I pretty much tried to improve in running for the last 6 years while working full time in the office and only periods of time I got significantly better were during covid and couple of months while I was in between jobs. I also found out that manual labour is much better than sitting at your computer. During those couple months I was working part time with friend who is gardener and only ran three times a week. I was easily crushing my PBs while feeling easy. Now I can try all I want running twice a day exploite home offices multiple times a week only to miss that previous 10k time by 2 minutes while almost dying in the process and being wrecked for couple days. Its just something about office job that shuts my body down.
I found the opposite. When I worked outside doing park maintenance in the summer, I'd sweat so much, even when it wasn't hard (90+ degree days). I always felt tired and off, even when drinking enough water. It did not make for a good summer base. I guess you'd get used to it though.
Please explain WTF you’re talking about. Countless runners from Pre to Brian Sell worked full time while training. I truly don’t understand this perspective. There’s only so many hours a day you can train. There’s 24 hours in a day, 8 sleeping, 9 working, 1 eating, 1 boning the lady, leaves 5 hours to run….I work about 50 hours a week and have no trouble training for ultramarathons, 2-3 hours every day after work and 5-6 hour runs on the weekend. For half marathon or less there really is very little time constraint.
Know for me personally feel like this a lot. Don't know how you guys with kids manage to run at all. Honestly can understand elites training/working better because making Olympics is a lot better motivation than running 14-19 minute 5k. Obviously there's time if you make it but sometimes feel like as an adult what's the point!
MoVB
i'll truly never understand this perspective on the sport and i'm shocked to continually run into people like this. there was one guy on my college team like this, there's a subelite I train with sometimes now who is like this. very bizarre. it doesn't matter what time you run, whether it's 13:45, 16:45, or 22:00 - the benefit you get from the sport is challenging yourself and that isn't to be measured by what other people do. it's about what you can push yourself to do, it's about your spirit, what you do with what you were given, not only how you compare to others.
you don't need more than 90 minutes to 2 hours a day to train at an elite level. if someone tells you otherwise they're either lying or they're clueless.
I also never really met anybody who is physically fit while working in the office. I thought its possible but found out that every one who is running competitive never do such thing as sitting 8 hours staring at computer.
100 percent agree sitting at an office is horrific for your body and soul, but what you said is categorically false. you can choose to stand at your desk, to stretch, to take short walk breaks, do calisthenics, no one is chaining you immobile in place like you're in the Matrix. it's laziness and overwhelming lack of imagination that keeps people from moving, not the job itself.
furthermore even a stressful office job can provide great structure if you look at it the right way. after grad school my roommate and I both worked at an office in philadelphia. we used our lunch hour to do our main workout - hopped on the local college track twice a week - and then doubled most nights to run commute 6 miles or so home. the lunch hour was literally 1 hour exactly we had free, so we got usually came into the office with our running clothes under our work clothes, and just took them off and changed our shoes in the stairwell. 5 minute jog to the track, straight into a 6 mile tempo or 5 by mile at 5k pace, 5 minute jog home, 5 minutes to spare to dry the sweat off and change. it wasn't easy or comfortable or glamorous, but he ran 3:42 for the 1500 that spring and I set all my lifelong PR's from 3k to 10 miles.
we were able to do this even as our work hours increased to 50-60 hours per week. sometimes we'd be in the office from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. the lunch hour and the commute home is time away from work which would have been wasted even if we had families, too. we turned it into running time and regularly hit 90-110 mpw. usually made a massive dinner then went straight to bed. fridays we got obliterated blackout drunk with our friends, saturdays we chased girls, sundays get in the big long run there's no time for during the week, and then we got after it the weekdays again. there is PLENTY of time in the day and week if you use it intentionally and prioritize your running.
I also never really met anybody who is physically fit while working in the office. I thought its possible but found out that every one who is running competitive never do such thing as sitting 8 hours staring at computer.
100 percent agree sitting at an office is horrific for your body and soul, but what you said is categorically false. you can choose to stand at your desk, to stretch, to take short walk breaks, do calisthenics, no one is chaining you immobile in place like you're in the Matrix. it's laziness and overwhelming lack of imagination that keeps people from moving, not the job itself.
furthermore even a stressful office job can provide great structure if you look at it the right way. after grad school my roommate and I both worked at an office in philadelphia. we used our lunch hour to do our main workout - hopped on the local college track twice a week - and then doubled most nights to run commute 6 miles or so home. the lunch hour was literally 1 hour exactly we had free, so we got usually came into the office with our running clothes under our work clothes, and just took them off and changed our shoes in the stairwell. 5 minute jog to the track, straight into a 6 mile tempo or 5 by mile at 5k pace, 5 minute jog home, 5 minutes to spare to dry the sweat off and change. it wasn't easy or comfortable or glamorous, but he ran 3:42 for the 1500 that spring and I set all my lifelong PR's from 3k to 10 miles.
