How to Keep Running (and Recovering) Over the Summer Holidays – Without Burning Out

sparklefitnz
Dec 11, 2023
3 min read

Updated: Dec 15, 2025

Summer in New Zealand means barbecues, beach trips, long evenings, school holidays, and full calendars. It’s a brilliant time of year — but it’s also when many mums notice their running or triathlon training starts to feel harder to maintain.

Most summer training advice isn’t written with mums, fatigue, hormones, pelvic health, or real-life logistics in mind.

As an ExerciseNZ Personal Trainer of the Year 2025 and MumSafe™ Trainer, I support women — many of them runners and triathletes — to balance training with family life, recovery, and long-term health. Summer doesn’t need to derail your fitness, but it does ask for a smarter, more flexible approach.

Here’s how to keep moving, stay consistent, and protect your energy over the summer holidays.

1. Protect Your Energy First (Morning Sessions Win)

If you already train at a certain time of day, try to keep that rhythm where possible — not because you need more discipline, but because it protects your energy and decision-making.

Morning sessions work especially well in summer:

You avoid the heat
You reduce decision fatigue
Training is done before the day fills up with kids, plans, and distractions

Even a shorter morning run or strength session can help you feel grounded and set up for the day — and it frees you up to enjoy summer evenings without guilt.

2. Bring your home routine on holiday

Holidays don’t mean abandoning all structure. Keeping small anchors from your usual routine — like waking up at a similar time, having a familiar pre-run snack, or doing a short mobility warm-up — helps your nervous system recognise that it’s safe and familiar to move.

This doesn’t mean skipping holiday fun. It simply means giving your body enough consistency to keep training feeling supportive rather than chaotic — especially if you’re preparing for an event.

3. Cross-Training Is Your Secret Weapon

Summer is an ideal time to reduce impact and mix things up.

Swimming at the beach, walking hills, paddle boarding, cycling with the kids, or short strength sessions all count as valuable training. These activities maintain aerobic fitness and muscle strength without the same repetitive load as running.

For women, cross-training is particularly valuable during periods of:

Poor sleep
High stress
Hormonal fluctuation
Lingering niggles or pelvic floor symptoms

If you’re travelling, resistance bands are lightweight and perfect for maintaining strength anywhere — especially glutes, hips, and core stability for running and triathlon.

4. Sleep Is a Training Tool (Not a Luxury)

Late nights and disrupted routines are common over summer — but too much disruption can quickly affect how your body feels and performs.

Sleep impacts:

Recovery and tissue repair
Coordination and reaction time
Hormone regulation
Injury risk

If sleep is off, that’s often a cue to dial training down, not push harder. The occasional late night is fine — but prioritising rest helps you show up with more patience, energy, and resilience for both training and family life.

5. Get Clear on Your “Why”

Your goals should guide your summer training — not guilt or comparison.

If you’re training for a race (triathlon, half marathon, marathon):

Keep some structure
Protect key sessions
Reduce overall volume if needed

If your goal is general fitness, consistency, or wellbeing:

Flexibility is a feature, not a failure
Movement should support your life, not compete with it

Understanding what matters most right now helps you make decisions that feel aligned rather than stressful.

6. It’s ok to give yourself a break!

This is the big one.

For many parents, summer doesn’t actually feel like a break — organising holidays is a full-time job in itself. So if this season calls for rest, lighter training, or a temporary reset, that’s not lost fitness — it’s recovery.

For mums returning to running or managing core and pelvic floor symptoms, a break from intensity can allow tissues to adapt and niggles to settle before the year ramps up again.

When you return to structured training, ease back in over a few weeks. You’re not starting from scratch — you’re building from a more rested, resilient foundation.

A Simple Summer Training Checklist

✔ Prioritise energy over volume

✔ Train earlier where possible

✔ Cross-train without guilt

✔ Sleep more, not less

✔ Adjust expectations — not commitment

✔ Ease back in post-holidays

Ready to Start 2026 Feeling Strong?

Summer training doesn’t have to be all-or-nothing. With the right support, it can be a season that builds long-term strength, confidence, and consistency.

If you’d like help with: