Back when I worked in Evanston, I worked at a standing desk for most of my time there. In fact, once I landed at work elsewhere, one of the bigger adjustments I had to make was finally sitting back at a regular desk again.
I imagine standing all day at work had a cumulative positive effect on my Chicago running. I noticed training got more difficult once I moved on and most of my work took place sitting down again.
Not only do your legs get more regular circulation and isometric/low-aerobic work when you’re standing all day, but standing is a more natural human posture than sitting in front of a desk, usually hunched over with your head pointed towards the screen. That’s not to say standing will absolutely correct your posture issues, but the posture when standing all day is a healthier one than if sitting all day.
My feet didn’t hurt and my legs weren’t tired. I imagine being on my feet so much in Seattle and Chicago played a role in standing all day feeling like no big deal.
I mention because after leaving my last job, I made an adjustment in my trailer. The table I work at is part of a slide-extended dinette. Though sitting felt comfortable while working at home, I not only wanted to get up and move around more, but the dinette itself isn’t meant to carry a person’s weight for hours when the slide seating isn’t fully extended.
I decided to try working while standing up, and noticed that the table is at a good level for working while standing. Thus, I basically now have a standing desk once again.
The big challenge is, after a couple years of not standing all day, my heels now begin to hurt if I’ve been standing and working for a while unless I’m wearing shoes. So now, at least in the short run, I need to remember to wear shoes before pain in my heels begins to remind me. I imagine over time this will subside as my legs and feet get used to standing more often.
But I imagine this has helped my running. While increasing my running volume, I notice staying mobile on runs has become less of a chore even as the mileage begins to stretch past my current comfort level.
Much like how standing all day helped my postural and ultimately my running stamina in Chicago, I think all the standing is beginning to show positive effects on my running in Vegas. While there’s heel pain in socks when standing at the desk, there’s no such pain in shoes or when running (mostly because my weight is towards the forefoot and midfoot when running).
So discovering a new “standing desk” at home may have been a blessing in disguise. Man was meant to stand and move about on his feet for most of the day, and now I can get back to living a more natural life.