Training with a backpack

Drop a weeks worth of clothes off at work once a week and run without the backpack the rest of the week.

I've certainly considered this, I'm just not sure I can stash enough food for more than 2-3 days at a time.

Is that four miles each way or total?

In any case I'd try and minimise the weight one way or another and try to make it work. Time is often a major limiting factor for runners with full time jobs. Time sitting in a car or public transport is wasted time.

It's four miles each way by the preferable route, but only three if I go straight through town and about 12 traffic lights. So maybe it would make sense to do the four mile route in the morning with the pack, then do the three mile route in the evening, drop the pack off, and add on whatever else I want that day.

I've tried something similar, a couple of times a week. Ran a great marathon a couple of months later. I think it helped to train the durability (ability to not get sore) of my leg muscles. I wouldn't do most of my running with it, but I think it's worth supplementing with.

I've been running home from work for years with a backpack. It's quite heavy and big as I have no where to keep extra clothes, etc at work so each day it's full. That said I do about 50 - 70 miles Monday to Friday with it. What I love is how light I feel for my long runs on Saturday (and obviously during races).

Just don't put a pressure cooker in it. If for some reason you have to stop and someone looks inside, you're sca-sca-sca-REWWWWED.

Yeah I wouldn't recommend running a marathon with a backpack on. Especially if you are swarthy.

As long as you don't get injured, I don't see what the downside would be. And you're only doing easy runs with it so the risk of that is low, with only 6 pounds. I'd pay attention to the calves, but that sounds like they might just adapt to the different stress.

That was not funny. At all. You are one sad individual.

It would make me happy if you focused on your work. May I come by later?