You know what I never see people talking about? Working on your feet 8+ hours a day and training for a distance running event.
I’ve more or less always had a job where I work on my feet. Desk jobs make me CRAY CRAY! In Maryland I was a Kitchen Manager, and now that I’m back home I’m Cocktail Waitressing. In fact, a hilarious moment in my career was the night before the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler (My first ever 10 mile RUN, let alone first 10 mile RACE) and I somehow got tricked into working a double shift. We would close on a tentative schedule. If it was slow we would close up at 10pm and if it was busy we’d stay open up until midnight at the latest…. It was busy and at 11:30 I found myself crying for 10 minutes in the kitchen about how I was going to be in horrible shape for the race in the morning and how I wasted all this time energy and money on training…. (I raced fine the next morning.. So the pity party was a tish dramatic)
But, cocktail waitressing is a lot more running around than managing. I was on my feet before, but not running around like a crazy person. As a Server, I am constantly on the GO between table, POS system, kitchen, drink station, back to the tables, the bar, back again.. Lather. Rinse. Repeat. (I seriously wonder how many miles I speed walk at work.. I’m going to test this out and bring my garmin & foot pod)
Since moving back to New York I also walk to and from work every day, and to any other place I go. If I’m going out to the bars, to a store or restaurant… Etc. (I have however dropped some serious weight because of how much I’ve been on the go. Could be worse I guess 
)
So my problem is finding time for recovery. Even my rest days are rarely a true rest day. I’ve been trying to line up my rest days and days off to be the same, but lets face it… I have more non-running days in my training schedule than I do days off… Because of this my rest days have been full of walking a ton and running around a restaurant for 8+ hours a day. I find that since upping my mileage, I am pretty much constantly sore.
At first I was kind of waiting for my body to get used to being SO active again. But I’m not allowing my body proper time to recover…. Not only am I not going to improve or perform at my optimal level, I’m also begging for injury by keeping up with all of this.
In the perfect world, I know that I need at least one day off a week with no running or work. However, as a cocktail waitress who just started not very long ago, my schedule is different every week. I can’t plan rest days and long run days for the month or even week ahead that way if my schedule is constantly changing….
The funny thing is, I think if I can just get my cranky ass hips to stop being soooo sore, it could actually be a wonderful aid to my endurance… Is that crazy? haha. I mean, I always attributed working in a fast paced environment to why running was so fascinating to me… But I know to listen to my body, and right now its telling me that 8 more weeks of half marathon training followed by full marathon training is not going to end well if I don’t figure out my long runs and rest days….
I know just like anything else, I would adapt to it over time, and eventually be in some seriously bad ass shape but… I can not get these hips on board. I feel like they are sore 100% of the time. Not in a omg I’m injured sort of way, just in a IM GOING TO BE TIGHT AND MAKE YOUR LIFE MISERABLE NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOGA AND STRETCHING YOU DO. (insert evil laugh) sort of way…
Have you ever worked a physical demanding job and trained for a half and/or full marathon?
How did you arrange your rest days?
That sucks! I don;t have any really good advice, and I’m sure you’ve tried almost everything, but I thought I’d throw my support your way for good measure!
If you get a roster a week in advance or something, can you re-jig your running schedule a bit? And is there a time of the day when you move a lot but an afford not to (e.g. running around cleaning, or preparing food could be done in one go rather than little bits and pieces).
Ive not had the same situation but similar.
for me it was all about doing my workout BEFORE WORK no matter what.
I was WIPED after work if I worked out…but I was wiped if I didnt
GOOD LUCK.
Shes right! Get it all done before if possible. I’m wiped after anyway so good point!
I’ve had physically demanding jobs (waitress here too) and trained to run marathons but never at the same time. I’m sure you’ll find a way to make it work.
http://jillconyers.com/
I have a demanding job. I work in a preschool for children with autism as the assistant behavior specialist. I deal with children in crisis and work with all 24 students. I’m contently on the go. I’m also training for my first full with two children at home. Busy busy is my name. I run before work, I’m up early most days. Even when I have a rest day I don’t. I want edit bad enough so I made the chanes. Test of my body and mind but it’s worked so far
i don’t have any good advice but i def feel your pain. my hips are sore a lot too!