we were able to do this even as our work hours increased to 50-60 hours per week. sometimes we'd be in the office from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. the lunch hour and the commute home is time away from work which would have been wasted even if we had families, too. we turned it into running time and regularly hit 90-110 mpw. usually made a massive dinner then went straight to bed. fridays we got obliterated blackout drunk with our friends, saturdays we chased girls, sundays get in the big long run there's no time for during the week, and then we got after it the weekdays again. there is PLENTY of time in the day and week if you use it intentionally and prioritize your running.
most people only get 30 mins for lunch and even those who dont probably cant run at work bc they cant get to a shower w/out driving to a gym. They'd get fired for reeking half the work day if they didnt shower or at least told to quit.
working from home and using the 2 hours you arent commuting and lunch to run is ideal
In my residency program, I alternate between 4 weeks of inpatient and 1 week of outpatient. During inpatient blocks, I work 6 days per week and I typically either work 7am-5pm or 7am-7pm depending on the day. Outpatient weeks are M-F 9-5. Those weeks of 9-5 are amazing and I get to run as much as I want while catching up on sleep and getting to socialize with friends I don't see during my inpatient blocks.
M-F 9-5 is an awesome schedule for running.
yeah those blocks of outpatient when I was a medical resident were great for training...inpatient not so much but I would still get in 3-4 easy runs a week on the 80 hour weeks with the overnight in-house call...Learned a lot of medicine and also time management!
I also never really met anybody who is physically fit while working in the office. I thought its possible but found out that every one who is running competitive never do such thing as sitting 8 hours staring at computer.
100 percent agree sitting at an office is horrific for your body and soul, but what you said is categorically false. you can choose to stand at your desk, to stretch, to take short walk breaks, do calisthenics, no one is chaining you immobile in place like you're in the Matrix. it's laziness and overwhelming lack of imagination that keeps people from moving, not the job itself.
furthermore even a stressful office job can provide great structure if you look at it the right way. after grad school my roommate and I both worked at an office in philadelphia. we used our lunch hour to do our main workout - hopped on the local college track twice a week - and then doubled most nights to run commute 6 miles or so home. the lunch hour was literally 1 hour exactly we had free, so we got usually came into the office with our running clothes under our work clothes, and just took them off and changed our shoes in the stairwell. 5 minute jog to the track, straight into a 6 mile tempo or 5 by mile at 5k pace, 5 minute jog home, 5 minutes to spare to dry the sweat off and change. it wasn't easy or comfortable or glamorous, but he ran 3:42 for the 1500 that spring and I set all my lifelong PR's from 3k to 10 miles.
we were able to do this even as our work hours increased to 50-60 hours per week. sometimes we'd be in the office from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. the lunch hour and the commute home is time away from work which would have been wasted even if we had families, too. we turned it into running time and regularly hit 90-110 mpw. usually made a massive dinner then went straight to bed. fridays we got obliterated blackout drunk with our friends, saturdays we chased girls, sundays get in the big long run there's no time for during the week, and then we click here got after it the weekdays again. there is PLENTY of time in the day and week if you use it intentionally and prioritize your running.
I agree with you that time management must be used with effective strategies to avoid time waste. Right now, the best time management app is Smarter Day which is the perfect productivity app.
I mean yeah it's harder than when you have basically infinite free time, but dedicating about an hour per day during the week, then having weekends to do more isn't that hard to manage. I think it's more that being somewhere for 8 hours per day is mentally draining and can make it hard to stay motivated, but I find it works if I treat running like the part of my day I look forward too.
I actually prefer running early anyways, yea it can be dark but it's quiet, less traffic, and I can get on a track any time I want for workouts. If I do anything in the evening where I live it's too crowded (I live in a highly populated county). If I do an evening run it's usually on the treadmill or around my suburbs.
How does anyone have time for this crap after college?
Own your own business. I've started running everyday right before lunch and it's a great way to finish out the afternoon after stressful morning meetings.
This post was edited 1 minute after it was posted.
It isn't hard. Actually if you don't have kids it is easy. Run before work, after work, or run over lunch. I joined a gym close to work just to have a place to shower after a lunch run.
I'll buy it as impossible only if you have a long commute. But even then, you can get an hour long run in after work if you don't mind running at night. It's only impossible if you limit your running to daylight hours. Run at 4:30 AM or 7 PM. Only thing is it requires a bit of discipline.
You can't be 9-to-5 worker and runner at the same time if you're going to bed at 1 AM.
Also depends on what kind of 9-to-5 job you have. If it's a desk job, you have no excuse. If its a warehouse job where you're already walking 6 miles a day at work and lift boxes all day, then yeah, going for a run might not be good for your sanity.
Also depends on what kind of 9-to-5 job you have. If it's a desk job, you have no excuse. If its a warehouse job where you're already walking 6 miles a day at work and lift boxes all day, then yeah, going for a run might not be good for your sanity.