Tom Foreman Has Some Great Tips for Balancing Running and Life (Best Of)

Today we are taking a little trip down memory lane, and reliving my chat with Tom Foreman.

When this episode first aired back in October of 2015, I had many people tell me that they loved this episode.

If you haven’t caught this episode before, enjoy! And if you’ve been listening since Tom and I chatted back in the day, I hope you enjoy this trip down memory lane as much as I have.

The Allure of the Peculiar

Since getting back into running a few years before our chat, Tom has run a lot of different races. And some of his favorite races, at least at the moment, are the “odd” ones.

Tom Foreman Hitting the Trails

There are so many “standard distance” races, but running something out of the ordinary keeps things fresh and new. Whether it’s a random 11 miler or a 57k ultra, those aren’t common distances and sometimes it can be fun to race something new.

If nothing else, it’s a guaranteed PR!

The Blessing/Curse of Being a “Natural”

As a kid, Tom was a bit of a natural in terms of his running.

In high school, he could run and win most races without training very much. As the races got bigger and the competition increased, he was no longer just cruising to victory because the runners in these races had similar talent but they actually worked on becoming better runners.

After high school, he ran a couple of marathons with his brother with minimal training.

While he survived the races, running became less fun because it hurt.

As life became busier and busier, running went by the wayside for Tom for a number of years.

Balancing Work, Family, and Everything Else in Life

Trying to Balance Running and Life

We are all busy.

I don’t know about you, but I know that I often wish that I had just a few more hours available to me each day.

And Tom recognizes the struggle that we all face when it comes to living a full life.

One of the real challenges is not getting fit through running, but getting running to fit into a full life. ~Tom Foreman Click To Tweet

And he’s right!

I’d love to be able to run much more than I do currently, but I also have to make time to work. I have to make time to be a husband. I have to make time to be daddy.

There are so many other things we have to make time for in out lives, if we want to have a well balanced life, that we have to find ways for our running to fit in without sacrificing everything else.

And that’s easier said than done.

One way that Tom has found to be successful in balancing running with the other aspects of his life is the decision to put just as much effort into the other areas of life as he does into his running.

Think about that for a minute.

That means that if you’re willing to get up at 4 am on a Saturday morning to get your long run in, you better be willing to skip an afternoon nap in order to play with your kids or help your spouse around the house.

Why? Because you need to show them that they are just as important to you as your run was that morning.

The more I think on this one piece of advice, the more I realize that I’m often guilty of prioritizing my runs over spending quality time with my family.

Maybe you can relate…

My Year of Running Dangerously

My Year of Running Dangerously by Tom Foreman

A few years ago, Tom’s eldest daughter asked if he would run a marathon with her.

Like any good dad, Tom couldn’t say no so they picked a race and began training right away.

Training. For the first time in Tom’s running life, he was actually focused on training for a race. And the results of actually training for a race were readily apparent to him.

Over the next 16 weeks, Tom and his daughter trained “together” for her first marathon. She was away at college for most of the training, but they were in touch daily comparing training notes and keeping each other accountable.

At some point after their marathon, the idea of turning the journey and how running has re-entered his life turned into a book, and My Year of Running Dangerously was born.

It’s a great book, and it’s about much more than just running/training for a race.

The book is about the beauty of running. No matter how fast or slow you are. No matter how far you are capable of running.

Running is a beautiful thing, and Tom does an amazing job of encapsulating that beauty and the ups and downs associated with it.

I try and put as much effort into the other things in my life as I do into running. ~Tom Foreman Click To Tweet

If you want to connect with Tom, reach out to him and say hi on Twitter!

As Always, I’d Love to Know What Stood Out to You From this Episode! Let Me Know Your Takeaway in the Comments Below!

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