Congratulations on your life changes. I hope more friends join in with you. Make sure you are getting in 10 – 12 miles in a week so you can easily complete your 10K and 8K runs with spring. I would recommend in March you add one day of swimming. Then in April you will want to bike during one of your gym days. I am not sure where you live but if you are in a cool climate like Wisconsin as soon as it warms up get outdoors and bike to prepare for your spring triathlon. In May, I would recommend adding a second day of swimming.

Keep up the running but after your 8K in April (Crazy Legs??) you are going to want to have a good balance of swim, run, bike and strength training workouts each week.

Best of luck with your upcoming events, let me know how they go.

Run Strong,
Karen

I am currently doing the strength training and core workouts from Dustin’s Fit Moms for Life DVDs. Like you, I started doing interval training on the treadmill, and I keep a journal, too. I am starting to run races with my friends as a way to show them we can hang out without eating or drinking. So far, I have recruited 4 friends! I am going to be running a 10K March 14, an 8K run April 24, and a sprint triathlon July 11th. Besides strenth and interval training, what else should I be scheduling in? Oh, I usually get 5 days a week in, maybe 6, at the gym.

Thanks,
Margaret

Fitting in exercise is the biggest challenge most of us have. For me, I find starting off my day with a workout is best because I have fewer excuses and it is quiet in the house. Some mornings I am really tired and I may only get in 15 or 20 minutes but that is better than nothing.

Another trick that works for me is creating a weekly workout plan. On Monday I am going to do Dustin Video #2 on Tuesday, 20 minutes of treadmill interval running with core from video #1, Wednesday – off etc.. Then I record what I did in a small notebook and how I felt. This is your own personal trainer that will hold you accountable. Knowing what you are going to do for the week will help keep you focused and motivated.

When you are working outside the home and managing the household, time for yourself is hard to find. But it is really important. Committing to exercise and scheduling it on your calendar will give you time to focus on YOU making you a better Mom, wife and friend.

I would recommend you start with a 4 – 5 day a week workout plan. Remember if you only have 15 or 20 minutes hop on the treadmill for some intervals or do 2 cardio workouts from the Fit Moms for Life videos.

You can do this! Let me know if you need any more tips. Get strong so you can enjoy your hobby or riding endurance horses even more.

Karen

I need to know how you are fitting this into your schedule? I have 2 children, work a full time job (I’m in sales so I spend a good portion behind the wheel then come home to do more work to prepare for the next day). I have 5 of Dustin’s DVD’s and have managed to work out with them 4 times. I am exhausted at 9 p.m…. I don’t know how you people do this! My husband is on the road a bit so home life falls to me. I ride endurance horses (when I have time) and know this would make me more fit to ride but….
Give me some tips, please!
Kristin

You have set a great goal to run a 5K. One thing I like to tell beginning runners is make sure you increase your mileage slowly. Running too many miles too early in your training will cause injury and make you frustrated. As you near your race, you should be running approximately 9-11 miles in a week. This will allow you to comfortably run a 5K race. You should work your way up to running two, 3.25 mile runs and one 4 mile run in a week.

Let me know how many training weeks you have until your race and how many miles you are currently running and I would be happy to respond with some running recommendations.

Keep including Fit Moms For Life as the strength training, burst cardio and core work will help prevent injuries and help you to run stronger.

Stay Fit – Karen

Congratulations on your fitness accomplishments! I truly admire how hard you have worked and have balanced everything in your busy life! Seeing how fit you have become has really inspired me to work out harder this semester so I can try to keep up with your workouts when I’m home over break.