How much does an 8-5 job really actually hurt your training?

real life wrote:

With a bit of planning and organisation it can be done. It just depends how much it means to you.

Having to work full time clearly isn't optimal but you can still get a lot from the sport if you want to.

Yes of course "it can be done," but the OP is asserting that his 45-hour work week is actually "beneficial" to his running, which is an entirely different thing. To me, that's poppycock. (Maybe he should ask for overtime, to reap even more benefits).

+2...Having a child absolutely 100% will change things, and you have to get crafty with your workouts, and make them count. There will always be the guy on a thread that says he works 50 hrs a week while being a father to 3 and running 80-100 mpw, either he's speeding on adderall, he accounts for .001% of the running population, or a troll. Like others have posted unless you're nationally ranked, or a sponsored athlete and running is your job, putting in big training blocks is a huge commitment. If you work from home, that's a big time plus if you're trying to balance family life and a career. A luxury many could benefit from I am sure. If you can make your long runs count, and find time to squeeze in 4-8 milers on a routine basis throughout the week, consider yourself lucky. It's the week in and week out grind of it all while trying to spend as much time possible with your kid(s) after work too, on top of getting to bed at a decent hour that really adds up. I've found the LRC definition of a successful runner is usually a former D1 runner, who's whole life up to their early to mid 20s is nothing but running, no offense, but a skewed reality, and not a reality for much longer past a certain age. The ones putting in the mileage with a career outside of running, and kids, that's the reality that many of us deal with while pursuing a love for running.

If you don’t run at lunch,

And you run 30:09 I am calling bs on you.

Post your result.

Pottyhun1 wrote:

I recently graduated from college and chose to pursue post collegiate training. Work an 8-5 office job, have a stand up desk and bring my lunch everyday. Personally have improved my 10k time from 30:43 to 30:09 in one year. It may be different for everyone but training while holding a job might be beneficial.. you aren’t waiting around all day thinking about running 24/7. Helps with burnout among other things.

Better question is how is your dead end running career impacting your job.

I'm having trouble finding a job even though I just graduated in May.

I have heard horror stories from one of my friends:

"I had a friend who got a degree in Environmental Conservation, and the only thing he can find related to his major is a job that pays $11 in Texas."

Aah!

Change to a 9-5 job like most people and have an extra hour in the morning for your run.

There's a whole world of jobs out there, no need to stay with one if it forces you to spend more than 40 hours a week in the office.

Remember a job is about value, not money.

Outside America, most runners hold time full time work just to support their running. The top marathoners from Australia, UK, Germany, France, etc all have at least part time jobs and all have runners around 2:10/2:30 give or take a few minutes.

The big difference I found when starting a ful time teaching job after leaving university is that the job does not help recovery between sessions - sometimes i found I could still feel the effects of the pre work run when starting the post work session - and sometimes it was impossible to rest fully before an important race if demands from work increased that week.

But prior to the 1980s this situation was what every top UK runner had to deal with. Read Ron Hill's autobiography for details!

The only good thing about having a job to support your running hobby is you can use the following list to fuel your running on "Pure Hate":

Long hours of soul-crushing boredom.

Hours spent with joyless and miserable coworkers.

Upper management usually incompetent.

Fellow workers usually incompetent.

The lower the stakes the higher the pettiness of gossip.

Human resources filled with most incompetent employees.

Mind-numbing meetings usually producing suicidal thoughts.

If company is belongs to union then quadruple all of the above.

Good Luck, and welcome to the real-world! If your lucky,you'll make it until 65 and may be in reasonable shape to run for a few years without having to worry about job nonsense, before Father Time takes your physical dignity away.

M.A.G.A...

BeenThereDoneThat wrote:

Congratulations on your improvement, but you're succeeding in spite of your job, not because of it. You also tell us nothing about your training volume or how many hours in the day it takes up. With commuting factored in, I'm guessing at least 10 of your waking hours are already spoken for each weekday, and that's a lot.

I was in a similar work situation as you post-college, and was averaging 130 miles per week as I chased a trials qualifying time in the marathon. I felt constantly rushed -just mundane things like grocery shopping or getting a haircut required advanced planning- as well as sleep deprived. Working full time was not "beneficial" at all.

But don`t you see what the real problem was for you? It was not the case that you worked, more that you ran too much mileage. The real thing that was not "beneficial" was too much mileage when working full time.