Work Hard, Run Hard

We all wish there were more hours in the day. But four time-pressed runners with challenging careers and ambitious racing goals have figured out how to make the most of every minute. Use their strategies to run circles around your own hectic schedule.

April 15, 2010

The Laborer
Married with two children
Assistant Manager, Fall River Mills, California

Kevin O'Brien helps distribute fertilizer to farms in Northern California that grow hay and wild rice. From March until mid-July, he often logs 12 hours a day, six days a week. If he's not shuttling 50-pound bags into customers' cars, O'Brien is in the field helping crews load fertilizer into giant spreaders that cover 400 acres a day. By quitting time, his back, legs, and arms are exhausted. During those busy months, O'Brien gets up at 4:30 a.m. three days a week to run on the treadmill. He does three to five miles on Mondays and Fridays, a speed workout on Wednesdays, and a long run of 10 to 12 miles outdoors on Sundays. While he works fewer hours in the fall and winter, the snow and dark keep him rooted to the mill. This summer, he hopes to improve on his half-marathon PR of 1:26.

How He Manages
A Sole S77 treadmill makes training possible no matter the weather or hour.

Speedwork and progression runs bust the monotony of treadmill running. A hall mirror helps O'Brien keep track of his kids when they play in the room behind him. Between watching and occasionally interacting with them, "it allows the time to go by without focusing on your run."

A Better Balance
All that movement during the day means that O'Brien is always in good shape—no matter how many miles he's running. "This guy has a lot of strength in his core, and if he's working 12 hours a day, always moving, he's got a good aerobic base," says Jon Sinclair, a coach with Anaerobic Management. But lifting anything the wrong way can cause injury. Since O'Brien frequently hefts and tosses heavy objects, he needs to keep his arms in close to his body as he lifts and rotates. The farther his arms are extended, the more torque he puts on his back, says Carol Kennedy-Armbruster, M.S., a faculty member of Indiana University's Department of Kinesiology Fitness Specialist Program.

If O'Brien wants to lower his PR in the half-marathon, he should start building up his long run and speedwork days once his busy season is over. Starting in August, O'Brien can lengthen his long run until he's running 18 miles every second or third weekend. For speedwork, he might start with a 20-minute tempo run, then add to it: 2 x 15 minutes at tempo pace. "He can add a more sustained challenge each week," such as faster intervals between the tempo segments, like 3 x 2 minutes hard, Sinclair says. He should schedule major races for November to February.

Before bed, O'Brien should loosen up his tight, tired muscles by stretching, rolling on a foam roller, or massaging his calves. This will allow his body to rest better and heal faster, says Dena Evans, a coach for the online service Focus-N-Fly.


Heavy Lifting
The Remedy WARM UP
Lifting requires the same quadriceps muscles as standing up properly, so warm up for hard hoisting by sitting and standing 10 times in a row. Remember to bend at the knees.

The Perfectionist
Single, no kids
Account Executive, Rochester, New York

During the six-month-long baseball season, whenever the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings are playing their home field, Trawitz is at the ballpark—in three-inch heels—by 8 a.m. She returns home around 11 p.m. or midnight, lays out two sets of workout clothes, and hits the sack. She's up at 3:10 a.m., out running by 3:30, and when she returns at 4:30, she weight trains for an hour. Trawitz finished the 2009 ING New York City Marathon (her first) in 4:24—since then, she's set a goal to break four hours. So what drives her to work out during 72 epic days of home games? A sense of perfectionism, Trawitz admits. She's fallen off the workout wagon before and gained 25 pounds. "This year, I knew if I missed one day of my training, it would snowball from there, and I didn't want to let that happen."

How She Manages
Trawitz ran her first marathon with the Lance Armstrong Foundation's LiveStrong Team. On her fridge, she kept a picture of a little boy battling cancer. "It can't be that bad to run six miles at 3:30 a.m. when he's fighting cancer at age 4," she says.

"Running gives me time to myself, away from the stress of work and anything else that might be bothering me," says Trawitz

A Better Balance
Trawitz risks injury, illness, and burnout with her chronic sleep deprivation, says Sinclair. When the team is home, she should reduce her mileage, cut back on weight training, or take a couple of days off to get more shut-eye. When the team is away, Sinclair recommends that she aim to snooze for seven and a half to eight hours per night. She should also schedule quality workouts after she's had several nights in a row of good sleep.

Rather than aim for November's ING New York City Marathon, Trawitz could target shorter races during the Red Wings season and run 26.2 in January or February, says Evans. Training during the off-season (September through mid-April), with its saner 9-to-5 work schedule, would allow her to focus better on quality training and race stronger, says Sinclair.

"The fear that if she got off her plan, she'd never get back on, that's a distortion in thinking," says Jeffrey L. Brown, Psy.D., a psychologist who teaches at Harvard Medical School. Trawitz should deviate from her schedule so she realizes that a missed run doesn't translate into a derailed goal. She should also allow for ranges of perfection, he says. Following her program 90 percent of the time can still be considered success.

Perfectionists "expect to do A-plus work in every arena of their life," says Sharon Teitelbaum, a work-life coach in Watertown, Massachusetts. "This is completely unsustainable." Trawitz should find one area within her working or running life where she could deliver B-plus work, and not suffer any consequences. She'll soon figure out where else she can lower her standards without losing her identity.


