Sunday Funday (or Runday)

If your Monday through Friday is anything like mine, it can be a challenge to do everything you'd like during the week. If I have school, forget it. I get home at 11, and since I need to be up again by 6am, it's straight to bed. If it's not a school night, I'll get to the gym for a bit, come home, have dinner and by then it's probably 830 or 9pm - not a lot of time for much else. I make up for a busy week by making sure I'm setting time aside on the weekend for fun and all of the other things I don't get around to.

Sunday is the day I do my "long runs". There is no real reason beyond the fact that I have more time on Sundays than any other day. If your Saturdays or Wednesdays are less busy - go with that. Sunday is also typically the day races are held, so it also creates a routine, but maybe not as big of a deal. This week, for instance, I made a point to get to the gym for ~30 minute work outs on the days I was able, but today I'll be doing an hour. A longer run, maybe some more weight lifting - stuff like that. When I get deeper into my training, my Sunday will turn into just a long run for whatever distance I need to do that week. If you're thinking you don't have time to train for an endurance race, it should be noted that Sunday is the only day I run for longer than an hour. I'll get more into long runs specifically later, but the point today is - make time for it!

Good Friends in San Francisco before Bay to Breakers 2011

The other very important part of Sunday Funday/Runday is the fun (not that running can't be fun...). If you're a busy person, or even if you're not that busy, it's critical to make time for fun with friends and family. You can't spend your whole weekend doing errands and chores. When I lived in Los Angeles, my running friends would have "Sunday Funday" where everyone got together, often at a bar but didn't have to be and just hang out, watch sports, whatever. The point was simply to make time for friends. Disclaimer - Sunday Funday works about 100x better than Tuesday Funday, trust me.

 It may be counterintuitive to schedule "fun", but if you have a lot going on in your life (which I'm assuming most of us do), you may have to pencil it in so you can hold yourself accountable. Sometimes you just need to let loose; your work will still be waiting for you when you're done. Time for me to go lace 'em up now. What do you like to do on Sunday Funday?

Drive Slow