Oh girl I feel ya!! I’m a certified pharmacy tech and I’m on my feet all day all week and my schedule is never the same. Your body does adapt (and get stronger! ) but it takes time. Anytime I up my mileage my body screams at me for a while but it’ll get over it. As long as you stay smart and connected to it. I try to arrange my longer runs when I have a day off and use the rest of that day to stretch and chill. Some weeks if I’m working a 7 straight day shift I do cut back on the long run. But that’s okay! You don’t need to be running 15+ long runs every week! Rest is good. We all need it. Make it a priority. From one working -all-day-on-our-feet runner to another, YOU got this! And if not yet, you will!!
http://www.flyingfeetinfaith.blogspot.com
I’m training for a half currently and I am on my feet all day! Now that I’ve gotten back to classes, I’m still walking/biking everywhere. But I still feel you. I feel sore a lot of the time now. I wish I had advice to help us out, but alas, I can only complain with you!
serving/waitressing can be so demanding! i did it for awhile in college, and i was CONSTANTLY sore (even without training for anything!) the only thing i can really say is make rest a priority atleast one day a week, and make sure to stay SUPER hydrated. it helps with soreness!! lots of vitamin c too!! hang in there, hun! SPA love
I am also here to commiserate but have not yet figured this out
I teach and work at a cash register, so on my feet constantly too! Fitting in running can be tough and I get super sore (especially the bottoms of my feet) – nice to know there are several of us 
I too have issues given my job has me on my feet and running ALL THE TIME. My rest days tend to be days that I’m either working doubles and/or multiple jobs….not really rest days, eh? =)
HMMMM No good advice here either…sigh. I worked as a waitress while I was in university and you do spend a lot of time on your feet. I remember when the summer hit and I would go from being a student to waitressing full time I would notice a HUGE shift. I was sore for the first few weeks, and I did very little in term of exercise, and then after a week or two my body adapted and I was able to exercise as well.
I have the same problem since I’m a physical therapist. For me I have to substitute running with the elliptical, and I also know I can’t run everyday. Well, right now… I also do a lot of yoga, and try to schedule long runs following an easier work day.
I have a friend of mine who is a painter, so he’s on his feet all day, up and down ladders, often in the hot sun. He doesn’t run nearly as much as I do, yet had no problems putting in most of his miles on the weekend and doing ultra runs. That time on your feet has to count with your training somehow. It’s probably better than sitting all day – I often find myself realizing I’ve been at my desk for 2 straight hours without moving.
That is like cross training, right? Make sure you have some comfy shoes. Will the garmin owrk indoors? Will it beep while you serve? LOL. Could always do a step counter.
See if any of these tips help :~) may not be new info for you but I thought I’d try to come up with something!
http://flyingfeetinfaith.blogspot.com/2012/08/tips-tricks-tuesday-balancing-work-and.html?m=1
I cant really relate, I have an office job, but I do have a stand up desk that my work built for me after I had back surgery. Unfortunately they gave me a comfy chair that I find myself sitting on way to much! I do workout before work, that helps me, I am brain dead after work and dont like trying to get my runs in then. Maybe you could do that?? I did hurt my hip when I first started running, I now do a lot of yoga (pigeon pose, deep DEEP lunges, etc.) I Youtubed running yoga and got a good video that I do. Those help my hips a lot. Maybe you could do those. It took me 7 weeks of therapy and massages to heal my hip. I take good care of it now. So my advice would be to try those yoga moves, specifically pigeon….. good luck #SPAlove
I’m a manager in a fairly large store, and am constantly moving, my feet are even still sore from last nights shift. I work long, fast paced, constantly moving hours. It definitely makes training harder. The hardest part has to be working until close than getting up at 5 am to run, that’s the part that always slows me down. I’ve also found that my rest days and days off never match up- it can be tiring and aggravating, I’ve found that increasing my water intake has helped, a lot! Other than that, I’ve just determined that I’m going to be sleepy for the rest of my life, oh well.