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How to Hit Snooze

Posted September 17, 2007 at 02:00 PM by Alexandra Haller

Section: Her Health, Her Motivation

In July of this year there was an interesting story about Susan Loken, a true marathon mom. Loken is a single mother of three boys. She works full time. She is also a world-class athlete.  Her best marathon time is 2:41. How does this woman accomplish so much in an average day when some of us struggle to find time for one load of laundry? Loken begins by literally waking up before the crack of dawn. She is up by 4 a.m. to beat the Phoenix heat and, I imagine, to get a jump start on everything she needs to do.

I sent the article to Emily Stef, a friend of mine, who also works full time, commutes and is in a part-time Master’s program. Emily often bemoans her lack of time for working out and I thought this article would inspire her. After all, if the amazing Susan Loken can mother three children on her own, run a household and still work her 40 hours, shouldn’t we all be able to just wake up 15 minutes earlier?

Maybe not.  Emily, 31, felt it was impossible to relate to Loken, who seems to be a super hero with magical strength.  She relayed her sentiments via email.

“For some reason those stories don’t inspire me. I feel like I will never be like that. I will never get up at 3:30 in the morning to work out, it is just so out of my realm of thinking. She is like some sort of bionic super woman that I can’t relate to.”

I wonder if this is how most women feel. We live in a time when it seems like everyone expects us to do so much. If we can stay an hour late at work, why not stay two hours later? If we can write a decent A-grade paper for school in one day, can we take a whole weekend to write an A+ paper?

But how necessary is it to always go the extra mile? The bigger question at the heart of this is: are you only successful if you get up before the rooster, work 10 hours of overtime and subsist on 5 hours of sleep a night?

Emily Stef definitely feels that pressure, especially when she sees women who find the time to train for a marathon while still pulling single mom duties.

“I’m sure [Loken] doesn’t always want to get up that early to run, but crap, I hit snooze at 6 a.m. some days because I don’t want to do 15 minutes of sit-ups before work, so then I feel like a loser compared to other people like this.”

As another young woman still trying to find my place in the world, I feel burdened as well. I spend my weeks juggling time to volunteer at my local literacy center, fit in overtime hours as it’s available, train for a half marathon and help out with Her Active Life. Of course, the dishes don’t wash themselves, laundry never disappears and I still need to get to the grocery store.  Then when all of those items are crossed off my to-do list, where is the time for my boyfriend, my family and my friends, even myself? It’s challenging to do it all.

The other night I watched a movie called The Long Run. One critic hailed it as the best running movie since Chariots of Fire. I was in a bit of a running slump and thought this would be the inspirational pep I desperately needed. But instead of feeling motivated, I felt dwarfed! The star of the movie is a young woman training for the Comrades Marathon in Africa. This is an ultra-marathon that tests the limits of human endurance. Clearly, these runners are out of my league.

I instantly remembered Emily’s email and connected with her feelings. Why should I feel that I have to get up at 5 a.m. to truly be productive? Can’t I run three times a week without people badgering me to run 4 or 5 days? I am incredibly happy with my wonderful boyfriend. If I want to spend a Sunday afternoon cozying up on the couch watching bad TV, that should be okay.

After all, all that we women try to accomplish - volunteering, school, part-time jobs - are things that take away from time that could be spent relaxing and reconnecting with important people. There must be women out there who agree with me. Don’t you want someone to say that youv’e been working too hard recently, should feel free to relax, take some time for yourself?

So, go ahead ladies. Hit snooze on the alarm. Use that extra vacation day. See a movie with your friends. If you aren’t relaxed and happy, then how can you expect anyone around you to be as well?

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Tags: chariots of fire, happiness, inspiration, motivation, multi-tasking, susan loken, the long run

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