Stinky Runner

In a recent post, I debated the appropriateness of running during my lunch hour at work without the benefit of a shower. After careful deliberation, however, I decided to throw caution (and perhaps my odor) to the wind and began running during my lunch hour. The following is a report on how these lunch runs fit into my schedule.

At approximately 11:45 a.m. I change into my running gear in my office and apply sunscreen. I spend about two minutes lightly stretching. Exiting my office on the fifth floor, I take the elevator to the ground floor. Once outside, I run 4.5 miles on an out and back course. Over half of the course is residential and relatively traffic-free. Being that it is May in metro Atlanta, I sweat. I generally run with tunes or running commentary on my MP3. The sun on my shoulders feels wonderful. The freedom of movement energizes me. I feel as if I’ve escaped from a prison. No worries or thoughts about work. My mind is a vacuum. The run is liberating and refreshing.

About 35-40 minutes later I return to the ground floor of my office building. I calmly walk through the lobby and press the elevator button. I catch a few strange glances but act as if my actions are perfectly reasonable. I proceed to walk into the elevator when it opens. Sometimes I am joined by others but often I am not. This is a good thing for obvious reasons. Back onto the fifth floor I enter the rest room. Using the sink I throw water on my face, head, and neck. Using paper towels, I do the best I can to clean-up.

Exiting the rest room I return to my office, close the door, and turn on a portable fan. Still sweating, I reapply deodorant and put my work clothes (business casual) back on. I then walk to the break room still red-faced and sweating and grab my lunch out of the refrigerator. I return to my office to consume lunch. By 12:45 to 1:00 p.m. I’m back at work. By 1:30 I’ve cooled-off and appear almost normal.

I’ve enjoyed these lunch-time runs immensely. While I don’t have time for any distance beyond five miles, these runs should work perfectly about twice a week. I’ll use this time for junk/recovery miles, hill workouts (Atlanta is chocked full of hill), or tempo runs. The beautiful thing about this is that I don’t have to sacrifice family time or sleep at night to get my run in. Once I got over the awkwardness of walking around my office in my running gear, the decision to do this more regularly was easy. And until someone tells me that I stink, I’ll assume that my post-run hygiene efforts are adequate.

My office building employs a large number of morbidly obese people. I certainly wish shower or workout facilities were provided for all of us. In my opinion, employers that promote health and fitness help their bottom line with fewer sick days, lower healthcare costs, and improved morale. Until my employer or landlord takes this position, however, I will continue to be the stinky runner guy.