Starting out

Starting out : Caution !! Be sensible.

Problems can arise when you start a new training regime without any thought process. Ultimately it could be to your detriment as the likelihood is that injury or illness could follow, and you won't enjoy the process, which can be very off putting.

Progress steadily and in a controlled way, giving time for muscles and tendons to adapt to new activities.

Each time ease into a run, with a warm up and likewise ease down at the end, for a cool down.

After a run do some gentle stretching, drink water or an isotonic or energy replacement drink and maybe some food, preferably carbohydrates very soon after your run, within twenty minutes you should really have some carbohydrates, particularly if it was a hard session or long run.

You will benefit by your body adapting and recovering more quickly and be in a better condition for your next run.

For development, first of all you have to learn how to train before moving on to training to compete, and the main part of that is building an endurance base.

Origins of running.

In it's earliest form, this simple movement of putting one foot in front at a good pace, began long ago with the hunter-gatherer homo-sapiens.

Early man tracked their prey for food and often had to flee from predators by using their feet and legs, once the instinctive chemical reaction that stimulates the adrenal glands had triggered a ‘fight or flight’ response.

We now call this instinctive and natural ability running.

Running comes so naturally, and is such an automatic response with it being what our bodies were designed for, without giving the action any thought.

Just watch very young children at play, to see how natural running is.

I watch my two and a half years old Granddaughter running freely and naturally, good proprioception for one so young, none of the idiosyncrasies or inhibitions that we allow ourselves to get as we grow older.

Running has long been considered a sport, the first Olympics was staged and initiated in 776BC, with sprinting the very first event, while the modern Olympics in Athens in 1896 brought running to the forefront with the general public of the world and heralded a new emphasis for sports enthusiasts.

In Britain it has long been a favourite pastime, whether socially or competitively and whether on roads, in parks, on trails, across country, or on hills and fells.

Many of today’s British running clubs have a long history that are now spanning three centuries and they are even more relevant in this century, our club Sale Harriers Manchester is one of these.

They have been an essential part of our towns and communities, and are having strong links with local authorities, schools, colleges and at the heart of many parts of our local communities.

Very few other sports over the years and up to this day, have engaged our kids & youth in healthy activities at very minimal cost, to the extent of giving them discipline, structure, self assurance, a quest for life and a will to achieve.

Running’s relevance in our modern world

As science has continued to evolve over the years, it has demystified ways of training to promote optimal running efficiency without injuries or pain, but I still believe in basic principles to get full enjoyment out of a love of running.

We can now actually have fun building up to our ultimate running, as it is so enjoyable on many levels.

There have been a few mini booms in running activity over the last few decades, but today once again there is a steady growth in the numbers taking up running as part of their lives, with women of all ages especially braking down taboos and in many cases becoming involved in sport for the first time since their schooldays.

Many men are giving running a second chance, after stopping during one of the many mini booms, but may be they kept getting injured or couldn’t seem to make any progress, there will usually be very simple reasons for this.

All these new or second time around runners need, is some simple guidance in the basic principles of structuring their running on a daily / weekly / monthly / yearly basis, and shown how to construct a training plan with essential tips on sustainability, development, staying healthy and injury free, while progressing to get the most out of their running.

Well it is the simplest thing to follow a sensible programme and enjoy the benefits of improvement, learn the simple task of base building and enjoy experiences to last your lifetime.

Running may seem like an impossible task for some, symbolizing pain and injury, but it can also be incredibly liberating and the most rewarding of sports, that impacts on all of your life.

Some media might portray or perceive running to be for loners, a huge misconception as it is an incredibly socially inclusive activity, but also can be for just one person’s wholehearted commitment, but most surely running for conditioning and health is the basis of the greatest majority of sports.

So have no fear that running can be the solution to many personal things in life, while being so much fun, a foundation for a healthy lifetime and extremely satisfying too.