Kinda hard to whine...

I love John Bingham.. I got this via email today, and minus the 4 babies, this is most women I know. Busy, work , home, just LIFE in general... so how do you find the time ? and when you do find it, how do you use it wisely ?

Via the NB Training program from the RnR Vegas site.. my training starts on August 31st... totally workable...

and NEVER EVER think that a Half Marathon is not a reach-able goal. ANYONE can do this ... I swear... anyone !

Training for a Half-Marathon with Four Babies

Dear John,
I set a goal for myself that I would complete my first half-marathon before I turned 30, which will happen November 28. I found a race that's on October 31; is that realistic?

Some background: I've been running about 3 miles a day, five or six times a week. I work 12-hour shifts and have four children, including my youngest, who I had just seven months ago. So I need some tips for a time-pushed runner. I really want to make this happen.

I know that what I am doing now will not get me to the finish line, so any tips would be greatly appreciated! - Tanya

Hi, Tanya. WOW. You’ve been busy! I had one child by 30 and thought I had my hands full.

The biggest problem nearly every runner has when trying to train for a long-distance race is time. So, in that sense, your problem is not all that unusual. The specifics of your situation -- the four children and the 12-hour shifts -- do make finding the time more challenging.

The key to success in any long-distance training program is the long run. You’ve got to be able to gradually increase the distance of that long run once a week or, if necessary, once every other week. For most of us, an 11-mile long run before a half-marathon is more than enough. Working backward, then, your longest single training run is going to be hours long.

If you’ve already found a way to run 3 miles a day five or six times a week, then your daily runs are going to take care of themselves. You’ll want to focus more on the quality of those shorter runs and may actually find that a total of four runs per week will be better, since one of them will be a longer run.

You’ll also have to be realistic about your goals. You say that you wanted to complete a half-marathon before you turn 30. That seems like a great goal. The key is to remember that your goal is to complete the half-marathon, and not start putting unrealistic time goal pressure on yourself.

What’s certain is that if you don’t try, you’ll never know.

Waddle on,

John