Active day job plus summer training leaving legs tired. Tips?

I have a really similar problem. I'm a cook which means I'm on my feet eight hours a day swiftly moving nearly the entire time. I really have to focus on getting quality, consistent sleep and recovering everyday as well as I can, even if I'm not all that worn out or just ran a hard workout. I also take an ice bath and roll out nearly everyday. Hope this helped.

I'd like to hear too. Same goes for me.

bump

1) run in the morning. Get quality in first when your legs are fresh

2) Make sure your work shoes are very comfortable. Pick up some OTC inserts like superfeet/powerstep if you need to.

3) realize that you can't sustain the same training load with an active job as you can with a sedentary one. 70 mpw is fine but doubling a lot is going to be out of the question until you're in-season.

4) be patient, your legs will adapt to time on feet. Also try to stay off feet whenever possible at work.

Ice baths -- they can make a huge difference, best recovery tool there is.

New shoes -- it's not about whether or not they're comfortable, more important is having a shoe with enough of both cushioning and support, standing and walking all day is very different from running for an hour or less, should not be same shoes you're running in.

#1 Be thankful. The alternative of a job where you sit all day is much worse for your running.

#2 Take a flat week and only run as much as you did last week.

#3 Eat more/better. Don't permanently eat more but have a pig out week to help your legs catch up.

#4 Drink less alcohol/caffeine. I didn't say stop just cut back so you sleep better.

#5 If you aren't already get enough sleep.

#6 Drink more water.

#7 If you are standing in one place say cooking, ask your boss about getting one of those rubber mats if you don't already have one.

summer job/training wrote:

I work at a day job that requires running around and being on my feet all day. I am also in the middle of raising my mileage this summer for xc. My legs have been feeling tired on runs. Any tips for recovery/continuing to raise my mileage this summer. At 45 mpw now working towards 70 by end of summer

I suggest sucking it up.

My advice from when I had a summer job with similar demands and trained hard:

1. Do calf stretches and other stretches when able to, even when standing in place. Only takes a few seconds and will keep muscles in check

2. Drink a lot of water

3. Milk any breaks you get by sitting down as much as possible

When I started the summer I got plantar fasciitis from standing so much, and calf stretches constantly helped me get through it.

Good luck!

Meditation helped a lot for me.

There have been studies showing that ice is not the best. It actually showed it could hurt the overall recovery process. Idid the ice bath all through my career, and I was surprised to read the article. active rest/light training was the best recovery aid.

I like the run in the am advice. Wake up as early as you can and get the quality run in and then do the milage after.

Mostly it just takes time to get used to. When I started waiting tables in college, running was really tough for a few weeks, but it wasn't too long before I just got used to being on my feet all day and then going out for a run.

Elevate your feet for a few minutes whenever you get the chance. Blood pools in your feet when you spend a lot of time standing, and giving it a chance to drain will decrease foot pain.

Former Waiter wrote:

Mostly it just takes time to get used to. When I started waiting tables in college, running was really tough for a few weeks, but it wasn't too long before I just got used to being on my feet all day and then going out for a run.

I agree with this. You will adapt. But not if you insist on reaching some stupid mileage goal.

Very true. Ice does temporarily help your muscles feel better the next day, but it weakens the muscles at the same time so it becomes easier to get injured again in that area. I never ice unless it is an injury, if I am just sore then a light jog or bike will make it better for the next day, so will ice, but ice will weaken the muscles in the long term.