Struggling - help!

[sarah65]

So, I’m struggling to keep going after a great summer of regular running, reaching 10k and feeling great. Life is getting in the way with increased commitments in the mornings and less time to myself. I was thinking about switching to trying to run in the evenings. I never have before though and am a creature of habit and am absolutely a morning person. Has anybody else successfully switched to evening running ? And where do you get the energy from after working all day ??! Any advice would be very gratefully received. I don’t want to give up on myself after all this hard work ☹️

[Tartancat Graduate10]

I prefer to run after work - there are less time constraints and I spend all day looking forward to it.

The trick is to get your running kit on as soon as you get home, do your warm up and go straight out. Sitting down for "5 minutes" is fatal!

Good luck 😀

[sarah65 Graduate10 in reply to Tartancat]

Thanks - that’s good advice

[sunshinefish Graduate10 in reply to Tartancat]

I do this too, during the holidays I ran in the mornings but now I am back at work it's straight after work.

I get all my stuff out ready on the morning, get in and straight out again. Or as straight out again as you can with an 8 year old who has to come with me! If I get distracted or don't make a smooth get away I find the run is tougher mentally.

I also do one of my runs at the weekend, depending on the weather as to what day I do, but prefer to do Sundays, as that's my usual one (I find it easier to do running if I have a set routine!)

[Tartancat Graduate10 in reply to sunshinefish]

Routine is good, especially when you've got kids! My weekend run varies depending on the weather forecast ( I choose sunshine over rain every time!)

[sunshinefish Graduate10 in reply to Tartancat]

So do I! Hence my first Saturday run yesterday. A bit daunting as there was an entire football team on the track as well as a lot of little kids on bikes but I eventually settled in and got going.

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate10]

Get up earlier and run then Head torches and high viz.. a great start to any day

[Hidden]

When work is too busy, I run Saturday and Sunday, just to get the KMs in

It is tricky when life is hectic and I find that my running distance is quite variable. Some weeks only one run, other weeks four or five. I am off out in the rain shortly

[HoagyM Graduate10]

Know how you feel Sarah, I have really struggled with motivation again these last couple of weeks. My problem is the opposite of yours, in that I'm retired so have the luxury of (pretty much) running whenever I want. But in the summer I had to go out early to avoid the heat, so was up at the crack of dawn and straight out. Now I am still getting up very early (to ferry my wife and/or son to the station etc), but then think it's daft to go out in the dark and cold when I can just wait for the sun to come up... and then later on in the day there's always something else to do instead... so just don't go. It's a real problem at the moment.

[TrixabelleB Graduate10]

I couldn't face running in the evenings, I love how running sets my day up, feeling like superwoman last all day 🤣. Also the world is much more peaceful early morning than evening. So, I came to the decision to start going to bed earlier and get up earlier. Was a bit tricky to start with as I really valued that peace and quite after the kids had gone to bed, but I'm used to it now, I'm deffo a morning person, doing all my best work before midday so don't feel the strain of getting up earlier as long as I sick to my earlier bedtime.

[Sarakc Graduate10]

I know how you feel too! I’m a morning person and work part time with very early starts 4 days a week which includes a Saturday! I feel exhausted after work as it’s an active job and I can’t imagine running after work! Any time I have run in evening I’ve found it hard to sleep that night. At moment I go Sunday mornings and then one other morning on one of my days off! I’d like to fit another one somewhere! I’m always thinking about when I might run!!! I find evenings more awkward with meals etc! Hope you manage to work something out. 😀🏃‍♀️

[Deals1 Graduate10]

I'm feeling the same. Last 'run' was Monday. Needed some more rest days as tight calf (thankfully starting to feel better now - after some good advice posted on here) before I started " running" was never a morning person... But I seem to prefer it for running, I seem to have more energy (unless it's just in my head) then I feel better for the rest of the day. But I'm struggling ethe dark at the moment. Monday the park was darker than I thought it would be, so I had to Change route.

I think we will just have to push ourselves and get up and out..then the run will get lighter rather than darker...that's my plan anyways!! Good luck!!

[DebJogsOn]

I can really empathise with the switch from summer running.

I run in the evenings during the week in term time as I couldn't possibly get up early enough to fit in a run before work. I try to make these kind of business like runs - usually a shorter interval session and a 5kish distance and then I 'treat myself with a longer leisurely run at the weekend - when I try to find more interesting trail routes.

Getting out of the door after work is sometimes a mental challenge but once I'm out I can't say I notice a difference in energy levels and I certainly feel better and more relaxed about the stresses of the day after a run than on the days that I don't run.

Keep running 😊

[Hidden]

I run straight after work but I change into my running gear at work and go to the park from the train station. If I went home I’d never go out again. I’m planning on lunchtime runs for winter. Is that a possibility for you ?

[Sqkr]

I run in the evening as much as I can, I love it. Running in the dark is lovely, everything feels magical. I don't know about energy, it always seems to be there, so it's not something I think about. These days I run in the evening less than I used to as it's a better use of my time to run at lunchtime at work, but I miss it. In fact I'm waiting for it to get dark tonight so I can go out 😀 If you tell yourself it's a bad thing or a chore you'll start to believe it, try to look forward to it instead! Running in the evening is brilliant. The twinkly lights, the coolness of the air, the bats and foxes. It's my favourite.