How to Run

I love the Monty Python bit about a show called "How To Do It." The show's hosts show the audience how to do things, like rid the world of all known diseases ("Well, first of all become a doctor and discover a marvelous cure for something, and then, when the medical profession really starts to take notice of you, you can jolly well tell them what to do and make sure they get everything right so there'll never be any diseases ever again."), and how to play the flute ("You blow there and you move your fingers up and down here.")

So, in only a very vaguely similar vein, the first big training secret to running is... to freakin' run. Now, my job is to show you how to do it, and tell you how often to do it and all that, but beyond that, the biggest thing you have to do is get off your butt and do the running.

When I trained for my first half marathon, even my first marathon, I wasn't that committed. I showed up for most of the weekly "quality" workouts, and I showed for slightly less of the Saturday long runs. The longer I've run, I've found that while building strength and speed and extending distance are critical, no component of training is as fundamentally important as building a strong mileage base.

Now, you guys aren't training for anything longer than a 5K or 10K right now, and I can hear some of you saying that you don't want to be fast, you just want to be able to run. Actually I can hear some of you say "10K? What the hell are you talking about? That sounds like two times the 5K I want to do." We'll deal with that argument later. Anyway, the simple mathematical fact is that to an extent, faster=sucks for less time. On top of that, getting stronger and faster just makes covering the miles easier on your body. You may always challenge yourself to run faster or farther, but the idea is that you want to build the strong base that will allow you to run comfortably at certain speeds, for certain distances, and to push the envelope beyond that when you want to.

Believe me, I know how difficult it can be to get out there and run, in the morning, or at the end of a mind-numbing or overstimulating day at work. So, here's some things that might work for you:

• Anything is better than nothing at all. If you don't have time for a 40 minute run, run 30. Heck, run 20 - it's better than not running at all. It's too easy to rationalize that if you can't do your full run, you'll put it off until "That Time Later Today or Tomorrow Morning That We All Know Doesn't Actually Exist".


• Run an errand, literally. Gotta return a movie? Mail something? If it's nearby, run there. Or, just incorporate your run into the errand - some days, I'll go to Whole Foods after work, park there, run, then come back and pick up groceries, before I ever go home to the evil evil couch with its invincible gravitational pull.


• Keep running clothes and shoes with you, always. Just because running later doesn't seem like a good idea when you get up in the morning, doesn't mean you won't be able to get yourself to go right after work.


• Get into your running clothes as soon as possible. Change clothes before you leave work. If you get home, change into your running gear first thing. If you're going to go to the store before you run, change first. It puts you one step down the road to actually running. Avoid the television, avoid the couch. The damned, damned couch.


• Enlist help. We have enough people that there's someone else that you could be running with. Get to know each other. If it's OK with everyone, I'll distribute an email list. Set up a running time, and don't let the other runner down.


• Keep your inspiration in mind. You're doing this for a reason, I hope, but don't limit it to some cold and clinical goal. You want to drop some weight and look better? BFD - you could be doing Jazzercise. Why are you running? What does that mean to you, and what's it worth to you? You want to be ready to train for a half or full marathon? So you can put a sticker on your car? BFD - distance and time, in and of themselves, are pointless. What does achieving that really mean to you, and really say about who you are? The answers to those questions are the true inspiration for putting in the work. Looking at today's workout as 30 minutes of running that you're supposed to do is not motivating. Seeing it as an important step on whatever journey you're on is where you get inspiration and motivation. Every. Day. Counts.

Overall, keep in mind that you've made a commitment, and you're putting in a good deal of work coming out on Tuesdays. But if you don't do the work the rest of the week, you're wasting that effort and time, and selling yourself short.

I also always keep this in mind - if I give up, or I fail to follow through on this, then what else will I give up on? What else will I think is important but fail at anyway, just for want of a little effort?

A professional marathoner said that "The will to win is nothing without the will to prepare." Going out on a given day and running a 5K or a marathon can be a proof of your character and will, but it is nowhere near as important or impressive as having the discipline and passion to go out and put in the work on a daily basis, or at least three or four times a week. That is what will ultimately make this rewarding for you.

Now go! Run! Do it now!