The Running, Well Hobbling, Man (Running as Exercise)

Member Name: buttonman

Product:	Running as Exercise
Date:	03/09/02 (268 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fitness

Disadvantages: Tiredness

When I was a young man, not so long ago I used to run quite a bit. The 400m was my race and I won our school sports four years on the bounce. Hopes of a glorious career were cut short at the Strathkelvin regionals where I came seventh out of eight albeit in a decent time of 57 seconds.

Sadly things ended there and as readers of my 'Diary of a doughnut' opinion will witness the pounds piled on as the exercise waned. Having slimmed down to near fighting weight - well within 20 pounds of it - I was keen to test myself again.

My girlfriend keeps herself very active and runs several jogging network classes. These are solely for women who want to get jeered at by men (apparently) but she was an obvious choice to get me back on the saddle or blisters as it was. I often teased her about the wisdom of women who paid £3.50 for a running class - surely it's simply a matter of putting one leg in front of the other and repeating as necessary? Well yes and no...

EQUIPMENT

Amazingly the ten year old trainers that I had bummed about in were no good for serious jogging. Somethings called 'comfort' and 'support' were also desirable. We went to Allsports and I was persuaded to part with £50 for a pair of running shoes. They weren't even trendy judging by the disdainful glances of those who hang about outside the local chippy! I must confess they are comfy and seemingly good for a lifetime - well 500 miles which is the same thing for me!

In addition I also parted with £23 for a 'dry-weave' vest which apparently is some sort of spaceage technology that keeps you dry whilst you sweat. Black magic maybe but it seemed to keep me dry as I sweated like a Scouser on court day!

Once again my blue nylon shorts with the perished inner pant were discarded for a smooth lined set. Apparently chaffing is the biggest enemy of the jogger and only a lined pair of £10 Nikes would do. Now that I could no l
onger afford the bus I had to learn to run!


TRAINING

My plan of run as fast as you can so it's over quickly seemingly isn't a winner. It's all about pacing yourself. My running experience was all in the sprints so keeping something back was a new idea. To begin with we did short leisurely paced runs that put me on my back for hours. My first attempt was to the post office on Glasgow Road and back - a round trip of two miles. Having lost two stone I thought this would be a doddle but was coughing up a lung after 500 yards.

The main lesson to learn is about breathing. Sounds obvious but my short puffs were no match for deep long breaths. Suck the air deep into your lungs and force it out. This feeds all your muscles and prevents a build up of lactic acid that causes cramps. My own tip is to make bets with yourself such as 'OK Steve, make it to the next lamppost and I'll stop'. This suggestion gives you an incentive to go on and a goal to reach - with a reward at the end. Once you are fitter the goal become longer so that 'a can of beer at the end' is enough of an incentive to keep you going.

I also found it important to know my route. If I knew exactly where I was going I was OK but if it was a trip into the unknown I always struggled. That said a variety of routes is also needed to keep things fresh so follow my lead and drive around your neighbourhood measuring all the distances between local landmarks.

My slavedriver also imposed a schedule of speedwork and hills that served to build stamina and power. One memorable evening involved running at full pelt upa steep hill and jog down the other side ten times. Apparently the searing pain in my thighs was a good sign! This signalled muscle damaged which in turn meant stronger muscles once they healed. Speedwork which I never finished due to a thigh strain involved sprinting 400m then jogging 400m and repeating five times with a similar pac
e maintained throughout. Nice!

Our endeavours were centred towards the Paisley 10k road race that took place on the 1st September 2002. We ran the approximate course once with a decent time of 53 minutes being achieved by me. This involved a tactic of walking 5 minutes out of every 20 and it seemed OK. This was after three months of training maybe three nights a week so it does require some dedication. I paid my £8 entry fee in July and tried to forget about it until this morning...


RACE DAY

Not having run competitively in 15 years I was a bit nervous. This was enhanced by the walk to the start line where we saw lots of very fit looking club runners assemble. The turnout was a large 600+ with the start line being swamped. My only worry prior to the race was that I’d get excited and take off too fast meaning an early burnout. Fortunately this couldn't happen as the large crowd meant it took a minute simply to cross the start line!

The pace was stuttery to start with with a lot of people opting to walk the course down the centre of the road. This meant a lot of dodging and an unnecessary use of energy. The route planners had obviously envisioned a logjam and therefore put a steep hill early in the route that served to spread out the field. My dry weave was working well even though I threw water over it at every opportunity!

I tried to breathe as I'd been taught but having to constantly spurt to pass back markers meant the lungs were working overtime. The nice weather didn't help but the clapping public did - there was no way I was breaking down in front of them! The Kilometre markers also helped although some kilometres were longer than others!

I was aiming for a 50 minute time which translated into ten five minute Kilometres or 25 two minute 400 metres. After 25 minutes I’d passed 5km but was flagging. I broke into a swift walk after 7km but managed to finish with a sprint overtaking m
any of the other runners who had told me to keep up - that'll show them to be charitable! My finish time was 50 minutes 38 seconds but given the slow start I'm claiming a sub 50 minute race!

Afterwards my legs were wobbly and I barely mad it to claim my medal, T-shirt and banana. I did enjoy the achievement but the race took its toll. An afternoons decorating was surrendered to the Rangers game on TV and four cans of Stella! I don’t know if I'd put myself through that again and I can only marvel at Marathon runners who do four times the distance...

I would recommend running to anyone who wants to get fit and tone up. It can be tough but for a sense of achievement and pushing yourself it’s hard to beat. Any offers for a pair of size 8 Nikes?!

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