I’m not very good at having rest days, I get twitchy and start to feel guilty or that I’m missing out, especially if it’s a sunny, slightly cool, not too windy day – my perfect running conditions.

To fit in with family, I usually have my rest day on a Sunday, so we can do stuff and they’re not waiting for me to do my run / come back / stretch / shower / plug in my Garmin to check my stats / tweet about the run etc etc… which make an “Oh, don’t worry, I’ll just do a quick 10k,” into more like a couple of hours.

I try to make sure I get to parkrun on a Saturday, I’m back and ready for the rest of the weekend, sometimes even with a new PB to give me an extra lift for the weekend.

Every now and then, I have to miss a session on a Saturday, then I insist on going out on Sunday, but run early and try to reign in the other bits. I think it’s better for the family in the end than being niggly, and a bit grumpy all day.

When other things scupper my training plans, like waiting in for a delivery or having to attend a doctor’s appointment, I have to compensate by getting up extra early or squeezing another or doing a double session the next day.

Keeping a proper training diary with notes has really helped balance things for me. If something does come up I am more comfortable about changing things around as I have a much clearer picture of what needs to be done and what can be switched around easily.

This is the first year I’ve made detailed training plans, making sure that I fit all the training elements in and given me confidence if I need to move things around.