0 Ditch The Car.......Hit the Road

The traffic in Melbourne sucks. Anyone who drives to work in this city knows the pain of being stuck on one of our "freeways" or, god forbid, Punt or St Kilda Roads.  I've always been a fan of public transport.  It's ecologically responsible, cheap and usually pretty quick.  Unless you're in Melbourne!

I live about 8kms from my office, the route taking me along Brunswick St, past Edinburgh Gardens and down Collins St.  I used to sit on the tram for 45 mind numbingly boring minutes each way (plus the 8 minute walk to the tram stop), paying $8 for the privilege of having some disgustingly smelly stranger grinding me in an inappropriate way. This is assuming that the service isn't delayed or cancelled.

As an avid cyclist, I regularly ride to work, braving the aggressive drivers, non-existent bike lanes and terrible road surfaces.  However, I was finding that the 8km stop-start ride really wasn't giving me the workout that I needed so I kept finding more and more circuitous routes to work so that I could justify the effort of putting on Lycra.  As someone who enjoys triathlon, and endurance events, I need to get the most out of the limited time that I have to train.  Fitting in a proper training session before work can be challenging.  Which is why you should be combining your commute and your workout.

Twice a week I run the 8kms to work in the morning, and depending on my schedule for the week, I run home at least once.  The 8km distance is perfect for me to get in a decent tempo run, pushing myself a little harder every week as my fitness improves.  I am covering the distance in around 33 minutes and I have to say that it was with great delight that I realised my own legs are much quicker than taking the tram or getting in my car.  I get a guilty jolt of pleasure as I cruise past the cars and trams jammed bumper to bumper.

Two of the ladies in my office have recently started running home instead of taking the tram.  In the month since they started, both Jade and Rachel have raved about how "much fitter" they feel, the weight they've lost, and the clothes that they now fit into again.  The extra energy, physically and mentally, is evident to everyone in the office also.

Other than taking pleasure in other people's discomfort, let's take a look at the benefits of run commuting for me:

Time saved:

• Daily - 20 mins (run time vs tram or car)
• Weekly - 60 mins (3 runs a week)
• Annually - 52 hours!

Calories:

• Approx 600 per run
• Weekly - 1800 (3 runs a week)
• Annually -  93,600!

When you add the time saved by not having to workout at the gym or after work on the days that you run to work, you are looking at some fairly substantial time benefits to the busy athlete. On the other hand, if you are struggling to find time to fit in extra training sessions for an upcoming long course race, run commuting be the perfect way to increase your volume without risking your relationship or sacrificing sleep.

You could also be saving around a $1000 a year worth of petrol or train/tram/bus tickets!

Take a look around next time you're sitting in your car wondering if the cars in front of you will ever move again.  You may just notice a growing number of people taking advantage of the very real fitness and time benefits of run commuting.