I Don't Know How You Do It

"I don't know how you do it," said soooo many people.

Honestly, me neither. 

That's where I'm at right now. As we begin another spring sports season for my two boys, the anxiety attached to adding baseball and football practices and games to an already busy schedule is starting to weigh heavily on my spirits, as well as my hours of nightly shut-eye. 

How in the world am I going to continue to up my weekly mileage when I'm never going to be home?! How do I even fit it in right now?

As I contemplate this, here is what I have come up with.

First, I make sure I plan time for my daily runs. If I know I'm going to have a crazy busy evening, I get my butt out of bed at 4:30 AM and get my run in before work. Fun? No. Necessary? If I want to reach my goals...absolutely.

That's me after a 4:30 AM 5 mile run. I felt pretty proud to get that one done before work!

Next, I make spending time with my family a priority. What that means is that I rarely get my weekday runs done between the hours of 6 AM and 8:30 PM because my kids are awake during that time, and I'm either at work or hanging out with them. 

We love to go on adventures, and if my running took too much time away from that, it would be harder for my family to support it. Luckily, my husband is awesome about helping me get my runs in :)  But, I try hard to not interfere too much with family time because it's really important to me. 

Next, I don't rely on anyone but myself when it comes to my runs. I just don't have the time to accommodate anyone else's schedule. This might sound selfish, but really it's not. Believe me, I would MUCH rather run with friends, but I just can't afford to take extra time to make that happen very often. So, I sometimes end up running a LONG ways by myself.

That's me after running my half marathon "race" that was on the schedule all by myself. Originally I was supposed to run it with my sister, but due to family illness those plans fell through. I tried hard to find a replacement buddy, but couldn't be flexible on time, location, or pace....so...no buddy. And I survived. Barely.

Those are the big ways that I prioritize my schedule and manage to "do it." But honestly, that makes it sound like I really have my life put together in a nice, pretty package. 

Here are the other ways that I manage to make it happen:

• My house is a mess about 90% of the time
• Laundry is rarely done or put where it belongs
• Dinners aren't always planned and we eat Little Caesars at least once a week
• Bills are sometimes late
• Lunches aren't always healthy
• Notes are sometimes late being returned to the boys' teachers
• I don't watch TV unless I'm on the treadmill
• We run out of dog food...and sometimes human food
• I only get my hair cut and highlighted about twice a year
• My toes and fingernails are gross...no time for manis and pedis here :)
• Date nights? What are those? 
• I drink wine :)
• And I say a lot of prayers

And that's my reality. 

Sparkle.Pounce.Be a duck.

-Kendra