Dress Shoes
The Remedy GO LOW
Wearing high heels shortens the calf muscles and can lead to plantar fasciitis and Achilles tendinopathy, says Kennedy-Armbruster. Wear flat shoes or remove heels often and stretch your calves.
Men and women with pain in their feet, legs, hips, or back may benefit from wearing over-the-counter or custom orthotics inside their shoes, says Daniel Bannink, D.P.T., a physical therapist in Lake Orion, Michigan.

The Realist
Married with one son
Commercial lender, Cleveland

If Tim Brady ran a mile for every e-mail he got during the day, he'd be in better shape than Ryan Hall. Brady's inbox is constantly full, and during his off hours, his BlackBerry pings as rhythmically as a runner's footfalls. Stress reaches a max when you spend your days with customers who are struggling to make their loan payments. "At the end of the day, you want to collapse in a quiet room," says Brady. Running is his release. Each weekend, he does one long run of about 10 miles at a nine-minute-per-mile pace, while his son naps in the baby jogger. During the week, he tries to fit in three runs either by getting up early, running on the way home, or sneaking in an afternoon run (and hoping no one spots him). A veteran of 16 marathons, Brady would like to re-qualify for Boston—he needs a 3:35—if he can start training consistently.

How He Manages
Almost daily, Brady or his wife runs with their son in the baby jogger to share with him the joy of being out in nature. "When my son is awake, we talk about the animals and the trees," he says.

Any run, no matter how short, is better than none—especially during a busy day or week. "A 20-minute run can wash away all the stress and give you a feeling of investing in yourself," Brady says.

A Better Balance
A weekly tempo run will ease Brady back into a competitive mind-set, says Sinclair. He should run an eight-minute-per-mile pace, time himself, and track his progress.

Brady shouldn't feel guilty if a coworker sees him running, says Joe Robinson, a work-life balance coach in Santa Monica, California. Running helps Brady recharge. In deciding when to run during the day, he should look at the productivity of each hour, and rank it on a scale of 1 to 10, says Brown. Below a 5, it's time to run.

The more Brady is interrupted by e-mail, the more stress he will feel, says Robinson. He should reset his e-mail program to chime every 45 minutes, and avoid e-mail during his off hours. "It can create an infusion of anxiety," Brown says.

Whether it's first thing in the morning, on Sundays, or on vacation, Brady checks e-mail.


Sit up straight, drop your shoulder blades, and pull your chin back. "People always have their neck out, the chicken look," says Bannink. While sitting, stretch your hamstrings periodically. Keep one foot flat on the floor and extend the other so your heel is on the floor. Lean forward. Hold for 30 seconds and switch legs. Stand up to stretch your hip flexors by taking a big step forward with your left foot. Square your hips, and feel the stretch in front of your right hip. Hold it for 30 seconds, then switch legs. Finally, take plenty of standing and walk breaks.

The Competitor
Married with four children
Pediatrician, Andover, New Hampshire

Sarah Lester likes to run early and often. On an average day, she'll do a predawn run of three to nine miles. She tries to sneak in a two-mile jog at lunchtime. After the office closes at 5, she'll hit the gym and warm up for a mile before lifting weights. "I feel best when I do 50 miles a week," she says. "When I miss my morning workout, I don't feel as sharp. I'm like, 'What's the date today?' 'Where's my pen?'" Lester's goal is to stay competitive in her age group at local 5-Ks and 10-Ks, which requires about a 7:30 pace. Her other goal is to keep a clear head. "I am a much nicer person if I work out at the end of the day to help with the transition to home." Occasionally, she'll run a few miles when her kids are at music or swim lessons. "Some people call them junk miles," she says. "I call them antidepressants."

How She Manages
Lester races frequently on weekends and participates in the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend of races every year. Thinking of her long-term race goals goes a long way in motivating Lester to get up and get out when the thermometer reads -5&deg F. She signs up for races as soon as online registration opens.

Lester runs with a friend one to two mornings a week. "It's hard to skip the run if you know you'll be letting someone down before 5 a.m.," she says. "That's a bad karmic way to start the day."

A Better Balance
If her goal is to be competitive in her age group, Lester needs to approach her training like an elite runner. For them, every workout has a purpose, whether it's building endurance or improving speed. Lester's two-and three-mile jogs aren't really improving her cardiovascular fitness. "You get more of an endurance bump and strength bump in a single eight-mile run than two fives," Sinclair says. Since working out is such a potent stress reliever for Lester, she should take a short walk at lunch, then do her second run and weights together.

Planned days off could help Lester recover from hard training and prevent some aches and pains in advance. "The key is to rest before you need to, just like taking fluids before you're completely parched," says Evans. Lester should build a rest day into her schedule and treat it as an important part of her training, not as a sign of weakness, she says.

As good as she feels running 50 miles per week, Lester should focus instead on performing well during her long run and speedwork. If she adds extra miles just to hit a target number, she won't be rested enough to run well in those key workouts. "At certain times of the year, when you're only trying to build aerobic fitness, paying attention to mileage goals makes sense," says Sinclair. "Other times, you have to focus on the workouts."

Standing All Day
Consider placing a foam or rubber anti-fatigue mat in all the areas where you stand for long periods. The mats will help reduce stress on the feet, legs, and lower back.