Do you run during your work lunch hour?

I’ve read enough to know that you should vary the times that you run, not least because it’s no good only running in the evenings when you are training for a race which starts at 11am etc.

But for me the reality is that all too often running has to fit in between waking up and getting the kids off to school, which means that sometimes it just doesn’t fit in at all.

Sound familiar?

One way I found round it was to try and go for a lunchtime run at work.

It used to be pretty straight forward – my former employer had a shower (albeit, a bit crummy, but shouldn’t complain, I suppose), so you could nip out, get some hills in or even get down to Whitlingham if you were feeling ambitious, and back again all cleaned up and at your desk for 2pm or 2ish..

Now I am usually working from home – nipping out during lunch is even easier.

But another problem has struck me. What happens on those days I’m working in the city? I’m one of those growing army of ‘coffee shop entrepreneurs’ who you can spot at their laptops sipping a latte, for me either at the Forum, or an independent coffee shop in the city – I’m quite partial to North, which used to be King of Hearts near Fye Bridge/Magdalen Street.

 

So can you be a coffee shop entrepreneur and go for a lunchtime run?

 

My question is – where are the showers?

 

No good looking to the Forum, or the toilets in the Market. Maybe it’s just too much to expect a run when you’re one of the country’s growing army of self-employed?

 

But paying more NI is one thing (though that’s not happening now) what about having a post run shower, when you have no designated office?

 

Should you:

 

1.       Forget it – after all you should be working

 

2.       Join a gym and stick to the treadmills during the day

 

3.       Go for the run and skip the shower…

 

With point 3 is there some unwritten law that says that if you only run for 10 minutes you could get away with not having a shower…?

 

Or is that too disgusting?

 

And if you are only running for 10 minutes what’s the point anyway?

 

You can see I worry about these things – too much possibly.

 

But with this growing number of coffee shop entrepreneurs, surely one of them would have the nous to develop a business solution to this problem – maybe they could be offered as part of a shared office agreement – the sort of thing you see at St Mary’s Works, or the Union Building, or that other one that used to be the Job Centre in Pottergate (in fact I think a bit of it still is)

 

Or maybe retailers and coffee shops could rent-a-shower?

 

Or maybe I should just go for a run – it’s nearly lunch time now after all.*

 

 

 

·       Btw did you know that there is a guy in Norwich called Richard Patey who has written his own e-book called the Coffee Shop Entrepreneur? I interviewed him once, though I’m afraid I still haven’t read the book yet (sorry Richard). I often see him at his laptop, yes you’ve guessed it in a coffee shop, and we’re hoping to meet up for coffee probably one lunch time, though I won’t go for a run first. You can find him on Twitter @RichardPatey.

 

 

 

<*Actually I went this morning – that was just a contrived writer’s device so that I could bring the blog post to a fitting close..hope that didn’t spoil things, if you’re still reading this far that is..>