There are many ways to lose that tummy, those thighs, and the stiffness that comes from sitting behind a desk all day. The best of all is running, especially for long distances. It is the simplest of games, and yet so many try and fail. The work involved seems enormous, and the course seems so laborious. So it doesn’t have to. It’s fun to run, and the benefits last for years and years. ok Now what about the chair? Well, a checkup would be a good idea. And while your doctor gives you the OK to start a new life sport, ask him or her to give you some cleaning suggestions to start the course of your life. As with running itself, a plan with sensible tips will keep your body at peak efficiency and give you the best chance as a runner.
Then you want to buy some running shoes. Go online and find a decent courier site and click on the recommendations. You don’t want a high-end shoe because you’re a novice runner and haven’t been doing heavy mileage for a while. So you don’t need to spend a lot of money on a shoe with all the latest brands, a lot of which will be cosmetic or much more than you need. You want a well-fitting shoe that gives your feet good shock absorption. Running involves a lot of pounding, but if you protect yourself with good shoes, you won’t fail with injury. If your town has running-shoes a running shoe store by the runners themselves, ask them to show you the shoe. They would buy them if they were of the first kind.
The key to success training is the same as the key to running a successful marathon (and for that matter a lot in life )—pacing. To become a runner, you need a goal, and to be a worthwhile goal, you have to achieve it. You can get out of your chair to run and complete a 5K race in a matter of months. Here’s how. The idea is simple: use your body for the task of running and gently push it towards your goal. On the way You will only have the patience to feel the opposite of what you feel. I learned this lesson when I started running in the 70’s.
In those days I could hardly run a quarter miles without stopping and gasping for air. So one day, while running a quarter of a mile, I noticed another runner a little ahead of me, and decided to pass him to finish my run. But I could not. Although he was only about 100 yards ahead of me, I could not catch up. I’ve been in baseball, basketball and football for years, and I’m not going to swallow these defeats, even though I was the only real opponent. My competitive spirit kicked in and I decided not to leave the track until I caught up with this runner. Round and round we went one mile and two miles, until at last the other slowed down and completed his course. Hot and tired, I ran one lap to my satisfaction, and in it I realized that I had run much farther than I thought I could because the adrenaline had fueled me. Then my running ambitions started to grow, and I entered a 5K race.
The best way to reach your goal is to take a step-by-step approach. Start with the premise that your entire workout will be 30 minutes. Run every other day to give your body a chance to recover between runs, and start by alternating between running for 2 minutes and walking for 2 minutes, or until you’ve covered 30 minutes for recovery. When this becomes easy, increase the running time and, if possible, decrease the walking time until you reach the final run of 30 minutes without a break. And voila—you’ve reached a goal, you’re now capable of completing a 5K race, because you’re probably now capable of staying in the race for as long as it takes to finish. And if not, you can always stand and walk, just like you did in training. Meanwhile, you’ll be leaner, happier, and able to call yourself a runner. Just remember to drink that water!
