A 9 to 5 Marathon Runner
- Ian Visser
- Feb 3, 2020
- 3 min read
Training for a marathon is a massive challenge all on its own but throw in a demanding full time job and a toning child and gone a whole new meaning to the wit ‘challenge’! Finding time to train can feeling nearly impossible at times and in that rare moment that you do get a few minutes to yourself, trading is often the last thing you feel motivated get out and to do!
This has been my way of life for the last few years but as challenging as it is, I can tell you that it certainly is still possible. The most vital part is planning and time magnets, that was a whole new challenge for me altogether haha.
Here are a couple tips that I’ve found to be really effective and I even managed a 2h49min in the last London Marathon by sticking to them:
Plan your week. Have a target distance for the week and at the start have a plan in how you’re going to achieve that but be flexible as work will more than likely alter your plans. Know that you’re plan is actually more of a guideline and don’t get despondent if you couldn’t get out on a particular day, shuffle your week to make up the distance.Plan your run. Try run a route that you are familiar with, preferable one with the least amount of traffic lights, tourists and general rhythm breakers. By doing this you will maximise you’re limited time frame and get the most out of your session.
Run when you can. This may sound rather obvious but when your a working parent this isn’t was easy as it sounds. For me the best time to get out was on my lunch break. Like the rest of the working world, this means I only have have an hour so make sure you use that full hour, be quick! Change quickly and get out there as soon as you can, that dates you get ready the long you get to run. You will be surprised how much time you can lose by fafing around...
Ditch the tube/train. For some ditching this completely is just not possible so if you can run to and from work then do so else take the train in most of the way and then get off when you are near enough to run the rest of the way. This is a great way to ‘reclaim time’ as you could effectively get in two extra runs by replacing your commute.
Quality over quantity. Now this is not the best way to train for a marathon but i found it very effective and I feel like this is why got me round in under 3 hours. When you’re training is limited I found that I need to get something out of every run, each time I managed to get out it was a ‘quality’ run and I felt like I got something out of it. Since you’re not running as often, you’re effectively recovering between runs instead on slower runs. Listen to your body though, if you feel like it’s too intense then calm it down and throw in a slower recover run in every now and then.
Last tip, and probably the one with the buggiest impact, NO ALCOHOL! Until that celebratory drink at the end of the race of course :) This can be particularly difficult if you at a firm, such as the one I do, where a cheeky beverage happens very often. Stick to the 0%’s if you can, it will make such a difference!
It definitely take enormous dedication but running your best marathon while working a full time job is possible and you CAN do it!
Good luck to everyone running there next marathon, you’re going to smash it!
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