The No-Need for Speed

Hey Folks,

I hope you're all still out there and running. I am, I'm just not posting quite so regularly at the moment - lousy work getting in the way.

Anyhow, I've been provoked into action by a few posts on forums that I've seen lately which are from beginner runners who are preoccupied with speed. Now, I know it may sound a bit rich coming from me, but as a beginner runner the word "speed" has no place in your vocabulary - at least not in the sense of going fast. There are two good reasons for this:

1. Until your body has become accustomed to running, speed is not an adequate or even desirable measure of performance. To illustrate further - many beginner runners are either unfit, previously sedentary  or overweight - and often a combination of all three plus some more like, current or former smokers, asthmatics etc.  For this type of beginner runner  the only way to survive on a running programme is to work for time and perceived exertion.  Even beginner runners who are fit need to take care when they start running.  Aerobic endurance is the key to distance running, and it won't develop if you run so fast that your heart rate goes into the stratosphere. All you'll develop is the ability to run through the unpleasant effects of lactic acid build-up, which is a good thing, because by training anaerobically all the time, you'll have a lot of lactic acid build-up to cope with.
2. Speed develops best with the increases in fitness that a new runner experiences. It happens incrementally and only ever in line with what your body can cope with. As an example - I have been known to go a little quickly myself - so I have recently made a concerted effort to keep myself in check. On yesterday's run, I set off at a nice easy pace, made sure that my breathing was even and that I was always in control of my pace. When I got home I discovered that I had taken 30 seconds off my best time for 3 miles. I was utterly shocked, because it felt as if I'd been just coasting along, but obviously my fitness has improved and my natural, easy pace has got faster without me even trying.

Please folks, do me a favour? If you're going to do C25K, then please do C25K. Follow the instructions, run to the specified times, always warm-up and cool-down, ALWAYS stretch at the end of a run and don't go too fast. You can't be a runner if you can't run. C25K was designed specifically to help you become a runner whilst minimising the risk of injury. So let it help you to achieve something you'll always be proud of.

Easy does it.

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A Cautionary Tale

Time 6.30am - Weather Fine and Bright 9.8 degrees C - Wind E 2mph

Distance 5K - Time 31:44



There's an old saying for those who struggle with their finances, which goes a little something like this: 'Let your means dictate your lifestyle and not your lifestyle dictate your means'; in plain English, don't spend more than you can afford.

What has this all got to do with running? I hear you ask. Well, quite a bit actually. I have, for a long time now, let my pace dictate my energy levels. I set off like a mad thing and , about half-way round, realise that I can't keep it up and get more and more ragged until I finish. The sensible option, of course, is to work the other way round. Set off slowly, build up to a pace that feels comfortable, and sustain that the whole way round. The benefits of this method are fairly obvious: you're less likely to tire (or give up completely) before the end, your heart-rate should stay within acceptable parameters, and you're far less likely to look like a gasping sweaty mess as you run along your favourite route.

At the moment I'm living beyond my means. I start too fast, use up all my CV endurance early and have to use my anaerobic system far too much. I guess it's the equivalent of having an overdraft. I guess it must be a machismo thing; I need to feel that I'm going fast enough to qualify as being a proper runner. This morning's run was done at an average of 10.13 m/m, which is great, but my average heart-rate was 170 - a staggering 88% of max. It's a situation I have to resolve.

So, be warned, run slow and run long. Let your level of fitness determine your speed.

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Getting Over my Loss

Time - 5.10am, Weather - Damp (shocker!) 10 degrees C, Wind - E 2mph
Distance - 3 miles, Pace - 11m/m

If you'd have told me, nine weeks ago, that I would miss C25K I would've looked sideways at you with a somewhat rye grin. I guess the truth of the matter is, and my wife agrees with me here, is that we never expected me to finish C25K. My wife - God bless her - is very used to my fadishness: for some years now she has smiled sweetly at me when I've started raving about my latest obsession, humoured me for the duration of it, and tried to feign surprise when I threw whatever it was out of the window to pursue something else that had piqued my curiosity. She had similar expectations of my running career. It was only a few nights ago that she admitted as much to me. I confess that, at first, I felt a little hurt, but when I saw it from her perspective I really couldn't blame her. I'm not particularly reliable, I have issues with discipline and I always thought that commitment was a movie about an Irish soul band.

