PUBLISHED 12/04/2007
The sport of running is my job. On its best days it's a dream job that most people would call a hobby, not work. On its worst days it still beats any career path I might have taken.
Even so, my workdays aren't filled with running, but with pressures and temptations not to run. I suspect you've experienced the same as you try to cling to mileage goals against a tide of other obligations that threaten to wash away your running time.
In my life, "other obligations" begin with family. I have a very supportive wife- who doesn't, however, care to spend all of her spare time at races. I have children who need their dad to be more focused on them than his running.
My main job-related obligation is writing about running. This daily organization of thoughts into text requires that I sit, not run, for long stretches. And strange as it may seem, when I go to races nowadays (another component of my "running job"), my primary purpose is to give talks, not to run in the event.
Still, by finding the right balance with family, career, and outside interests, running (the actual act of hitting the streets and working up a sweat) remains a big part of my life. Yet each run, including time for prep and cleanup, occupies only a fraction of my day. Like most of you, I'm a decidedly part-time runner with multiple responsibilities. We part-timers aren't given time to run; we must make time and protect it by being both flexible and conservative.
To this end, I've developed the following four rules that emphasize flexibility and a modest time allocation for running. By following them I've managed to keep the delicate, healthy balance between running and the rest of my life.
1. Schedule one big run a week. "Big" means a long run that might prepare you for a marathon or a fast session that might ready you for a 10-K. These runs require so much focus and effort, if not time, that they're best done on your days off.
2. Limit racing to once a month. Race more than that, and you risk tipping your life out of balance. Factor in travel and recovery time, and a race is an all-day or all-weekend commitment that's less fun for your family than it is for you.
3. Rest 1 day per week. If nothing else, the planned day off frees you from thinking you must find time to run every day. Keep this as a free-floating day, to resort to when running must yield to other duties that can't wait until tomorrow.
4. Average 1 hour of running per day. This is the most important rule. It doesn't mean never run longer than an hour, but when you do, restore the balance by running less in the days that follow. An average of an hour a day keeps running in the realm of a hobby.
When you subtract time for stretching and showering, you may be left with no more than 30 to 40 minutes for running. Not enough, you say? I agree that this may be a paltry session for an experienced runner. But it also can be brutally hard. A world-class 10-K, for example, can be run in less than a half-hour, with time left for a victory lap or two.
For the time-constrained part-time runner, 30 to 40 minutes a day of actual running is long enough to train for speed and race well for a 5-K. For the fitness runner, aerobic conditioning can be gained and maintained in the amount of time it takes to watch a sitcom or eat a fast-food meal.
Whatever running session you choose, time it so you're back home or back on the job before anyone has time to miss you. That's a healthy balance.
