When you’ve got African dance classes, Boxer-cise and Nordic walking to choose
from, it’s easy to overlook running as a simple, easy-to-pick-up form of
exercise that can improve your fitness and tone your body in weeks.
One of its strengths is that practically anybody can do it. And, in terms of
cardiovascular fitness, it is one of the most effective ways to exercise.
Running increasingly greater distances, at escalating levels of intensity,
will raise your pulse, strengthening your heart. It will also build up your
lungs’ capacity to deliver optimum amounts of oxygen to your blood-stream,
which will go a long way to combating the fatigue that seems to result from
so much of modern life.Running also helps you to burn fat and strengthens
muscles and joints, not only in the legs but also the lower back, shoulders
and arms.
As well as fitness and health, one of the biggest plus points for many runners
is the sport’s spiritual aspect. Running across a heath, on a beach or
through a forest, whatever the weather, clears the head and gives you
valuable time to think and, importantly, to get you back to Nature. Another
huge plus is that running is all about how well you can make yourself
perform, rather than how well your equipment or teammates perform. A good
run is rarely less than a personally fulfilling experience. And that’s
before you find yourself grinning like an idiot in the endorphin rush of a
“runner’s high” as you charge down a hillside on a frosty morning.
WHO CAN RUN?
To say that anybody can take up running isn’t too much of an exaggeration.
Talk to your GP about it first if you are over 60, chronically asthmatic,
have a history of heart disease or high blood pressure, are taking
medication, recovering from illness or have arthritis. Otherwise, anybody
who can walk for 15 minutes qualifies. Don’t worry too much about how fit
you are. Most people who begin running aren’t fit; that’s why they take it
up in the first place. Start off slowly and as long as you let your body
tell you when pushing yourself becomes overdoing it, you will quickly see
improvement, (see schedule right.) You won’t even need too much equipment to
get started: a pair of shoes, a pair of shorts and a shirt, plus a tracksuit
for chilly mornings, and you’re ready.
SETTING GOALS
Another bonus for runners is that in terms of motivation or competitiveness,
running is completely flexible, you can decide exactly what you’re going to
aim for. You can set yourself long-term goals, “I’m going to run 5km [3
miles] in under 30 minutes by Easter” and short-term targets, “I’m going to
beat that bus to the next stop”, and compete against the watch or the
distance you covered last time. It’s important to remember that you don’t
need to run a mara-thon to be a “real” runner. Fewer than 10 per cent of all
runners ever run one, and the vast majority of those never run a second. If
5km or 10km is what you feel comfortable with, there’s no shame in sticking
to it, and there will be plenty of events to enter when you feel ready.
(Visit www.runnersworld.co.uk
for a comprehensive race calendar.)
WHAT TO EXPECT
Your first run will be the hardest. It will boost your confidence enormously
if you start off in a group or with a friend, and it will help to keep you
motivated. To find a partner, visit www.womensrunningnetwork.co.uk
or www.running-partners.org.uk
, which have nationwide registers of running clubs and groups. Also, warm up
indoors before you hit the bricks – feeling like a runner will make you far
less nervous.
After the session, warm down properly with brisk walking as this will pump
unused lactic acid away from your muscles and reduce muscular stiffness and
cramp. What you won’t be able to do much about after your first run are the
aches and pains the next morning. These are brought about by microscopic
tears inside the muscles as they perform under extraordinary circumstances.
However, this rapidly becomes a thing of the past as your muscles rebuild
themselves, they learn to cope with the new stresses. So grit your teeth,
and be secure in the knowledge that the next time won’t be nearly so bad and
after that you won’t even notice it at all.
Lloyd Bradley is the author of The Rough Guide to Running, £9.99. It
is available from Times Books First for £9.50, free p&p. Phone 0870
1608080; timesonline.co.uk/booksfirst
NEXT WEEK: diet and running gear
Designing a running schedule
When starting an initial running schedule, there are two main points to
consider: slow down, and measure your training runs in time,
not distance. If you are too breathless to hold a conversation, you’re
probably running too fast.
The suggested training schedule below assumes a basic level of fitness; ie,
you can walk briskly for about 15 minutes. But if, after the first week, you
are sure that you are not being pushed hard enough, skip forward on
the chart.
Each session includes a walking warm-up; on the sessions that end with
running, add 5 minutes brisk walking to cool down. When sessions call
for walking, do not walk too slowly and allow your body to cool down. The
schedules call for three sessions a week, with at least one rest day
in between.
Week one
SESSION ONE
Five minutes brisk walking to warm up
Run one minute
Walk one minute
Repeat ten times
25-minute session 10 minutes running
SESSION TWO
Five minutes brisk walking to warm up
Run one minute
Walk one minute
Repeat ten times
25-minute session 10 minutes running
SESSION THREE
Five minutes brisk walking to warm up
Run one minute
Walk one minute
Repeat ten times
25-minute session 10 minutes running
Week two
SESSION ONE
Five minutes brisk walking to warm up
Run two minutes
Walk two minutes
Repeat five times
25-minute session 10 minutes running
SESSION TWO
Five minutes brisk walking to warm up
Run two minutes
Walk two minutes
Repeat five times
25-minute session 10 minutes running
SESSION THREE
Five minutes brisk walking to warm up
Run three minutes
Walk three minutes
Repeat four times
29-minute session 12 minutes running
Week three
SESSION ONE
Five minutes brisk walking to warm up
Run three minutes
Walk three minutes
Repeat four times
29-minute session 12 minutes running
SESSION TWO
Five minutes brisk walking to warm up
Run three minutes
Walk three minutes
Repeat four times
29-minute session 12 minutes running
SESSION THREE
Five minutes brisk walking to warm up
Run four minutes
Walk three minutes
Repeat four times
33-minute session 16 minutes running
Week four
SESSION ONE
Five minutes brisk walking to warm up
Run five minutes
Walk three minutes
Repeat three times
29-minute session 15 minutes running
SESSION TWO
Five minutes brisk walking to warm up
Run five minutes
Walk two minutes
Repeat four times
33-minute session 20 minutes running
SESSION THREE
Five minutes brisk walking to warm up
Run seven minutes
Walk three minutes
Repeat four times
45-minute session 28 minutes running
