Running blog: Week 1 done

Amy walked in the house and doubled over, gasping for air. After a few gasps hunched over - in the worst possible posture to replenish oxygen in your system - she mustered the strength to bring herself to an upright position and mutter, “I’m not built to be a runner.”

Then she hobbled to the kitchen for water. And to my knowledge, that’s the last time Amy attempted to run for recreation or health.

This was my former roommate, whose name has been changed for this story for her privacy.

Amy was in awe of my running: the distances I would go, the pace I would achieve, my overall consistency and joy for it - it baffled her. However, she knew she needed to be in a little better shape and maybe - inspired by me - she could try running again for the first time in at least a decade.

But that night, she quit. She’s just not built to be a runner.

I’m one week into my return to running, it’s not as scary as I feared. Skipping running all together for too long can make coming back a very daunting task. There’s the pain and struggle, it not only physically hurts but is mentally defeating. It’s the type of thing that makes you want to quit before you really have a chance to get started. It’s why most people quit within 2 weeks. You have to remember, though, it’s all about strategy and understanding there will be those pains.

So let’s talk about Amy and her genetic disposition, as she surmised. 

When Amy talked about trying to run, I gave her a couple different strategies based on my experience and what I’d read from credible sources like Runner’s World magazine. I was not yet a certified personal trainer, but I ran cross country and track in middle school and high school, I’d completed multiple 5Ks, 10Ks, marathons, and a half marathon at this stage in life. I knew running.

Every strategy I gave her was start slow, start with short distances, built gradually. Also, because of past injuries, I always advocated for a proper warmup.

So what did Amy do that evening she tried to be a runner?

She walked outside, without any attempt to warmup or stretch out and in her street clothes and sandals - yes, sandals - did a dead sprint until her body could no longer handle 100% sustained effort, which was not very far because she never engaged in any cardiovascular exercise - no bike riding, no HIIT training, no elliptical nor rowing - just an occasional walk or short hike. Yoga was her main and almost exclusive form of exercise. Not that there’s anything wrong with yoga, but it doesn’t train the same types of muscle fibers utilized in a sprint and does not prepare your cardiovascular system for such a burst of energy.

So she failed. But it was lack of a proper strategy that led to that failure.

Daily Log

Day 1 on my 5K in 5 Weeks program: I ran ¼ mile, did a slower jog for ¼ mile, walked ¼ mile then ran the final ¼ mile. Even that first ¼ mile was rough. My calves felt tight. My cardiovascular system struggled, but only a little (remember I’ve still been getting some cardio in). It absolutely made me question whether it was worth it to get back into running and whether I could ever get much past 5K status.

Day2: Jog ¼ mile, walk ¼ mile, then alternate between walking and jogging every 1/10 mile until I reached a full mile. That first ¼ mile was still a struggle.

Day 3: Rest from running, but do some cardio - so I did a kickboxing workout and focused on legs and core for strength training.

Day 4: Complete rest - no running, no cardio, no strength training. I will note that my work requires me to be on my feet all day and demonstrating exercise, so there was some exercise - just not anything strenuous or for bouts of more than a few seconds at a time.

Day 5: Intended to be another training interval run with the option for a body weight strength workout, but I was honestly just feeling lazy and got busy with household chores that I didn’t do it. So it was an unintended rest day.

Day 6: Hike. I plan in my preferred recreational activities and work schedule to coincide with my training schedule. If you don’t do this, you set yourself up for failure. I hiked 12 miles Sunday, something that would make it very difficult - and unnecessary - to do another training run. I averaged almost 22 minutes per mile on the hike. That’s good enough to call it a day.

Day 7: Run ½ mile, walk ¼ mile, run ¼ mile. This is where I start to close the gap on walking before adding distance. It took me almost 13 minutes to do this mile, the second closest time despite running as much or more than other training runs. It was also in the evening and I was tired from the day, BUT it felt the easiest to run thus far.

Day 8: Same strategy as the day before. I normally prefer not to have such a quick turnaround - about 12 hours since the last run, preference is closer to 24 hours. However, given my schedule this made the most sense for each day. I did it in 12 minutes, 20 seconds and it felt even easier. 

Tomorrow is a rest day from running and cardio before sprint intervals.

Terrain Strategy

An extra note: I’ve chosen routes specifically because of how flat they are. Sure, there is a little elevation gain, but not much to speak of. While I believe you should have some incline and decline because you don’t always have the option in a race or in practical application in life, for initial training I want to keep things as easy - and controlled - as possible. I’ll be taking on hills closer to the end of the 5-week program.