About this episode
Send us a textThis one was some serious girl talk—a little bit of over-sharing, perhaps, and some venting: We talk about a challenge a lot of mother runners face but don’t really talk about: how to manage your marriage while training for a marathon. In this episode, we openly discuss the complexities of balancing marathon training with our relationships to our husbands—exploring how to find the time and energy to maintain intimacy while managing the demands of family life and training. Our conversation highlights the need for understanding and compromise between partners, especially when juggling personal goals and family responsibilities, along with communication & managing guilt when it comes to training. We also talk about redefining success in running and the significance of being supportive partners in both parenting and personal pursuits of our husbands’ too.Chapters00:00 Introduction and Personal Updates01:00 Marathon Training and Marriage Dynamics03:46 Balancing Mom Mode and Intimacy07:27 The Challenges of Nighttime Parenting11:08 Finding Time for Intimacy14:36 Communication and Relationship Dynamics18:28 Conclusion and Final Thoughts21:32 Navigating Sleep and Parenting Challenges22:55 The Guilt of Balancing Family and Personal Goals24:58 Communication in Family Dynamics27:31 Finding Time for Self-Care and Running30:31 Adjusting Training Schedules for Family Vacations32:37 The Importance of Rest and Recovery35:55 Letting Go of Mom Guilt39:33 Supporting Each Other's Goals in Marriage42:09 The Balance of Compromise in Relationships46:36 Qualifying for Self-Care and Personal Goals48:30 Redefining Success in Running51:05 The Pressure of Social Media53:37 Intimacy and Connection in Marriage57:41 Navigating Parenthood and Personal Goals01:02:26 Breaking Taboos: Conversations on Intimacy01:07:24 The Balance of Family and Personal AspirationsAbout your hosts: Whitney Heins is a mom of 2 kids, a VDOT-certified running coach for moms who run, and founder of the resource, themotherrunners.com. Coming out of a long injury cycle, she ran a 2:54 marathon and 1:20 half marathon in her 40s. IG: @themotherrunners. Shanna Birchett is a mom of 6 kids six years apart, including twins. She returned to running in 2022 after an 11-year break, running a 2:44 marathon in the summer of 2024. She is the co-founder of Endure 365 running, endure365.com, which offers heart rate-based training plans. IG: @motherhood_running