So to reach the end of C25K left me in a very unfamiliar place. I'd actually finished something; what does one do when one finishes something? There were two obvious answers: do nothing or do something else. I decided on the latter, but then it came to actually doing it and I felt awkward, uncomfortable, alone. The best thing about C25K for me was the community, the shared pains and triumphs, the forums, the blogs, the being a part of something. I still contribute to forums, and write this blog and read others, but I'm different now. I'm a veteran. I take a great deal of pride in that, but I miss being green. There's a lot of security in following a plan, doing as you're told; it's not so easy when you have to think up the orders for yourself.

Thankfully my orders at the moment are not too complex. I'm just going to do 3 miles a day, 3 days a week until my 5k fun-run on October 4th. After that I'll have another plan. In the mean time, however, the motivation and discipline are my responsibility.

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Beyond the Finish Line?

C25K Week 9 Day 3 - Time 5.30am - Weather Bright and cool 8.5 degrees C - Wind SW 1mph

C25K COMPLETED

Following on from Friday's post to a certain extent, I guess I'm still reflecting on the true nature of the finish line; does it ever really exist? Do we ever really cross it? Should we ever want to cross it?

Some things that I have to say today:

• I am incredibly proud of my achievement. I set myself a goal and worked hard for its attainment. I have reaped the rewards of my effort and commitment. Nobody can ever take this feeling away from me.
• I have taken a positive step towards increasing the quality and quantity of my life; I have made an investment in my, and my family's, future.
• I have found a passion which I plan to pursue.
• I have many people to thank for their support during this challenge. That includes you, dear reader. Just the knowledge that you would be checking in made me get out of the door on the (thankfully rare) occasions when I didn't want to run.

I genuinely dispute the whole concept of the finish line. I think there are check points where we can briefly stop to measure our progress and reevaluate our goals. But to say that there is a finish line implies that we have to stop, to say that we've had enough and that we don't want to go any further. To regard C25K as an end in itself is not enough for me; it is just the beginning. It is a check point where I come up for air, to contemplate what the future holds. I think that the photograph is interesting. The finish line is on the horizon, and I think that the implication is that that is where it will remain; always just out of reach and inspiring us to go ever onwards.

So, what does the future hold for my running. I have entered a 5k fun-run early in October, so my aim at the moment is to continue at 3x30 minute runs per week to maintain a good level of fitness. After that I will be following Bob Glover's intermediate runner training plans which should get me up to a base level of 20 miles per week. After that, I guess I'll reevaluate again. But I'm very sure that I want to keep running.

I will keep this blog going, with the same intention that I always had, of reflecting on my experiences. If any of this is read by others - and even found remotely inspirational - then that's fantastic.

Thank you for sharing this small part of my journey with me. I really hope that you can stop by, from time to time, just to see where I'm up to.

Keep running friends...

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The Finish Line

C25K Week 9 Day 2 - Time 5.20am - Weather Fine 11.5 degrees C - Wind SSW 5mph

I guess I'm getting to the stage now where the runs don't seem to be quite as momentous as they once were. I'll have to give some context here: in the early weeks of C25K progress is astonishingly fast. In fact, only in the last day or two several members of the c25k.com forum have reached such a level, and I remember only too well what it was like when I was at that stage. It's very easy to get giddy on the euphoria of achieving something that you thought was beyond you, and doing it in a period of time that is so short that it's almost unfathomable.

As you near the end of C25K I think you get a little more circumspect about your achievements. It's not that they're trivial; they're just a little more gradual. I know that I can run for 30 minutes - I'm not going to say that I can do it with ease or comfort - but I get round very well. As I sit here and think about how I want to take my running forward, I know that - whatever plan I choose - it will be based on gradual progress through incremental stages. In short, there isn't too much to get giddy about.

Thinking about C25K in these terms makes it easier to understand why so many people complete the programme and then stop. That may seem inexplicable to someone who has just dragged themselves through the dreaded Week 5 Day 3, but I can understand it. I think so many of us like our adrenaline fix so much that we see our goals as things to be done, checked off and set aside so that we can go and chase another high. We stumble from one experience to the next, vainly searching for something to take our minds off whatever it is that haunts us the most.

