This one may be a little philosophical, please bear with me!
I am not yet running, and am focused on cross-training - the marathon is not until April 29th, plenty of time. My routine is a mixture of cycling, skipping, weight training and swimming for now (not all at the same time). I get my training in early before work starts, get it out of the way before the day begins and daily life takes over (problems to solve, meetings to go to, lunch/dinner to have with old friends or family).
So why am I not yet running? I have a view (not really backed up with evidence) that to become a better runner one ought to get stronger first - build a solid base and then hit the long runs. It's also more fun to mix things up! Let's see if it has any affects later on on my current meagre fat boy personal bests.
To improve my running I have also been reading a few sports books. That might sound odd, how can reading help you run? You might think running is about going red and huffing and puffing around a park, what's the point? So you don't need to read them, the books below can be summarised as follows:
I would recommend all of these books if you are either running now or are thinking of running (you can find them on Amazon):
We we run, Robin Harvie
What I talk about when I talk about running, Haruki Murakami
Born to Run, Christopher MacDougall
I said it was going to be personal! What's the point of starting something if you don't give it some thought - this is a serious business :)
I am not yet running, and am focused on cross-training - the marathon is not until April 29th, plenty of time. My routine is a mixture of cycling, skipping, weight training and swimming for now (not all at the same time). I get my training in early before work starts, get it out of the way before the day begins and daily life takes over (problems to solve, meetings to go to, lunch/dinner to have with old friends or family).
So why am I not yet running? I have a view (not really backed up with evidence) that to become a better runner one ought to get stronger first - build a solid base and then hit the long runs. It's also more fun to mix things up! Let's see if it has any affects later on on my current meagre fat boy personal bests.
To improve my running I have also been reading a few sports books. That might sound odd, how can reading help you run? You might think running is about going red and huffing and puffing around a park, what's the point? So you don't need to read them, the books below can be summarised as follows:
- Endurance events are about confronting pain and suffering to see how you confront a challenge. Succeed or fail, it doesn't matter, the point is you stuck at it and you have learned something about yourself - you are not a quitter (for example)!
- People run to find an epiphany, to find meaning (of life, who knows?)
- People run to feel alive, all that pain and suffering gets you away from your safe life of central heating, of being sat behind the wheel of a car or in an office - face the elements and feel free, see how you can survive out there. You can do it!
- These books also use metaphors such as running along a river or taking a journey giving a sense running means learning something about yourself
These books suggest people don't run to lose weight or get stronger alone. Now those things may happen, but they are not the goal - where's the fun in running to lose weight? These books suggest that people who run to lose weight don't enjoy it and they give up over the longer term. Best not to focus on those goals and focus on the challenge, of learning about yourself of finding meaning through running.
Runners understand all this stuff, so these books suggest. Who thought running could mean all of these things?
I would recommend all of these books if you are either running now or are thinking of running (you can find them on Amazon):
We we run, Robin Harvie
What I talk about when I talk about running, Haruki Murakami
Born to Run, Christopher MacDougall
I said it was going to be personal! What's the point of starting something if you don't give it some thought - this is a serious business :)
3 comments:
Nice blog, it was a book (chi-running by Danny Dreyer) that helped me get into running around 2 years ago, it gave me the starting point that I needed.
I'm running the MK marathon too and so look forward to hearing how your training goes!
Good Luck
Nice to see other MK Marathoners blogging too, which reminds me really must get back onto mine.
I can't remember what got me into running other than being ashamed of getting out of breath going up a flight of stairs & the perseverence of a very good friend to keep on hassling me & keep me company on the first few runs.
I'm looking forward to reading about how your training goes :-)
Thanks Hawkmauk - I have just bought chi-running from Amazon. I look forward to reading it. I would like to analyse my running style and have a think about how it may be made more efficient. I have been experiementing with nike free running shoes recently, perhaps this book will give some advice on 'front foot' striking rather then the heel sticking I have generally been doing up until now.
Colin - I haven't run a half marathon in 10 years, and I have never run a full marathon. I had a friend who was into charity running a long time ago and we used to train together, but I moved home and we stopped working out together :(. I carried on the training though, but just a 30 minute jog in the park on my own with the fresh air mostly. I am thinking about joining the local running club here, it would be great to share experience with fellow runners, although I don't want the experience to be too competitive - I just want to enjoy this!
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