LOLZLetter 271 | Finding Balance: Juggling Fitness, Work, and Life
With Brittany D, a military airplane deficiency reporting manager
Welcome,
Another race-free weekend for me, but man, have I been exhausted following two World Majors in one week. Anyone else? And I know more than one person that ran both of them. So if you ran either Boston or London this week, congrats!
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This week continues on the newsletter series of balancing working out and working. In case you missed the last few weeks:
This week, I'm talking to my good friend and running partner Brittany D, a deficiency reporting manager, living in Edwards, CA.
What is your job? Deficiency Reporting Manager: This means, pilots and engineers will perform tests on the (military) jet, and they report when the jet doesn’t perform as it’s intended to. I’m responsible for tracking all of these deficiencies and generating Deficiency Reports to submit to the program office.
What are your usual work hours? 7:30-3:30, but I can flex my hours as needed.
Do you have a demanding job? On your feet? Sitting all day? I work a desk job. My office has ergonomic desks, so I have the option to stand or sit.
What benefits does your job have that not all jobs may have? Personally, I think it’s really cool that I get to work on a program that’s performing developmental tests on a new aircraft. I get to work with super talented engineers and pilots every day.
Are you training for something right now? I just ran the LA Marathon in March and am running Mountains to Beach half in April. After that I don’t have anything on the calendar. I’m considering training for another marathon in the fall.
When do you like to work out? Are there sacrifices you make to do that? Less sleep? Less family time? I don’t enjoy working out after work, so I choose to work out before work. I set my alarm for 5:00 on weekdays and try to get started with a run or workout around 5:30. I like to be finished before 6:30, so that I can get ready, have breakfast, and get my daughter ready for daycare. To support the early mornings, I’ve really been trying to make it a habit to be in bed by 9:00 pm.
How do you make time for other things like grocery shopping? Cleaning? Etc. I don’t lol. I’ve been pretty bad at the domestic side of things since I started working full time. We do our grocery shopping together as a family on Sundays after church. My husband cooks dinner most nights. While he cooks, I either play with our daughter, start a load of laundry, or do some other light cleaning.
How do you make time for the other things with working out? Strength? Core? Stretching? While I was training for my marathon, I did 4 days of running each week, 2 days of light training like stretching, Pilates, or yoga, and took one rest day. I totally let strength training sit on the back burner because I didn’t like being sore for my running days. Now that the marathon is over, I’ve been running 3 days a week and added strength training back into my routine. I feel so much more well-rounded when I’m not just focused on running.
Is your family supportive of your working out? My husband is very supportive of my running. However, it gets tricky with scheduling at times. He is training for some ultramarathon distance trail races this year, and we both like running before work. We take turns running outside while the other runs on the treadmill. Someone has to be at home since we have a 4-year-old. My husband travels a lot for work, so I use the treadmill when he is away. We don’t have any family nearby, so on Saturday mornings when we both have long runs, we pay a babysitter to come to the house. Once again, I know that’s not an option for everyone, but it’s been a helpful way for us to both be able to train for our races.
What tips do you have for someone trying to make time for working out and working? Make sleep a priority. Sleep is the best recovery tool. If you get enough sleep, it’ll be a lot easier to get out of bed in the mornings for early workouts. I know it’s not an option for everyone, but having a treadmill in your home makes it easier to get in runs while you have a sleeping kiddo or spouse who is out of town. Also, you can get great workouts from your own home. I pay for an iFIT subscription and stream workouts in my living room. We have a full gym in our garage, but I mostly just use dumbbells and my own body weight.
Thank you Brittany for your time!!
What is keeping me entertained this week?
Past My Prime: I really enjoyed this newsletter from Amelia Boone talking about being past her athletic prime. Sometimes I feel that way too. But similar to Amelia, I'm still enjoying what I do have. :-)
London Marathon 2024 results: Peres Jepchirchir breaks women's only world record