So, I've been trying to get to the bottom of these thoughts, and to think again about why I decided to take up running. I came up with a list:

1. I am not getting old. Old people can't run so, if I run, I'm not old. (I know old people can run; I didn't say this list made any sense)
2. I don't want to die. If I have to die then I at least want to make it past 70 (preferably longer).
3. I want to live to see my children's children.
4. I don't want to be in pain.
5. I want to be happy and healthy.
6. I want to experience the joy of knowing that I can do anything that I set my mind to.
7. I don't want to have to treat my body as a limiting factor in any of the decisions I make.

I think that's quite a shallow list. It makes me seem like all I care about is me. But then I have to care about me. It was not caring about me that wound me up in this flabby unfit mess in the first place. I deserve to be cared about and running is an expression of my self-worth. In the final assessment I don't run so that I can say that I can run. I run because it gives me health and strength, peace of mind and a sense of pride in myself that I haven't felt in many years, perhaps ever. I can - and will - set myself goals and targets to keep the passion in my running, but one thing that I've realised is that it will never stop. There is no finish line - just a transition from one goal to the next.

I've loved the journey so far and, by Sunday (God willing) I'll be a C25K graduate. But I'm really looking forward to what comes next.

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One Down, Two To Go...

C25K Week 9 Day 1 - Time 5.20am - Weather Drizzly 12.2 degrees C - Wind WSW 15mph.

So - I love saying this - I'm a 30 minute runner !!!!!

When I fist started on C25K I had three objectives:

1. To run for 30 minutes non-stop.
2. To complete C25K
3. To run 3 miles in 30 minutes.

I've now achieved one and am very close to two and three. And it feels great, I have to say. It feels very new, and different and empowering to be the guy who set himself a goal and achieved it. It's taken some time, a little pain and more than a little willpower and commitment, but I saw something through. I know I haven't finished C25K yet - and I will - but it feels like anything is possible.

So - to any of you reading this who are mid C25K and struggling, or thinking about doing C25K - take heart, dear friends, it can be done.

Keep running!

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Week 8 Done!

Week 8 Day 3, Time 6am, Weather Windy 11.5 degrees C

OK. So here we are again. An apology to those of you who thought I might've quit and decided to head back for the couch. In truth it could easily have turned out that way, so let today's post be a cautionary tale about advance planning.

I've been attending a conference which is closely related to my academic specialism and, let me tell you, they can suck the juice out of your life for a few days. It's not that they're dull or anything (at least not to me), it's just that the whole itinerary is designed to be a big mixture of work and play (with heavy emphasis on the former, I hasten to add), which doesn't leave much time for anything else. I decided on Wednesday that trying to get a run in before the weekend would be too difficult, so it seemed only fair to do it on Saturday. When Saturday morning rolled around, however, could I get my fat ass out of bed? No way! It just would not move. So I spent all day yesterday feeling guilty and resolved to make amends this morning.

I've never had a three-day lay-off on this programme before, so I was a little apprehensive about how I'd perform. I know that it takes a lot less time to lose a level of fitness than it does to attain it, so I was very eager to get going when the alarm went off at 5.30am. Thankfully I had little reason to worry. I made a conscious effort to set off fairly slowly and ease into a steady pace. If anything suffered I think it was my breathing, as it took me a while to get past the huffing and puffing and settle into a comfortable rhythm. My muscles, however, felt very refreshed and didn't seem to have suffered much at all. I ran as far as I did on Monday but, I felt, with less effort.

So, all in all, the lay-off has been beneficial. I got to rest-up some niggles, have managed to change my training days fairly seamlessly into a pattern which will better suit my working week and any increases I may add in the future, without any major downturn in fitness. But I have also taken this lay-off as a warning. Turning over in bed yesterday was far easier than I ever thought it could be, and it was a real act of will to get out today. It's very easy to be lazy - I guess that's why so many people are - and it's very easy to be seduced by the easy life. But, thankfully, I don't want an easy life - I want a life I can be proud of - and I'm ready to work to get it.

