Alternate Week Training?

3 watchers

Hally Apr 2018 1:56pm, 24 Apr 2018 312 posts	0 Hally Wonderful Fetchies I'm after some advice... Without delving too deeply into my private life, but in order to give some context, I have recently separated from my wife and in the next couple of weeks will be having my 7 year old daughter staying with me every other week/weekend. It goes without saying that my daughter is my priority and that the change in not having another parent in the house during those weeks is going to mean some sacrifices have to be made not least of which will be the amount of running I can do. I don't want to stop running and already have two half marathons booked this year and a marathon for next year so I'm going to have to fit in a certain amount of training for those to remain realistic propositions, especially the marathon. As my ex doesn't currently work she has agreed to provide "childcare" before and after school on "my" weeks but given the current climate is extremely unlikely to extend that to allow me to run in the evenings (and to be honest this would effectively mean I would not see my daughter other than to put her to bed anyway so it's not really an option). My mum and dad have agreed to have my daughter on a Sunday morning so that I can still do a long run but other than that I'm struggling to see how I fit any running in during those weeks. I only get a 45 minute lunch break as well so not much scope for doing anything there either although I believe there may be shower facilities available but would need to check (it's a big site with various buildings and not something I've had to think about before). So to cut an increasingly long story short, are there any marathon/half-marathon training plans, or anyone with any experience of training for one, that could incorporate six consecutive days of non-running? Effectively one week on, one week off... Or any other suggestions about how I might go about keeping myself ticking over when I can't get out for a run? All thoughts, suggestions, comments, etc. welcome
StuH Apr 2018 2:09pm, 24 Apr 2018 2,216 posts	0 StuH Is a run-commute an option? 45 minutes lunch could be OK for a shorter session ?speedwork, if you have the option to eat at work.
lammo Apr 2018 2:24pm, 24 Apr 2018 8,835 posts	0 lammo What other non running stuff could you do during your parenting week? lunchtime gym? treadmill or rower at home when she's asleep? Good luck
FML Apr 2018 2:27pm, 24 Apr 2018 11,062 posts	0 FML A running buddy is a single parent and does a lot of treadmill work. Can buy or even hire a treadmill?
Hally Apr 2018 2:53pm, 24 Apr 2018 313 posts	0 Hally Thanks for your responses so far... Run-commute is not an option due to distance but I can eat at work so using the full 45 minutes would be an option for shorter sessions. I do have a cheap rower at home that has seen very little use so that's certainly also an option for some cross-training. Treadmill was something I had discounted without even looking into it thinking it would be too expensive but I've just had a quick look and was surprised that you can get one for a lot less than I thought so that may be something I can look into a bit further and would be the preferable option so far.
westmoors Apr 2018 6:04pm, 24 Apr 2018 2,480 posts	0 westmoors If you're looking to buy a treadmill, fleabay is a good place. When I signed up for my first marathon (2009) I bought one off there for about £100 from a lady who had bought it new the previous year for nearer £3000 and used it for marathon training then gave up running!
Dvorak Apr 2018 7:14pm, 24 Apr 2018 15,909 posts	0 Dvorak Can you get your daughter into running? Parkrun together? Or is there somewhere she could cycle where you could run beside? Or some Fetchies have fitted in sessions whilst their child is at their own activity eg swimming, dance, football.
Hally Apr 2018 10:29pm, 24 Apr 2018 314 posts	0 Hally Good idea Westmoors will have a look Some good suggestions as well Dvorak. Getting her active at the same time is a great idea
DeeGee Apr 2018 8:19am, 25 Apr 2018 17,947 posts	0 DeeGee I'm fortunately not a single parent, but there's a significant age gap between our children so we sort of default to having one each. My son's just turned eight and goes to cubs one evening a week, which is my guaranteed "session", I'm able to just about fit in a drive to the gym, 40 minute hard as nails treadmills session and drive back from the gym in between dropping him and picking him up. I presume that if you're sharing custody in this way that you're going to be living in the same approximate area as your ex partner? In which case it might be worth looking into whether there is a social activity like that that your daughter could do with her own peers which would also give her a bit of stability to hang onto while things are a bit iffy at home. Of course, it'll be selling this to the ex that would be hard.
fetcheveryone Apr 2018 4:58pm, 25 Apr 2018 19,249 posts	0 fetcheveryone I saw this thread yesterday, and remembered it just now. I'm pleased you've had some useful responses. It's inevitably a tough situation all round, so mainly I wish you well with it all.