way to not feel guilty about a BBQ? Well, to run towards it! This run actually felt awful because there was quite a windy weather and I realized that headwind is also dreadful when running, not only when cycling!
As you can see, there are plenty of opportunities that allow you finding time to run. You can discover new cities or you can simply run to a BBQ. The important thing here is to start thinking about running also as a way to commute from point A to point B. Any occasion is a good occasion to run.
Here’s also a gallery of some photos I took during my runs.
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