Keep Running!

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Just a Quick One

Week 8 Day 2, Weather - Wet and cool 9.8 degrees C, Wind WSW 5mph

Time - 5.35am

This will be a really brief post today, as I'm attending a conference and don't have much free time.

A difficult run today. In performance terms it was great: I went even further than Monday. In terms of how I felt, however, it was pretty hard work. I haven't been sleeping too well of late, though, so perhaps two good nights' sleep will get me back on track.

Keep Running!

Playing Away from Home

C25K Week 8 Day 1, Weather - Bright (eventually) and Cool, 10.5 degrees C, Wind NNW 1mph Time 5.20am.

There's only one major flaw with C25K. In fact, that statement is unfair; it's really only a minor flaw and it's not really C25K's fault. It's just that, when you're a heavy person like me who's trying desperately to get fit and lose weight, you're never quite sure that you're doing enough on C25K to get you fit/ burn fat. You seem to spend alot of time on your rest days wondering whether it's acceptable not to be doing something physical. Of course the simple riposte to this assertion is that you can do something physical as long as it isn't running; you can swim, cycle, walk - pretty much anything you like - as long as you don't run.

That solution, for me, has always been the biggest part of the problem. You see, I didn't start C25K exclusively to lose weight and get fit; I started it to try and turn back the clock a little, to my teenage days when I was a pretty good runner. But, I guess most importantly, that I always loved to run, and I want to experience that love again. It's not quite nostalgia for a first romance, but it's close. My focus on running, then, has always discouraged me from doing any other activity on my rest days because I was scared of injuring myself or being too tired on my running days to make progress.

Until this weekend...

In my garage I have an almost new and very swanky Proform cross-trainer machine. I bought it several months before starting C25K and didn't have a chance to use it (he kids himself) because I was too heavy for the safety limit of 252lbs (yes, I know, next time I buy an expensive piece of fitness equipment I'll check that before I buy it!). It sounds like a lame excuse - and it is - but the one time I tried to use it, it almost collapsed under the weight of me. Anyway, I'm now well under the weight limit so, in a fit of apparent madness, I decided to go out and use it on Saturday. I noticed two surprising facts: firstly, I was able to really go for it without elevating my heart rate over 160, and secondly, I absolutely loved it. I felt as if I'd worked just as hard as on my running days, but with no impact, within target heart rate, and with an upper body work-out to boot. I loved it so much that I went out and did another 45 minutes yesterday.

And this is where the worry comes in. I managed to convince myself, before bedtime, that I had broken some kind of cardinal rule; I had cheated on my beloved running, and, cruel mistress that she is, she was really going to make me pay for my philandering today. I was somewhat bemused, then, when I awoke this morning (before the alarm) feeling fine and strong and raring to go. I did my usual warm-up and set off at my usual (too fast) pace. I was bounding along quite happily when I became aware of some very mischievous thoughts creeping into my mind. What if, I thought, I don't worry about my heart rate and just try and keep this pace up a little longer? Madness, surely, utter madness - but maintain the pace I did, and without too much effort. What if, I thought, instead of being scared of my nemesis hill, I decide to attack it and maintain my pace; I started to scare myself at this point - but I did attack it and I did keep up my pace.

I reached my time-check point and had a glance at Garmin who told me that I'd been running for 21 minutes. Wow! I thought, that's pretty fast for me, and then I remembered that I was running for 28 minutes today and not 25.

Some of you may recall a recent post in which I discussed the finer points of the psychology of running, or, at least, the psychology of my running. In that post I discussed the "just get on and do it and complain later" technique, which involves, well, just getting on and doing it. So I did, and I kept up my pace all the way to the end of the 28 minutes. I did 2.61 miles at about 10.44 minutes per mile, and my heart rate never got over 179 (on the hill, go figure). To say that I am pleased with this is something of an understatement. I felt strong all the way round and I just went for it.

So, dear readers, let this be a lesson to you. My performance has improved and I owe it all to cross training, recovery, losing weight and not worrying about what Garmin says in the slightest - or a combination of all four.

But I'm definitely having a rest-day tomorrow.

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