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Pearls Of Wisdom
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to get proper running shoes - had a few problems with shin splints when I first started which have now gone
We live in a world without absolutes.
Take all training advice with a piece of salt.
Running is child's play.
2) the first 20mins are always going to be carp.
3) my PE teacher wasn't lying to me when I was 18 and asked her what the best exercise for bums and legs was, took me 5 years to try it out.
4) the more you run, the more you get to eat
5) vaseline is worth its weight in gold
6) never to forget I run for FUN.
7) sports physio actually hurts quite a lot and is not the gentle rub down I was expecting.
Car drivers can see me when I cycle, but try to kill me. Even those drivers who stop or detour into the next county when approaching a horse's behind, will drive at 70 mph millimeteres away from me when I am on a cycle.
I would have had many less false starts where I gave up after a week if I had known how good it was going to feel...
you will you know
it's a conspiracy
and a heart rate monitor is worth it's weight in gold, after months of struggling and not being able to get past half an hour of running, I got a hrm, slowed down and ran my first half mara.
(1) You don't have to be a runner before joining a running club. I always put off going along because I couldn't run round the block without stopping 10 times. Eventually went along, joined the beginners group, lost 1.5 st, over the next few years have run some 10k races, run a few halves, ran London marathon this year, setting targets for next year....
(2) The fact that I was no good at running at school was the fault of the PE staff. They were only interested in those folk talented at cricket or rugby. I'm fitter (though fatter) at 40+ than I ever was at school. Can any teachers reading this think about actually teaching kids to run (maybe a jogging club?) rather than sending them off on a cross country run in the rain while the PE staff have a fag in the office? (sorry, rant over)
That coaches with big reputations don't always know best.
That if you're training hard and getting nowhere, its far more likely that your training needs adjusting, than it is that you've reached your physical limits.
IMHO, most runners get stuck at a level far below their potential due to dogmatic training methods.
Don't be afraid to experiment - we are the sum of our experiences both good and bad.
Don't be afraid of failure - learn from it.
Read, listen and learn, but most importantly draw your own conclusions about what's best for you.
Never start a training session without knowing it's purpose.
You don't have to run a marathon to prove you are a runner
My comments re:teachers are aimed at only those that I suffered at secondary school
Before that, I used to run, play football at cubs, etc. but at secondary school, I then had 7 years of PE teachers (supposedly sports professionals) telling 150 kids, 3 times per week, that apart from the 20 who were good at rugby /cricket (depending on season) that the remaining 130 kids were stupid and no good at sports. 30 wks to a year, 3 times per week, 7 years - get told that you're no good 600+ times when you're at an impressionable age, and you give up.
Angry with the dire physical education I got? Damn right I am.
In the last few years, I've run with people who have told me that walking is okay, that going 5 yds further than last week is a great achievement, that in sport I challenge myself on my own terms and I can vary them to suit fitness, mood, my own goals, etc.
I gained more in 1 year running with a club than I did in 7 years at school
So don't take my comments as a swipe at all teachers - just the ones I suffered. Eg, the Head of Dept spent at least 1 day per week practising his golf swing on the rugby pitch.
Must stop before I fall off my high horse...
BR, what you are doing is great, and hopefully will help prevent kids getting fat and unfit like I did, and also keep alive their interest in sport
There's no single thing about training that I'd wish I'd known before, just the fact that you don't have to follow someone else's rigid plan. If you find out how the body works then you can do your own thing and still be successful.
But the biggest thing I'd wish I'd known before is how much I'd enjoy it, and what a natural high it gives me, and what it's done for my confidence. So, just wish I'd taken it up earlier.
A 12 year old runner, been running for 2 years now, and it was jus the one-off 800m which started me. i won that, and have been running ever since.
If i was to give a tip to a beginner, it would be to get involved, join a running club, and don't be nervous about however good you are to start with, thats why you train. But don't overdo it like i did at the start!
I think that's an inspirational pearl of wisdom. Shame I can't lay claim to it, Paavo Nurmi did. But in any event a great favourite, gets better as you age.
The best I can do is keep off the concrete. Ten times the impact of grass according to the experts. Plays havoc with the knees.
Cheers then
Harry