How would you guys fit running in with 12 hour work shifts?

Why do you need help figuring this out? Your options are either before, during, or after. Choose 1, 2, or 3 of those options.

also load mileage on the weekends and intensity during the week.

Is it possible to take a long lunch? I was able to take a 90 min lunch and get in a 10 miler.

Before, would be too tired to do it after.

Run before work. And run after work.

I would run after work during my time doing 12 hour shifts. The hours were from 6pm-6am (factory job during college) and it was easier to get the mileage in, eat, shower, and sleep until next shift. It was not pleasant, but better than the alternative.The few times I attempted to come home, sleep, and then wake up to run, I felt worse.

I do 7:30-7:30 some days and some nights, I run before going to work when I'm well rested. I'm a nurse so I can't predict how busy my shift could be so better bank those training miles before starting the shift. then, if ever I can manage, I'll bang another extra 3-4miles after work. the second run all depends on how tired i am when i get home.

A quick 3 miler at 6:15 to 6:30 per mile before work, and the same after work. I was forced into the same situation one summer due to work, and had to run to and from a ride to work location. Having been trained in a traditional high mileage Lydiard approach during high school I found that the absence of junk miles and the quicker tempo/shorter runs really were effective.

i'm a male nurse who bangs female nurse and extra 3-4 miles all in one day

Early AM or late PM, most times I rather sleep longer and run later at night, but the problem is that by the end of long day the last thing you want to do is run. Usually after a run at night I am also wired for a good hour before I get tired, so I get to bed later. Just remember if you are not getting enough rest your body will fail, if you are feeling drained take a day off and get to bed earlier.

I rarely work 12 hours a day, but one thing I do is bring my clothes to work and run right after work and stop at a park on my drive home or even run a loop starting at my office building. By the time I drive all the way home it is usually pretty dark and I am generally not very motivated and am sleep. Finding a group of friends to run with or joining a running group are other ways to stay motivated.

Depends on the nature of your 12 hours. Do you just have a specific project that needs to get done that generally takes you about 12 hours a day (ie maybe something in IT or accounting) or do you have a specific shift that you have to cover? On cases I have a deadline, I sometimes work 9-5 and take a dinner break for a couple hours around 5-7 and get a run in then, then return to work from 7-11. Working 12 solid hours without much of any breaks is a lot less productive for me than breaking it up a bit. You might be able to get the same amount of work done in less time this way too.

Doubles

Two shorter runs.

When faced with this I did 4 in the morning and 6-8 right after work. I ran from work and drove home afterward.

I was working 6 am to 6 pm.

Eventually I realized that something had to go so I got rid of the job,

Run to or from work and I'd probably try to do more on the weekend - say a workout or race Sat and a long run on Sunday.

If you work something like 12 hours on 36 hours off with an extra day off here and there to make it 40 per week, consider running 2X on your off days and skipping your work days. This should get you 8 runs most weeks. If you are so competitive that you need more than one 15 miler and 7 x 10 milers, you may need a new job.

rn wrote:

I do 7:30-7:30 some days and some nights, I run before going to work when I'm well rested. I'm a nurse so I can't predict how busy my shift could be so better bank those training miles before starting the shift. then, if ever I can manage, I'll bang another extra 3-4miles after work. the second run all depends on how tired i am when i get home.

Assuming you work 3 days (12 hr shifts) Do you just really try to pile on the miles on the days off?

Curious since I'm about to graduate nursing school and have been thinking about how my running will suffer from not having 7 days to run decent miles?

I'm a nurse and very competitive runner/triathlete. I work more 8's than 12's. It is much easier to workout after an 8 hour day (or should I say 9+ hours because that is just how our job works). If I am doing 12 hour shifts, I will only workout if I have the next day off. As long as they are not 3 12 hours days in a row, I will only have to take 1 day off a week - which is actually nice. I take advantage of my days off and plan big workouts. Not much of a life but to be a truly competitive, gotta do what you gotta do.

One thing this job has done is actually give me confidence against my competitors. Our job is very hard and stressful. You can't explain to a regular person what we do and how we feel mentally and physically. I like to think my competitors are much weaker than me mentally and physically. I know they would never be able to handle working 50 plus hours a week as a nurse and still be able to handle 10+ hours/week of training. I think about this come race time and all I want to do is make it hurt for anyone around me.

Since many nurses don't fit that awesome all around person/athlete profile you have I don't think you are fooling anyone but yourself.

Kicker wrote:

Eventually I realized that something had to go so I got rid of the job,

I think I have to do the same! Thank you so much for the inspiration Kicker.

Kicker wrote:

Eventually I realized that something had to go so I got rid of the job,

I think I have to do the same! Thank you so much for the inspiration Kicker.

I worked 12 hours a day 4 days on 4 days off at a hotel 8pm-8am...it was impossible to find time to run. The commute took at least an hour each way and then I had to change into uniform there. Without running I was getting at best 7 1/2 hours of sleep. There's no way. If I could run to work I might have been able to make it work but they didn't have an employee shower space and of course using an empty guest room was not an option and if one was open it was highly frowned upon. I had to leave the job, that first day off hardly counted as a day off bc I just wanted to sleep and relax. By the time you wake up it's almost night out and you can't really do anything with your girlfriend or any friends even. Lost a ton of fitness and was miserable. And when I would run I'd be running with a group going at a super slow pace and I was legitimately getting crushed out there after being on my feet in shoes for damn near 12 hours. Any job where you have to stand all day should not regularly exceed more than 6-8 hours per shift in my opinion...and the studies show 6 hours is way more productive than 8 since you're likely to be sandbagging it those last two hours.