My week in training
Juggling book writing, family and running training
I am currently writing a book. I have 12 weeks to write it – from start to finish. If that isn’t daunting enough, I’m also training for a 125km multi-stage ultramarathon in the Scottish Highlands. Not to mention teaching at university one day a week and oh I’m a mother-of-two as well.
I’m not sharing this to bring out the violins but to explain just how I fit in my training. I wrote about this earlier in the year sharing my tips on multi-tasking. I often run to the shops, run instead of walk the dog, and at the weekend combine a run with the kids on their bikes. I’m currently writing this newsletter while sat poolside as my eldest son has his diving lesson.
So, what does my week in training actually look like? On Instagram it looks like I just go for a lovely run each day but in reality there are a lot more plates spinning. Today I’m going to give a peek into my diary to see how I juggle it all.
Monday
This is my rest day so I can crack on with lots of work. I have to drop my son at school and take the dog for a walk first, meaning I’m not at my desk until 9.30am. I have three Zoom meetings today. Two related to the book and one with my work experience mentee. The plumber is also coming round.
When I’m not in meetings I crack on with book writing, and I take the dog for another walk when I go to collect my son from school. Zippy (the dog, not my son) needs 90 to 120 minutes of walking / running a day, so it’s usually more time efficient to combine this with a run. But I’m glad of the rest today because last Thursday I ran a 50km ultra and my legs are still a little stiff.
When I get home from pick-up I have my final meeting, then scoop dinner out of the slow cooker. Getting a slow cooker has been a massive time saver and I’ll usually cook three meals a week in it.
In the evening, I attend a running book club online before going to bed at 10pm. I’m currently reading a number of running books to help inspire my own writing.
Tuesday
Today I’m giving a talk about being a running journalist at a school about 45 minutes away. It’s a paid gig and the kids are absolutely on fire. I have a brilliant time.
I’m home by lunchtime and since the dog is at doggie day care I don’t have to worry about walking him. I have a list of university admin tasks to do and I need to plan my session for run club tonight.
I pick my youngest up from school, shove some food down him and then drop him off at Judo where dad takes over. I then head straight out to do my hill rep session before coaching my own running group. I rack up 10km and am home for dinner (another slow cooker meal) by 8pm.
Wednesday
I have a 10km easy run on my plan so I take the dog for a trail run straight after drop off. This run is probably the hardest of the week because I have usually done a harder session the night before with only a 13 hour gap between the two.
Once home I shower and crack on with book writing. I have a chapter I want to finish today. The only interruption is a 2pm tutorial with one of my university students and I also set up guest registration for my book launch. This is for my other book Ultra Women written with Emma Wilkinson. It will be published in May when hopefully this other book I’m writing will be almost finished.
I pick up my son at 3.15pm fitting a dog walk around it and then at 5.40pm head out to a doctor’s appointment. For once I have nothing on in the evening so I’m able to Netflix and chill.
Thursday
This is my interval session day. The weather is still freezing so I decide to delay it until later in the day when it has warmed up a little bit. I have one meeting related to the book and I also interview a fellow journalist for my other newsletter (Freelancing for Journalists).
Either side of these two Zooms I work on the book. I’m onto another chapter now and it’s great to be making steady progress.
My youngest son is at a friend’s house after school so I head out for my 15k session at 3pm with the dog. It is a 15 mins hard, 15 mins easy set – which I really enjoy – especially as I’ve recently discovered a new trail route.
At 6pm I head to my eldest son’s diving lesson where I write a piece on AI and journalism for the Freelancing for Journalists newsletter.
Friday
I’m in Sheffield for the day – travelling up by train from Market Harborough – teaching sports journalism students. We are talking about women and sport so I’m able to draw on a lot of my experience today. I talk about some of the content of our book Ultra Women and the barriers women face in endurance sport.
On the train I write training plans for the athletes I coach at Great Bowden Runners. They are running a mixture of distances from 10k to ultramarathon so there are a lot of different bespoke plans to create.
I get back to Market Harborough at 4.30pm which gives me time to pop to the gym for a 45 minute strength session. I do three sets of 10 reps on nine different machines, focusing on my glutes, hamstrings, quads, calves plus a little bit of core and upper body.
I pick my son up from after school club at 5.30pm and head home. It’s my turn to do the food shop so I head straight out with my eldest son. I’m fed, and done by 8pm, so have two hours to relax.
Saturday
One of my athletes is running the London Marathon in April and she’s never run more than a half marathon before. I’ve promised to meet her for a long run with a couple of other runners. She has 27k on her plan and I have 20k. We meet at Pitsford Reservoir where she is running loops.
I have Zippy my dog with me, who is quite happy to run all day. While waiting for Rachel to complete her first loop I take the opportunity to get my other friend to snap some photos of me with my hydration vest. I’m reviewing it for Live for the Outdoors and need pictures of me wearing it. We meet Rachel and the four of us do one lap, then I accompany her for the final bit, taking my mileage up to 20k. It is Rachel’s longest run ever and she does amazingly well. She has nailed her fuelling this week and it is making a massive difference.
I head home for a bath and a little snooze in the conservatory. I have no other plans so I just chill with my husband and kids for the rest of the day.
Sunday
I’m back to Pitsford reservoir to do 10k with my youngest son on his bike. Zippy is of course with us, and does a massive poo nowhere near a bin. It will take weeks for the smell of dog poo to leave my hydration vest.
In the afternoon we head to the allotment. I help my husband move the new shed into place and he fixes it together whilst I dig and weed. I then head to the gym for a shorter 30 minute strength session where I get round six machines.
By the evening I’m pretty pooped. But it has been a productive week clocking up 65k and writing two book chapters.
When the kids are in bed we sit down to watch a horror film and I fall asleep. Thank goodness tomorrow is a rest day.
Pick of the week
I’ve become a bit of a convert to magnesium powder. I’m always very sceptical of these kind of products especially because the excellent podcast Sliced Bread seems to debunk wonder products and demonstrate that the science behind them is pretty flimsy. But I do suffer with restless legs at night particularly after a long run or a heavy training week. So I started using Protein Rebel magnesium powder just before going to bed. And so far it seems to be working. Whether this is a placebo effect or a physiological one I don’t know, but neither do I care, because my legs no longer ache or twitch at night.
Thanks for reading this week’s newsletter. If you have any running news for me, let me know! Send feedback to lilycanter@yahoo.co.uk or suggest topics you’d like me to cover.
