Team Spiridon Takes It On the Chin, Keeps Running...

We had a great first workout yesterday. We had ten runners show, including Christine, who was apparently so excited about the workout that she tripped down the stairs at her house, smacking her shoulder and splitting her chin open... She showed up wanting to run anyway, but one look at the gaping wound, and we sent her to the doctor. Big ups for the commitment, Christine.

I think we're going to have a good-sized group - one person got lost, two got waylaid by a sick cat, and another six told me they just couldn't make it this week.

So, a good thing is that we have a good, but not too broad, range of abilities and conditioning out there. The challenge is shaping a program that will cover everyone. The best way for me to do that is to work with each of you individually, but I kind of need your help to do that. The schedule on the left is geared towards people who are truly just getting started. I'll probably post a couple of other variations on that later today. If you need help figuring out where you fit in, let me know.

For the true beginners, the key is consistency and patience. You need to give yourself several weeks to see results, and most people need at least three runs a week to do that. If you can't run very far continuously, there's a few things you can do.

Run/walk on a schedule - Break your run up by time, broken into periods of effort and recovery. You might walk for two to three minutes, and then run two to three minutes. Start conservative, and listen to your body. When you run, don't go overboard, keep it at a level where you could talk to someone while running. The group workouts are where you'll be made to work at a harder effort to increase your strength and speed. Easy runs are supposed to be easy - that's how you build your stamina.

The Pyramid Scheme - Years ago, I tried to run to the mailbox one day, and was winded. I had this epiphany that as humans, we're built to run, and so it's something I should be able to do with some minimal degree of competence. So, I went out on a July afternoon to Camp Mabry and decided to run several miles. After one, I was dying. I was going too fast, and I just wasn't in condition for a long, sustained effort. So, I approached it methodically:

1. I walked three quarters of a mile, then jogged a quarter;
2. Walked the next half a mile, then jogged a half;
3. Walked a quarter, ran three quarters.
4. Then, I did the same thing backwards to cool down.

Soon, I was add a segment where I ran a full mile. Soon, I was able to extend that middle distance incrementally, and cut down on some of the warm-up segments. In a couple of months, I was running six miles continuously. Try doing the same - again, you could base it on time rather than distance, if you like.

It's important to remember that running is about discipline, which then breaks down into two opposite directions. You need to have the discipline to push yourself, and you need to have the discipline to pace yourself. Tons of people tell me they can't run very far. I watch them run, and they're blasting off at a 200 meter pace. Der. I even see very experienced marathoners trying to blast through their long runs, and they risk losing some of the benefit of the long run.

My point is, again, be patient, with yourself, and with running. It feels dull and lame to go slow, especially when people are ripping past you. Let them. You're trying to learn to run distance, whether it's 5 kilometers or 26.2 miles. It's a totally different ballgame, with it's own rewards, and it takes long, slow running to get there. And you will all get there...