You all know how I sometimes get free schwagg to talk about on my blog, right? This time OutsidePR has sent me some sweet schwagg to share with you. Read on for details of how you can enter a contest to win some of this cool stuff…
What will you win?
Three winners will be selected at random from all eligible entries. Each winner will receive
- one pair of Ryders Eyewear cool sunglasses valued at $39.99-$44.99
- a coupon code for a free RoadID of your choice valued at up to $31.50
- 2 packages each of Gu Chomps and Gu Brew Recovery valued at $9.80.’
- That’s a grand total of up to $86.29 of free schwagg!
What do you have to do to enter?
Since starting working full time last November, I am having a very hard time balancing life, work, and training. So, I want to pick your brain! Please post your tips and ideas for balancing life/work/training as a comment on this blog article. Your comment must be at least 40 words! I don’t just want “get up earlier in the morning”. Tell me HOW you motivate yourself to get up earlier? How do you squeeze a decent lunchtime workouts in just an hour? How do you organize your gear to save time? How do you find energy and motivation after working all day to go home, feed your family dinner, and then do a workout? Oh, and how do you get more value out of less training…I’d love to know that secret. Please tell me! If you have a photo to go along with your idea, email them to ncskibum@gmail.com and I will add it to your comment. I can’t wait to read all of your ideas!
Legal Mumbo Jumbo:
– Contest only open to US and Canadian residents.
– You may enter now through Thursday April 1st, at noon (Eastern time).
– All entries will be placed into a random drawing.
– The 3 winners will be announced on April 1st at 8pm, and will be asked to contact me so I can get them their winnings!
A big THANKS to the people at Ryders Eyewear, RoadID, Gu Energy Labs, and Outside PR for being so generous! Thanks guys!
So enter NOW! You only have through Thursday April 1st at noon! Be sure to check out my review of RoadID…and stay tuned for my thoughts on the Ryders Eyewear!
My full-time job is being a stay at home mom so I’ve lucked out there. There’s no way I could have done my Ironman if I was working too! You people who work and train impress me! I’m also one who can’t put my workouts off until the evening because most of the time I won’t end up doing them. The evenings are really the only time I see my husband so I try to keep that time reserved for him. I have a really hard time getting up early, though. Maybe in the summer it will be easier when it’s not cold and dark. When I do make it out the door early in the morning it’s usually because I’ve got my clothes laid out and my bag packed so I don’t have to think about it. I try to get going and then wake up. I’m usually glad when I do get my workout done early, but of I don’t, I can usually go to the gym and drop my daughter off at their childcare so that helps A LOT! Having a bike trainer is also really helpful because I can do that during nap time or while my daighter watches a movie or something. Makes me want a treadmil too! 🙂 good luck with your training, I think you’re doing a great job!
Ahh… the eternal question…How do you balance everything? First of all, I think you do a pretty good job already, my friend. The thing I always think of when I’m trying to figure out my life, schedule, etc, is keeping true to the things that make me happy. Being with my family makes me happy, so I do that. Training makes me happy, so I do that. Working makes me happy, so I do that. Cleaning does not make me happy, so I don’t worry about it. When my house gets to the point where it’s starting to bug me (not making me happy) then I clean. I also do a lot of training during off hours, when my son is napping, after the kids are in bed, etc. For me the hardest thing is often just getting out the door, so preparing the night before is also huge!! Triathlon is supposed to be fun, not stress you out, so if you are feeling stressed out about training, maybe take a step back and figure out why you are feeling that stress.
Thanks for this great giveaway, Carol!!
I just completed a 16 week marathon training program and only missed one workout (due to injury). The sure-fire trick to getting out the door? “Don’t be lazy.” Those three little words have gotten me out of bed at 5am, out the door in -15 degree windchill weather, and through the wall at around mile 18 countless times. I say it to myself every morning when the alarm goes off and I just want to roll over and every time I come home from a long day at work and just want to hit the couch. Any excuse I have ever come up with not to workout can be boiled down to laziness. I am never too tired, sore, busy, etc. to do my workout. So I workout, and gloat because although I might be cold, sleepy, or bored, I am certainly NOT lazy.
I work full time and go to school full time, I am new to the tri world and what keeps me going is the thought of me crossing the finish line for the first time ever and knowing that all of the late night, early morning, and super fast lunch workouts have paid off. My Tri Training is a passion so it is no burden to squeeze in tri training between classes and my work schedule. My job is very flexible with my scheduling so it allows me to work my training schedule in whenever I can (I sell real estate) so that helps me out a lot. I also run mini-blocks on days when I cannot devote a full schedule of training. Reading this blog at work also helps me to get and stay motivated to succeed. Thanks so much for the awesome info you provide! Keep it up!
(This is a continuation of the previous post – just one entry for both to keep it fair 🙂 )
Oh and I forgot to add – bike commuting helps out a lot once it gets light enough to do it. Bring your work clothes and shower stuff to work the day before and pre-plant it. If you can’t make it all the way to work/back for some reason, like it being too far or too many freeways, have someone drop you off at a specific point. Or carpool in and ride the bike home. I’ve found some great routes by just exploring off-roads in the car and on http://www.bikely.com .
