By Christopher Cudworth

Sometimes we don’t have time to do the workouts we’d like to do. The commute home takes more time than we’d like. The dog needs a walk, or the litter box stinks. Kids need to be fed or the lawn needs mowing. There are a thousand ways our workout schedules get upset. Which is why the short and sweet workout is a fine art for some of us.

Short and sweet as a concept may vary between athletes. For instance, a cyclist who normally rides 3 hours every few days may do a one-hour ride that s short and sweet. For others, it might be a half hour. One great cyclist who shall no longer be named said that any ride under an hour is not worth it. But the ride I recently went on with my daughter that took about 40 minutes and opened a world of conversation following the 5 mile loop was worth it even if it didn’t qualify on anyone’s definition of a workout.

So it’s all relative.

 A short and sweet workout can be just what you need.

Same goes for runners. If you’re doing 45 miles a week and find yourself short on time for a scheduled 8-miler on a Thursday, you might get out for 3 miles. It’s not what you planned. But it’s something. Short and sweet.

So rather than beat yourself up every time you miss your “planned” workout, take stock and be thankful you can get in a workout at all. Revel in the short moments of exercise, or pick up the pace on the day you don’t have enough time to do the endurance stuff.

Sometimes it’s enough to even walk around the block with the dog. Walking is a very respectable activity for those who run and ride, you know. I recall one day in particular where I rode 70 miles really hard on a group ride and that evening went for a four block walk. It was all I could do to finish.

Sometimes short really is sweet. Get out there and enjoy it for what it’s worth.

But watch out for tarsnakes. They’re out to get you.