Sometimes we all need a little planned motivation. You know, that little “thing” that’s going to get you out the door, help you lace up your shoes and get moving just a little more.

I do 95% of my workouts at night once the girls go to bed, which is usually around 7:15. It can take them a while to fall asleep some nights and during that time I do the dishes, start the laundry, stoke the wood stove and email or blog. It can be hard some nights finding the motivation to get out my workout clothing and put it on but if I don’t do it, I only have myself to blame, right?

I get asked a lot “How do you workout at night after working all day?” My response is usually, “I don’t know, I just do it”.

I’m a PM Runner

When my husband is away things are busy for me as it would be any single parent. I get the girls up in the morning, get them fed, drop them off at day care and then I go to work. I pick them up around 5ish, make dinner, play, do dishes etc and they I get them ready for bed. Really, it’s not all that different to most people with children….I’m sure some of you can relate.

Once the girls are in bed I wait until I know they are asleep to work out which gives me ample time to get my workout gear on. Some nights I’ll put on my workout gear while the girls get their pajamas on and some nights I wait until the last-minute a.k.a. I procrastinate.

I usually don’t start working out until 8 pm….7:45 pm if I’m really lucky. On those days when I’d have a longer run, I would sometimes be running past 9 pm and still had to shower, dry my hair etc. Those days await me 🙂

The hardest part is when I am putting the girls to bed in their separate rooms. With Hilary, all the lights are off and I usually sing with her in the rocking chair and for some reason ALWAYS close my eyes. There have been many nights I open my eyes and think, SHIT, you still have to run….don’t relax, don’t fall asleep. I then pop in Lilly’s room and tuck her in bed, get my gear on and make my way to our treadmill.

Today, I woke up knowing I could run 2 k in the evening. Yup, I decided to go for increasing my distance verses increasing my speed. I also did my hamstring exercises last night – did some squats with no pain! Whoop whoop!

After getting dressed this morning I thought if I laid out my running gear I would be that more motivated to run. I’m kinda excited if you can’t tell to run my 2 k.

My planned motivation……

And thanks for everyone’s comments on my last few posts. It can be hard not running the distance I want to but know I am going to be better in the long run (ha ha, see what I did there).  Anyway, your comments and ideas are appreciated.

Do you have your workout clothing ready to go for your planned workout?

What little thing to you do to motivate yourself to workout after work?

AM or PM runner/swimmer/zumba class go-er ???