It’s tough. I work full time, go to school 3/4 time, and am currently trying to train for a 70.3 in Kansas. Needless to say time is limited and I still need a bit of a social life.
It’s tough, but I make it a point to get up early and get the workouts done before work at least 3 times a week. 3 times is a reasonable goal and if you can make it a 4th day without hitting the snooze button (or outright shutting it off), consider that a bonus! I always have a rest day built into the workweek so one day feels restful. By getting this stuff done in the morning, it’s not hanging over my head after work so if an impromptu invite for happy hour (or a big lunch) comes up, I can balance what little social life I have.
I had to start out by making the workouts 5:30, then each week backing it off by :15. I get up now at about 4:30 or 4:45 most week days, depending on the workout needed. There’s always a primary workout plan, but if there is a chance of rain, I’ll have a backup plan to go to the gym instead of running the neighborhood.
The workout clothes are laid out and the gym bag is packed (with work clothes/makeup etc) the night before so that I only need 15 minutes to get up, pee, brush the teeth and get out the door. No excuses. 🙂
Carol you motivate so many of us, surely we can return the favor in some ways. Thank you!!!
My brother and I decided to follow the same training plan for an upcoming race and that has helped my motivation quite a bit. It’s no fun having your little brother calling you out the next morning if you hadn’t done the workout the previous evening. We also live near each other and are similar fitness capabilities, so as much as our schedules allow, we train together following a very detailed training plan he put together from a book. Having the built in competition between each other makes keeping my training consistent relatively easy, to be honest.
Neither my brother nor I have kids, so that probably makes balancing everything easier for us, but when things do get a bit hectic, I don’t beat myself up over a missed workout here or there. As long as I feel like over the course of a week, I increased my fitness, I usually feel good about it.
Balancing school, work, boyfriend time and training has been really difficult. Can’t say I’ve mastered it myself. I am trying to get up earlier, schedule doctors appointments as early as I can so they don’t interfere with schoolwork and planning workouts days ahead. Been giving myself weekly goals as well.
I’ve taken to splitting my workouts into two parts: one before work and one after work. I talk myself into getting out of bed at 4:30 A.M. four days per week (and I sleep in a little on weekends) to get in 1-1.5 hours before work. My alarm clock is way across the room so that I have to physically get up and turn it off. By that point, I’m awake and moving anyway. I have my gear ready to go and my workout clothes laid out, so really I have no excuse not to get dressed and get going. Twice a week, I swim with a group of people, which keeps me accountable to waking up early.
I head straight from work to the gym / lake to get in the last part of my workout before bedtime. My gear bag is always packed and in my vehicle so that I cannot talk myself out of getting everything done. I’m tempted to start squeezing in short naps during my lunch break so that my body gets enough rest time.
Once I’m home for the evening, I enjoy a recovery drink and an hour to myself. Nice and quiet 🙂 Then I make sure to pack up my gear for the following day & leave it near the door so that I don’t leave it behind. I also pack up all my meals for the day on the night before that way I’m not tempted to dive into fast food or unhealthy meals during the week.
Hope this helps some! Good luck 🙂
I work full time and my daughters are 1 & 3 years old. As has been mentioned mornings are my best times with Masters Swim Tuesdy, Thursday and Saturday. I accept missing one workout/week if I have an early meeting. Lunchtime runs work great for me, but I usually limit them to 30 minutes. Bicycling is the toughest and is usually a longer ride on the weekends and a quick spin after work one day per week so that I am home for family responsibilities. The sacrifice for me is giving up the last 20% of effort that would help become a competitive age grouper, upwardly mobile employee and father of the year. If I can make 80% of family stuff like going to the park, meals, baths and cleaning up around the house I am satisfied. I accept missing dinner occasionally and missing lower priority workouts like strength training.
Wow, I’m loving all the ideas, THANKS! Keep ’em coming! Dang, that’s not 40 words, so I guess I can’t win. lol, I can’t win anyway!
I like the first posters comment about “priorities and consistency,” because that is absolutely what it is for me. I had to learn to make myself and my training a priority, as well, otherwise all my other priorities took precedence.
The most important thing for me is just making sure I’m always prepared. If I think I can fit in a workout over lunch, I’ll pack my gear up and load it in my car first thing in the morning. That way if I find some spare time I can’t use the excuse of “I don’t have everything.” This includes making sure I have an emergency set of headphones and socks in my car at all times, because I tend to forget those most often.
I try to go to the gym or for an outdoors workout immediately after coming home from work whenever possible, because if I don’t I’ll get tired or find an excuse to skip the workout. I try to incorporate workouts with my family when I can (going to the park with husband and dog and running laps around them) so that I can spend time with family and also get my training in.
It’s not always easy, and I’ve been slacking lately because I haven’t been following the “priorities and consistency” rule, but that’s life 🙂