Where do people do their mileage when they have full time jobs?

finished college wrote:

Do people run by themselves with headlamps on trails? Or is sidewalk running just a reality of winter and working?

Trail runner with headlights in the northern rockies. Kind of crazy, I know....

Back in the day people could run in the dark and on sidewalks with crappy shoes.

Have we really evolved so far away from those abilities? How dark is it?

Rossi style wrote:

Back in the day people could run in the dark and on sidewalks with crappy shoes.

Have we really evolved so far away from those abilities? How dark is it?

northern rockies, new moon, trails = pretty fookin dark

Where you live gets to be kind of important for running after college. We live close to a bike path that both of us use to run before work and partly use to ride to work.

It's the "burbs" and we can't walk to dinner and other cool stuff that we could do if we lived in the city, but it makes day to day life much easier.

I can sometimes run at lunch from work which is really nice in the winter.

A mix of the local HS track, dirt canal path, sidewalk and trails. I only need a headlamp if I'm on the trail before daybreak or after dark, which isn't that often. Everywhere else there is enough ambient light to see well enough to run.

I run on unlit roads alone in the dark with a headlamp. It does suck compared to college running and much harder to get myself out the door.

Make excuses or make it happen.

On weekdays I run between 5:00 and 6:30 am on roads in neighborhoods with street lights. I'm fortunate that I only have to run about 3/4 mile from home to get to areas with well-lit streets, good pavement and (at that time of the morning) light traffic. I don't use a headlamp although sticking to roads with street lights does limit my options. I love summer when it's light enough to run on unlit streets and bike paths.

finished college wrote:

Or is sidewalk running just a reality of winter and working?

Pretty much yeah. I don't mind regular mileage on the sidewalks, but for faster workouts in light options are the crappy dirt track nearby that's usually lit up, the gym treadmill, running at lunchtime, and the weekends. Summer is more convenient for sure.

When I was a teacher and had to be at work by 7:00 I did my main session after school at 3:30 or so and then my "morning" run around 8-9 PM. Obviously dark wasn't an issue for the main run and was always one for the second one. Sometimes I drove to a big park, maybe 20 minutes away, for the main run. Sometimes I'd just run from school. The second one was almost always in the neighborhood around my apartment. There were sidewalks and street lights. When I had a 9-5 job I'd run at lunch and again after work. I never was a morning person.

The answer to your last question really depends a lot on where you live and work but I'd say mostly unless you run at lunchtime you're going to need to run where there are streetlights in the winter.

I work at a big law firm, 60-70 hours a week, and have two young kids. I wake up at 4 to run and run in the dark. I'm fortunate to be able to hit the door and be on a bike/running trail within four blocks. I cross a single intersection, near my house, with no traffic except occasionally the newspaper delivery lady making her stops.

I work four 10 hour shifts, so I try to do my main runs on my 3 day weekends & go to trails

Other days, I run right after work in the neighborhoods/parks near my job... I only wake up early to run on days I have evening plans. It's definitely harder in the short days of winter

Asphalt bike trails. In the winter I can run 3-5 miles on my lunch break as much as possible, then do my "main run" after work in the dark with a headlamp. Two things you must know as a working runner.. 1) you must start your run immediately after work, if you go home and sit down for dinner you will never do it. Immediately change and run. 2) It's almost impossible to get track access anymore as all the hs tracks are gated or have football games when you need them, so get used to doing "road" intervals or hill reps instead.

Gotta either run before or after work. You can spice it up with the run commute or lunch run too. If running is important to you your job and or your house or apartment will be near trails or at least designated paths.

Treadmill is the easiest way. Throw on a pair of shorts and shirt and you are ready to go regardless of the weather or lack of light outside. All types of fun workouts you can do. You can also listen to music and watch tv. You can get a buddy or girlfriend/wife to run with you because they don't have to go the same speed you do to be right beside you.

Dude. It's almost 2017. Who has time for a full time job?

Yeah the winter sucks. It's sidewalks, the street, and the track when it is free of snow.

I've never worn a headlamp I just pay attention and look out for headlights. Also try to stick to roads with streetlights if possible.

Weekends are nice because you can run the daytime and on trails if not covered by snow.

Any joker can throw on shorts and a tshirt and go for a run in June. When it's pitch black and cold and you're alone doing repeats on the track in the winter, that's true love of the sport.

finished college wrote:

Or is sidewalk running just a reality of winter and working?

Yup. Get up early and do it before work. You'll arrive at work energised, you'll perform better in your job, you'll have got it out of the way for the day. Also if you have a shower at work and an hour for lunch, then a quick 40 min lunchtime run is great.

[/quote] Yup. Get up early and do it before work. You'll arrive at work energised, you'll perform better in your job, you'll have got it out of the way for the day. Also if you have a shower at work and an hour for lunch, then a quick 40 min lunchtime run is great.[/quote]

+1

For years I was an "after work" runner. I have now switched to an early morning runner and it is so much better. Not worrying about diet or the impending hard workout all day is worth getting up early. If I still feel energized after work i'll go for an easy 30 minutes.