Impossible to do 100-mile weeks?

[Josse]

Have you considered moving closer to you job?  That would be some extra time.

[Paul Petersen]

Have you considered moving closer to you job?  That would be some extra time.

Jon is not allowed to move.

[Jon Allen]

Thanks, Paul- I take that to mean you want me to stay in Logan.

Josse, my work is 30 miles from the nearest town of at least a few hundred people.  In order to be in a town with any appreciable size, 50 miles is required (Logan or Ogden).  So I decided that the longer commute is worth it, since I would have a long commute anyways.

Changing jobs is always an option, but not one I am pursuing now.

[Josse]

If you don't mind me asking, what do you do?

[Jon Allen]

Engineer, working on the space shuttle solid rockets.  Which is why my work is in the middle of the desert- you don't want a million pounds of rocket fuel blowing up right next to some houses...

[Tom]

Hey Jonathan, you don't know a guy at work named Jim Robinson do you?

[Jon Allen]

He works at our SLC facility, I think.  I don't know him personally.

[Dave Holt]

Jon, I think you refer back to the quote section Ted has going, and look at the one Bill Rogers said (I think), something about 100 not being some magic number. I really think that is true - set your goals, figure out what you can do, and then - the biggy - DON'T LET THINGS GET IN THE WAY OF THEM.  In the summer I do luckily have more time, but then I become a full time dad (as my wife teaches swim lessons).  The trick for me is to just do whatever it takes to get whatever mileage you can in.  For me that is 5:00 AM or earlier almost every day in the summer.  Also to take it to the next level - 120 this summer (I'll give it a try anyway) I am going to run Sunday nights - later.  Some might not like this idea, but like we all do with various things in our lives - I justify it and feel okay about it.  Whatever you figure out,  CONSISTENCY is the key.  I have seen and coached a lot of very talented runners who just let things always come up, and then the improvement never comes, and they wonder why.

[Sasha Pachev]

Dave:
120 can be easily done in 6 days.
Regarding Sunday training for an active and believing Latter-Day Saint. The counsel given to us is to avoid heavy exercise. I could of course justify going out for a 5 mile run at 7:30 pace, that is not a heavy exercise at all for me. However, what kind of example is it setting for my family, and neighbors? How am I supposed to teach my children to keep the Sabbath after that? How am I supposed to teach a Sunday School lesson or give a talk on the Sabbath observance? Should I be surprised to find my children groping for exceptions to the rules and justifying questionable behavior of much greater magnitude later in life? I believe everything we do, good or bad, has a ripple effect, and is often magnified in our children.  In the words of Alma, "by small and simple things are great things brought to pass".

[Dave Holt]

Sasha, you always bring it home.  As you are planning on 120's, what would be a typical workout week for you?

[Jon Allen]

Sasha- why do you think 120 is easy in 6 days?  That is 2 hours a day away from the family.  Not an easy thing if you already spend 8-12 hours away already.  I would like to hear your workout schedule, too.

[Adam R Wende]

Being new to SLC and the LDS culture, I have found this topic very interesting. I have had long discussions with active LDS members at work concerning exercise on Sunday and am still not 100% sure, I understand. However, I do agree with Sasha, that if you believe in something, that starting to bend rules may cause a horrible ripple affect.
I used to debate this topic with my pastor in Jr. high and high school. Though I’m not LDS, the group I ran with ran Sunday mornings and this often interfered with activities I had been involved with at church. The debate centered on the fact that I felt communing with God in nature (as I did all weekend running in the forest preserves) was a more significant bonding experience with God than sitting in church. My pastor came back with if I was truly using the runs as a devotional communing with God he could see my point but that he doubted running with a large group talking about running was the same thing… I agreed with him that this was most likely just a teen trying to make excuses but it did have the affect of brining thoughts of religion, faith, and God into more of my daily runs. This was more than 15-yrs ago and though some of my views have changed, I still find that running on Sunday can have a different meaning to me. However, as I said some would just consider this making excuses.
I now use my rational for daily running in a different view. First, I’ve tried to have one of my weekend runs as family time. Second, by running 7-days a week I can actually spend more time with family because there are only so many hours a day and if I can spread out my mileage over 7 days I can usually run most of my mileage before my family is even awake so that I don’t take anytime away from them. Finally, I have to agree with Jon and say that running 120 miles a week may be easy for some but for most even on 7 days this takes a huge toll on the body much less trying to condense it into 6 days. I have the same problem with 1- vs. 2-a-days. I do all of my running in 1-a-days because the extra shower, stretch, changing time would invariably take away from family. This fact alone almost makes 7-day a week running a necessity for me. So, for now I do my recovery days a little longer but slower. I’m sure there is no easy way to come to a solution for the time constraints of competitive running but I think the discussion is a good one… I’m glad to see a forum where people can have serious discussions. I’ve become fed-up with LetsRun because discussions like this all too often digress to name calling.

[Sasha Pachev]

Dave:
Check my blog - I have been following a fairly consistent pattern. Look at any week that is over 115.
Jon:
120 is easy when you are self-employed in a good way. If you have to work a regular job, have a long commute, have a family, cannot run during lunch, cannot do errands on foot, cannot nap during a meeting, and cannot do doubles it is not only not easy, it is not something I would recommend. Unless you are a superman, you will overtrain.

Although I am self-employed, I do have a fairly full schedule. I do need to be there for clients some time. We home school, and I do a good portion of it. I keep the blog running. I serve in the church. So I have to resort to some form of "cheating" get my runs in. Here is a list of Sasha's "cheats":

Short-term "cheats":

a) Run with each kid individually when possible - this gives me extra 4.5 miles a day at sub-9:00 average, which is slower than ideal, but still a good aerobic base builder,  and it gives me a chance for my second run. This also provides a window for a daily scheduled father interview, something that will probably not happen otherwise, or at least not that regularly.

b) Do not shower after your second run.

c) Use the double stroller frequently. If you put the little ones in the double stroller for a), this makes 9:00 pace more like 8:20.

d) Run errands literally when possible.

e) Wear a pair of running shoes as much as possible. You never know when you'll have a chance to sneak in a couple of miles.

f) Avoid places, jobs, and other situations where the smell of sweat you would get from a 2 mile run in street clothes is a big deal.

g) Never watch TV except during General Conference.

h) Sleep at every opportunity.

Long-term "cheats":

a) Avoid debt - live below your means. This increases job flexibility.

b) Develop a skill set that increases the amount of money you could make in an hour.


For Adam and others who are not LDS. The LDS people are in a unique situation. The rest of the Christian world  goes largely only by "Six days shalt thou labor, and on the seventh shalt thou rest".  This leaves the meaning of Sabbath rest very much up to an individual to interpret. Our difference is that we believe that we have a prophet today with the same type of authority that was given to Biblical prophets like Abraham, Moses, or Peter in their times. This is very significant. Can you imagine living in the days of Moses, he comes to you with the plates of commandments and asks you to follow them? Or maybe Peter coming from a visit with the Savior, and sharing with you the Lord's will concerning the church? The prophets of our day have clarified the meaning of Sabbath day rest for us on numerous occasions, and one thing that we are asked not to do is heavy exercise.

[Jon Allen]

Sasha- lots of good cheats.  I have to ask the fastrunningmommy what she thinks about b), though.

[Paul Petersen]

That's kind of funny; I always skip the first shower, and get my shower after the second run. That way I can go to bed squeaky-clean. I could care less how I smell at work. Plus, I rarely break a sweat in the morning. My Big Workout days are always singles, so not an issue there.