In Which Jenn Ponders Her Running Future

Okay, here's a post I've been planning for awhile, except I had initially planned to discuss it in the abstract. It's about when the running stops.

Well, no. Not stops. But diminishes. For the past two years or so I've been running 30 - 35 miles per week over the course of 3 - 4 days per week. I have run almost exclusively after work because I am not a morning person. I sometimes adjusted my schedule around hanging out with friends, but it was never very hard.

Even in this easily managed period, I started to wonder: how long can I keep up this time commitment? Certainly not indefinitely...

Two months ago I started seeing someone. And I did the unthinkable: I blew off a few runs to hang with him. No, not ALL my runs. I've come in more or less on point with my mileage more weeks than I haven't. But I have a sneaking suspicion it'll happen again... and maybe not even entirely infrequently. (Just to clarify: he has never asked me to skip anything. It's my own decision to say I'm not busy.)

Now, this doesn't come down 100% on the head of the boy. We're dating, that's all. Heck, he's on vacation this week; when he gets back he may well inform me that he found his time away from me highly enjoyable and would I kindly remove myself from his universe permanently. It could be a self-solving problem. It's not impossible. But neither is it the point.

Because: six or seven hours dedicated to working out every week, plus a handful of ballet classes. That has been my M.O. for a very long time. And as much as it's worked for me in the past, I have to accept that it's unlikely to be sustainable forever. I mean, maybe things WILL work out with this guy; countless new time-sucking scenarios could stem from that. Or maybe I'll get a promotion or new job that's more demanding. Maybe I'll find myself unexpectedly caring for a sick relative, or needing to get a second job to make ends meet. I don't know. And I don't know what impact it will have on my training schedule.

So I'm wondering: has anyone made the transition from plenty of time to run to not enough? How did you deal? How do you balance your training with work and personal life? Or do you recommend that I cut ties with all non-running-buddy humans?

Don't forget, you can follow us on Twitter @fairestrunofall. To see how our training is going, check out Jenn's dailymile here and Moon's dailymile here. If you have any questions for us, leave a comment or email us at fairestrunofall@gmail.com. See ya real soon!