Boosting your performance on and off the roadIn the lead up to my 10km run in the Melbourne Marathon, I was glad to read an article in Runners World which mentioned that a one-hour lunch break is all you need to improve your running.
The most efficient use of your lunch break is to focus on quality workouts - such as speed sessions, hills and tempo runs. Midday is ideal as your muscles are more warmed up than in the mornings and you aren't as tired as you may be heading into evening runs.
Although lunchtime runs are good in theory, you must be able to take yourself away from your desk to actually do them. I have found setting a meeting request in my diary works well with reminders 45mins and 15mins before so I can ensure I finish off anything urgent. This also reminds me to eat a light snack (usually a banana) so I have some energy for the run.
If you find yourself missing your scheduled runs due to work or laziness, arranging to run with another person is a good incentive to force you to get out there.
If you think your lunchtime run will wipe you out for the rest of the day, rest assured. The opposite is true. Your metabolism stays elevated for up to four hours after a run. And if your boss is thinking that you are taking up too much 'work time', let them know that studies have shown that workers' moods, productivity, work quality and ability to meet deadlines improved dramatically on days when they exercised.
Here is an example of some quick 20 minute workouts you can do in your lunch breaks:
TEMPO
- 20 mins of running at a comfortably hard pace
- every 4 weeks, pick up the pace by 4 to 6 seconds per km
- this trains the body to process lactic acid more efficiently, and prepares you mentally to sustain a hard race pace
HILL REPEATS
- run for 1 minute uphill, rest for 30 seconds at the top, run down the hill and rest for 2 minutes at the bottom. Repeat 4 times
- once you have done this for a few weeks, try to go farther in 1 minute, or try to get up the hill faster
- this will increase your speed, strength and running economy
SPEED WORK
- run for 30 seconds at kilometer race pace, then recover with 30 seconds of jogging. Build up to 20 minutes
- gradually increase the 30 seconds of race-pace running to 2 minutes, to reach a total of 20 minutes of fast running
- this will get your fast-twitch muscle fibres firing and teaches the muscles how to hold a faster pace
