How To Run A Reasonably Fast Marathon Without Screwing Up Your Job

For the past ten years or so, I've run marathons in the fall—usually one a year. And I've finished them all in just over 2:40 or so, with a best of 2:39. This past November, I ran the New York Marathon in 2:45. These aren't amazing times, but they're reasonably good and I've been asked by a lot of folks how to put in the training to run them, without become obsessive, losing ground at work, or giving up on other things that are more important. It seems like a good topic for LinkedIn, so here are some principles:

* To the extent possible, multitask while training. Most of my running comes while commuting. I drop the kids off at school and run to the gym right next to my office. Or I change in the office and run home. I also listen to work-related podcasts or audiobooks while I run.

* Keep a fairly simple routine. One big risk for serious runners is that they  micromanage their training. This can be exhausting and time consuming. I keep it fairly simple. Twice, during the week, I run hard. On weekends, I run long. The other days, I recover. I usually end up averaging around 50 miles a week for the three months before the race, and I don't run many (or any) races before the marathon. But I do always get in lots of 20- or 24-mile long runs.

* Don't worry about the weather. Don't skip runs because it's raining, or too hot, or too cold, or too windy. There are enough important reasons to skip runs—like deadlines you need to hit—that you can't skip something for weather, or because you ate something funny, or because you're tired. And never skip a long run. Given my work schedule, I sometimes have to head out to run at 11pm, which is actually quite a lovely time to cruise around New York City.

* Keep a running log, but only a running log. Preparing for a marathon requires all kinds of stuff besides running: like eating healthily, stretching, working on posture, and doing sit-ups and squats. I do all these things, but never fanatically, and I never mark them down or worry too much about them. I'll just do them while watching TV, or I'll stretch while reading.  The goal is to conserve psychic energy—and time.

I'm not sure how long my running habit will last. It seems like I'm starting to slow, and even though I try to minimize the effort it takes to run each year, it obviously does take some effort. But I certainly hope I'll be out there next year, standing in the cold on Staten Island, getting ready to run the NY Marathon one more time.