How to run in your lunch hour
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BerryH
Posts: 4,698 Member
From my latest blog entry:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/BerryH/view/how-to-run-in-your-lunch-hour-464624
My place of work is desperately ill-equipped for running from – no showers, lots of roads to cross and pavements very busy with workers and tourists. But at this time of year, running before or after work means running in the dark, and being exceptionally clumsy I can’t risk tripping up (again!). Plus it’s so much easier to motivate myself to get outside in daylight. So having quit my gym, I have learnt from trial and error how to run in my lunch hour. Here are my tips.
1. Pack your bag the night before. If you try to do it in the morning you will miss your train and/or forget something. Don’t forget a change of underwear!
2. Bring a packed lunch. Running is a gas, it expands to fill the available volume, so you won’t have time to nip out and buy a sandwich. Especially when you count in warming up, stretching, cooling down and the associated changing and making yourself pleasant to be around.
3. Check the route and distance you want to go on Google Maps or MapMyRun or similar, but also walk the route beforehand if you can. It’s best to get a ground-level idea of how runable it is and to make a mental note of any potential hazards.
4. Warm up. Always important, but more so when you’ve been sitting on your bum all morning.
5. Be prepared to stop and start, it’s unlikely you’ll make a personal best. Unless you can go straight into a park, chances are you will have to stop to cross roads or for people wheeling prams or suitcases into your path, or just inexplicably walking four abreast.
6. If you have an app that nags you if you’ve slowed down or stopped (or that the zombies are catching you up!), best to turn this off as it can prompt you to run into traffic! In fact, ditch the headphones altogether for the first time out for safety, until you have the get the lay of the route.
7. There are a lot of hardcore runners out at lunchtime. If you’re a beginner, don’t try and keep up with them (unless you fancy a bit of a challenge!), all that matters is you overtake a few walkers!
8. Take a bit of extra time to cool down and stretch. No-one likes people making comic “warming their hands on the radiator” actions towards their glowing red face!
9. No shower? No problem. Bring wet wipes or baby wipes. I bought industrial-strength ones from an outdoors shop that seem to do the trick. Don’t stop at your armpits! Just add deodorant and you’re good to go.
10. One for the ladies: Wear waterproof or water-resistant mascara unless you like the panda look!
Do you run in your lunch hour too? What are your top tips?
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/BerryH/view/how-to-run-in-your-lunch-hour-464624
My place of work is desperately ill-equipped for running from – no showers, lots of roads to cross and pavements very busy with workers and tourists. But at this time of year, running before or after work means running in the dark, and being exceptionally clumsy I can’t risk tripping up (again!). Plus it’s so much easier to motivate myself to get outside in daylight. So having quit my gym, I have learnt from trial and error how to run in my lunch hour. Here are my tips.
1. Pack your bag the night before. If you try to do it in the morning you will miss your train and/or forget something. Don’t forget a change of underwear!
2. Bring a packed lunch. Running is a gas, it expands to fill the available volume, so you won’t have time to nip out and buy a sandwich. Especially when you count in warming up, stretching, cooling down and the associated changing and making yourself pleasant to be around.
3. Check the route and distance you want to go on Google Maps or MapMyRun or similar, but also walk the route beforehand if you can. It’s best to get a ground-level idea of how runable it is and to make a mental note of any potential hazards.
4. Warm up. Always important, but more so when you’ve been sitting on your bum all morning.
5. Be prepared to stop and start, it’s unlikely you’ll make a personal best. Unless you can go straight into a park, chances are you will have to stop to cross roads or for people wheeling prams or suitcases into your path, or just inexplicably walking four abreast.
6. If you have an app that nags you if you’ve slowed down or stopped (or that the zombies are catching you up!), best to turn this off as it can prompt you to run into traffic! In fact, ditch the headphones altogether for the first time out for safety, until you have the get the lay of the route.
7. There are a lot of hardcore runners out at lunchtime. If you’re a beginner, don’t try and keep up with them (unless you fancy a bit of a challenge!), all that matters is you overtake a few walkers!
8. Take a bit of extra time to cool down and stretch. No-one likes people making comic “warming their hands on the radiator” actions towards their glowing red face!
9. No shower? No problem. Bring wet wipes or baby wipes. I bought industrial-strength ones from an outdoors shop that seem to do the trick. Don’t stop at your armpits! Just add deodorant and you’re good to go.
10. One for the ladies: Wear waterproof or water-resistant mascara unless you like the panda look!
Do you run in your lunch hour too? What are your top tips?
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Replies
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9. No shower? No problem. Bring wet wipes or baby wipes. I bought industrial-strength ones from an outdoors shop that seem to do the trick. Don’t stop at your armpits! Just add deodorant and you’re good to go.
^^^ this0 -
Great tips. I'd like to hear from the guys too!
I usually run after work 3-5 days a week in the dark with a construction worker vest on, so cars can see me. But I've almost been hit at least a half dozen times.0 -
I run at work, those are great tips..fortunately I have access to a shower0
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I used to, but I had a shower and a couple dozen miles of MUP behind my office.
Now I work in an old mill building in an old industrial town in New England. I personally sweat too much to go without a shower.
But my only pointer: aim for a 30 minute run. Between changing, running, and shower, that left me 10 minutes to eat my lunch.0 -
If you're allowed, eat your lunch at your desk after your run. Some companies allow this, others don't. Mine does.
I've thought about doing this, now that winter is here and it's cool enough to run at lunch. I usually run for 6 miles, though, which is more than an hour for me and would mean stretching my lunch to about 90 minutes, all told. It's a trade off between going into work early enough so I can leave early enough to run while it's still light and spending more of my day "at work."0 -
I cannot work out in the morning because I am NOT a morning person and when I get home from work in the evening, it's over for me. I'm cooked. The only time I feel like working out is midday. I started a new job and am very fortunate to have a fitness center (complete with locker room and showers) in my office building that we get to use for free because the company I work for is HUGE on wellness. I have zero excuse not to use it, so I started going the week before Christmas. It's fully equipped with cardio equipment, some weight machines, and tons of free weights. I go during my lunch hour because I'm also fortunate to have a manager who is very flexible. I run, shower, and eat at my desk when I'm done. If the treadmill becomes boring, we have fitness trails just outside the building, but it's too damn cold and snowy for me.
I make sure my bag is packed the night before because I will inevitably forget something if I pack it in the morning. There are certain things that don't leave my bag: shampoo, body wash, deoderant, brush, hair dryer, locker lock, ear buds for my music, my inhaler (exercise induced asthma), and a hair tie. In the morning I just grab and go.0 -
I run at work, those are great tips..fortunately I have access to a shower
This. Trying to clean up from a run with baby wipes would be an exercise in frustration for me. Not even remotely possible.0 -
I too run during lunch at work, but don't think I wold if I didn't have access to a shower!0
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