LOLZLetter 270 | Finding Balance: Juggling Fitness, Work, and Life
With Ian, a database administrator for a military charity
Welcome,
Happy Marathon Monday for all of those running and participating somehow in Boston. Looking forward to seeing how you did. I'm keeping the newsletter shorter today due to that. :-)
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This week continues on the newsletter series of balancing working out and working. In case you missed the last few weeks:
This week I'm chatting with Ian who lives about 70 miles outside of London.
What is your job?
I am a database administrator for a military charity.
What are your usual work hours?
In pre-COVID times, I worked 9-5. Since then, I've worked at home, and it's anywhere in the window of 0900-2100. As long as I get the work done, it’s flexible.
Is your job demanding? Are you on your feet or sitting all day?
My job isn't physically demanding, and I spend most of my time looking at a laptop working remotely. The only exercise I tend to get is when I go make a cup of tea.
What benefits does your job have that not all jobs may have?
The flexibility to start work when you want as long as you get the job done is a significant benefit. Plus, taking breaks for a run isn’t an issue, as you can easily tack on time if you take longer than an hour, like I used to when I worked in the office daily. Though having a boss who is also active, it was never an issue going for a run when I was at the office in London either.
Are you training for something right now?
Yes, I’m doing the London Marathon on 21st April, so I’m in the final four weeks prior to race day. I had a good half marathon over the weekend, so while I’m not necessarily going to duck under 3 hours, I may come close to my 3h05 PB from 2019.
When do you like to work out? Are there sacrifices you make to do that?
I like to either work out early morning at the weekends, sometimes doing my long run at 0530 Sunday morning. I tend to work out in the evening after work before I cook dinner too. Living in a nice rural area, I’ve got a nice 7mi road loop with plenty of undulations that I can adapt to whatever my run needs are.
It helps if the long run is divisible by seven too, though it’s also easy to tack on a mile or so extra as needed. Since it’s rural and often car-free, I can run in the moonlight without even needing my chest torch. I wear the chest torch in case I do encounter a car, but I can regularly go three plus miles without seeing another human, let alone a vehicle.
Saturday mornings are always for parkrun, whether it be a faster effort or a steadier effort with my ten-year-old son who I see every other weekend. Parkrun was my gateway to the wider world of running in 2011, 437 5k on Saturdays, twenty-plus marathons, and a few ultras later, here we are. Definitely in better shape nearing fifty than I was in my mid-thirties. As for less sleep, if I’ve an early run the next day, I make sure to get my head down earlier the night before.
How do you make time for other things like grocery shopping? Cleaning? Etc.
As for groceries, I swear by getting it delivered. When the big UK supermarket I use for deliveries had an IT upgrade go wrong the other weekend, I actually had to go to the store. Bewildering! Working at home helps with regard to cleaning; it’s easier to do it in dribs and drabs.
How do you make time for other things with working out? Strength? Core? Stretching?
I really should do strength and core work but simply can’t stand it. I’d be a coaches’ nightmare. I always stretch after my runs, regardless of intensity.
Is your family supportive of your working out?
They are; my girlfriend encourages me to get out the door even if I’m not feeling it. Though sometimes, like last Sunday morning, my son’s exercise takes precedent. It had nothing to do with the fact it was torrential at 0530, honest!
On this occasion, I left my long run until I’d dropped him back to his mum’s, plus he had a fantastic 2k junior parkrun, so it was worth the trade-off. My 14mi @ MP was also much nicer than if I’d done it in the dark and wet. It also helps my girlfriend is as obsessed with parkrun, if not more so. To paraphrase the excellent Aussie podcast parkrun adventurers, this nails our relationship with parkrun in that ‘it’s a podcast about life, that is if your life revolves around parkrun.’
What tips do you have for someone trying to make time for working out and working?
If you’re struggling to make time, think about what you want to achieve from your running. Get a plan if you’re targeting a specific event. If you’re happy just doing Saturday morning 5k runs, that’s fine.
But don’t expect to rock up at an event beyond your usual training volume or further without putting some work in prior to doing so. Make time to train. After last year’s marathon training cycle, my motivation fell off a cliff, and I blithely did my local half marathon a few months later without much issue. The 50km ultra that I did a couple of weeks later chewed me up and spat me out though, as I didn’t train for it beyond a couple of half-hearted long runs too late to have any real impact.
Respect the event you’re doing. If you want to get quicker over 5k, for example, do specific workouts to achieve it. Yes, you might see some general improvement if you’re training for another distance event, but nothing like if you focus completely on it. I take part in a veterans track league with my club, for example, anything less than 1500m is simply done for fun as my training is endurance focused. I’m not slow by general standards, but compared to those athletes who dedicate themselves to track running, I’m significantly slower.
Anything else you want to add?
Don’t get too hung up on your running form. For example, I have a high running cadence from years of being a keen cyclist. I don’t lift my knees that high but somehow run reasonably quickly. Probably not that efficient, but no doubt improvements could be made if I actually did core work. Also, as you’ve observed, there’s no catch-all regarding what shoes people should wear. Wear what works for you. I’m determined to run my races without super shoes, for example, notwithstanding the high cost and limited life. My main long run shoe this training cycle has been a pair of Skechers Hoka-a-likes that cost me £50 on clearance, and they’ve been fantastic. I’ve even run a fast 5k in them, so proof that it’s more about your mindset.
My biggest bugbear about running is the absurd carbon plate arms race that’s led to distance records toppling at an unprecedented rate since the IAAF (now World Athletics) didn’t ban them when they had the opportunity. Swimming’s governing body banned the super suits, for example, just as the UCI sanctions bike frames.
Above all else, make your running fun. If you want to wear silly pink shorts like I do, go for it. If your race falls on a 22nd of the month, wear a tutu. 😂
Thank you Ian for your time!
What is Keeping Me Entertained?
Today watching Boston of course.
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From a Rocky Start, Dakotah Lindwurm Emerges With Unshakeable Self-Belief Even if you've read and listened to everything about Dakotah Lindwurm, this article provides even more insight to her past including homelessness.
Thank you again UCAN for sponsoring the newsletter.