From: borne@stsci.edu
Newsgroups: rec.running
Subject: Re: Advice For Beginners (long!)
Date: 25 Jan 93 20:34:47 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: Space Telescope Science Institute

In article <1jp90pINNo4n@mojo.eng.umd.edu>, georgec@eng.umd.edu 
(George B. Clark) writes:
> In article <CC.93Jan22125914@arran.dcs.ed.ac.uk> cc@dcs.ed.ac.uk 
>(Chris Cooke) writes:
>>
>>How should I, an unfit fat couch potato, start running safely and enjoyably,
>>without putting myself off running for life?
>...
> 
> The secret is to stop at the onset of pain. In other words, never say to
> yourself, "today I'm going to run one mile," or today I'm going to run
> for 30 minutes."
> 
> Instead, listen to your body. If you feel pain after the first minute,
> then you stop after the first minute. Otherwise, you can keep going
> for as long as you like.
>...
> 
>>What distance should I run (about 50 yards
>>seems to be my current limit :-) ), and how often?
> 
> Run no more than every other day. Again, forget about distance, and
> just listen to your body. i.e., stop at the onset of pain.
>...
> 

This thread reminds me of my first positive experiences with running.  I am
talking 20 years ago, my first year in college.  Prior to this, my ONLY
experience with running was in gym class (junior high school and high school):
it was the pits!... cramps, breathlessness, agony, etc.  I was not overweight
and did not indulge in smoking or alcohol.  I was simply not athletically
inclined.  Whenever our gym class ran a 1/2-mile race, I always finished
about half a lap (220 yards) behind the middle-of-the-pack runners.  I never
even saw when the front runners finished since they were behind me, about to
lap me.  Anyway, the good experience ....

I got into weight training a bit at the end of high school and at the 
beginning of college.  This was something I could do and it started paying
off -- increased strength, good muscle tone, etc.  So, I decided to take
a real weight training course in the summer between my 1st and 2nd year
of college.  This was insane for me ... voluntarily taking a Phys Ed class ...
had I gone crazy??  I was the classic book worm, couch potato, inactive
American teenager.  I can't remember now (20 years later) what compelled
me to do something so out of character, but to this day I am glad I did it.
Whoever talks about sports building character in individuals and about
athletes being trained to face the challenges of life (even off of the
playing field), I believe them.  I learned a lot about myself that summer and
about how much I could endure and about how far I could go if I went for it.

What happened was this... the instructor in that weight training class was
a real cross-training specialist, long before that terminology became popular.
On the first day of class, he told us we would lift the weights on Mondays, 
Wednesdays, and Fridays, and we would run Tuesdays and Thursdays.  I was 
stunned... me, the non-runner, the running anti-enthusiast ... what had I 
gotten myself into?  I was terrified.  I was ready to quit.  But, I chose to
grit it out.  The first day on the track, after about 10 minutes of warm-ups,
the instructor said something very similar to the posting that I excerpted
above.  He simply said to go as far as you can until it hurts, then stop.
So this is exactly what I did ... exactly 50 yards!  I didn't even get close 
to the first turn in the track before my side started to split... here we go 
again, I said to myself. 

Fortunately, the instructor was true to his word.  He did not chastise me or
try to force me to do any more, even though the other members of the class 
(all of whom were high school athletes except me and one other guy) were 
flying around the track, lap after lap.  I was so impressed with the 
non-threatening attitude of the instructor (who was a high school track coach
during the regular school year), I decided to give the class a few more days
before I would consider dropping out.  Amazingly, the next time we ran, he gave
the same instructions as before, except to say that we should try to go a
little farther than the previous time ... one more turn or one more
straight-away, whatever we could do, but do that one little bit more.  
So, I did exactly what he said... I finished that 50-yard straight-away and 
completed one turn of the track ... 100 yards under my belt ... then I stopped.
To say that I was not in any kind of aerobic condition would be a major
under-statement. 

So, on it went, week after week, in the grueling heat and humidity
of a hot Louisiana summer, and gradually my distance became respectable.
After I got to the point that I couldn't squeeze in any more distance at
my current speed (... had another class to get to), I started increasing 
my speed.  This was beginning to be fun (... not to mention that I was
doing great in the weight-lifting part of the course on the other 3 days).
I was soon keeping up with the big boys in the class (high school track and
football stars who were not quite good enough for collegiate athletic
scholarships, but who wanted to maintain their conditioning).

Then, bang!!  I was rushing to class one day and stepped off of a curb
the wrong way and twisted the &$^%#*^ out of my ankle.  We had one more
week of class before the final.  The final "exam" included some weight-training
stuff and some running:  run for 12 minutes, going as fast and as far as you
can in that fixed amount of time.  I was crushed, having progressed so far,
and now this stupid ankle thing.  Well, I did something that I strongly
encourage NOBODY to repeat ... I decided to run that race as hard as I could
in spite of the pain and obvious risk of serious injury.  I had youth on
my side (... I wouldn't do this again at my current age).  The result:
I ran the race and out-distanced everyone in the class over the 12-minute
period (... nearly 2 miles ... not too impressive for some people, but
out-of-this-world for me).  I never felt so good about myself, and to this 
day, I can push through a lot of difficulties and challenges (on the job, 
as well as on the road-racing scene) because I know I can.  And I know 
I can because I did it then and because I've done it since.

Now, 20 years later, I am a very average runner (="mediocre", as has been 
previously discussed in this newsgroup), but I still strive to do better,
even when it hurts, and I try to go a little faster (even if it is only by 
one or two seconds) or a little farther (even if it is only by a short 
distance).  And, I pay attention to the pains in my body ... stopping
when the pain says to stop.  I also pay attention to the good feeling I get
running ... going back for more as soon as I can.


I hope that this wasn't too verbose or too self-centered.  I hope that you
at least tolerated these ramblings about how one "mediocre" runner came to 
enjoy running.

- Kirk

p.s.  After running that final "exam" with my sprained ankle, I could hardly 
walk for weeks and the pain was awful.  But, I didn't mind the pain so much
when I thought about what I had accomplished in those 7 short weeks.

+------------------------------------+----------------------------------------+
| Kirk D. Borne                      | SPAN:     STSCIC::BORNE or 6559::BORNE |
| DADS Project Scientist             | Bitnet:   borne@stsci                  |
| DSOB / SCARS Division              | Internet: borne@stsci.edu              |
| Space Telescope Science Institute  | Phone:    410-338-4945                 |
| 3700 San Martin Drive              | FAX:      410-338-4767                 |
| Baltimore, MD  21218   USA         |                                        |
+------------------------------------+----------------------------------------+