Wednesday, June 3, 2009 is the first annual National Running Day. It's an informal but national attempt to get more people involved in fitness activities. Running is one of the easiest sports to join. You don't need an enclosed field, pool or court. A park, bike/run trail, sidewalk or empty road will do. You don't need a lot of specialized equipment although it's highly recommended that you get fitted for proper running shoes at a specialty running store (local running store or LRS). You don't need to find teammates or opponents to run but if you do enjoy the company, you can run with one or several other people.
National Running Day doesn't involve road or track races. If you want to participate, just lace up your shoes and run. If you are overweight and out of shape, it might be better to walk today but it's still helpful to just get out there and get moving.
There's an "official" site, www.runningday.org, for reference purposes but you don't need to look at anything on the site to participate. Just run. I think you can download some sort of virtual badge, kind of like those "I voted" stickers. You can post them on your profile or on various web forums to show that you participated in National Running Day.
As I mentioned in the previous blog post, many more people could stand to get more involved with fitness activities. Even walking can help. If you are new to fitness or you haven't done any sports in a long time, just start by walking on 3 nonconsecutive days a week. Try walking for 20-30 minutes each time. The following week, add 5 minutes to each walk and continue until you can walk for 45 to 60 minutes without becoming exhausted. At that point, you could decide to start running by following a walk/run "Couch to 5K" program.
If you are a beginner, it's important not to try to do too much, too soon. This is how many beginners get injured. Then they get discouraged and give up altogether. It's far better to increase the time of the workouts gradually and to keep the speed slow. This will allow your legs to adjust to the impact stress of running and you will avoid most injuries. Your cardiovascular fitness generally develops faster than your leg strength does so you might be tempted to increase the time or mileage of your runs too soon. Don't do this. Just follow the program and soon enough, you will be able to run a 5K (about 3.1 miles) after just a few months.
One more note about running shoes: It's very important to get fitted for the right running shoes, for you. There are many companies that make quality running shoes (Asics, New Balance, Nike, Mizuno, Brooks, Saucony and so on) but you need to find the specific model that works for you. Only a minority of people can handle a neutral/cushioned shoe. Most people tend to overpronate somewhat. If you are among this group, you will probably need to get a little more support from your running shoe and/or insoles. Stability shoes are usually the right choice although some people may need motion-control shoes. Some people supinate (underpronate) instead of overpronate. Regardless, you can't really tell if you are neutral, an overpronator or an underpronator until a trained salesperson watches you when you run. Most employees at general sporting goods stores are not specifically trained to analyze your running gait. This is why it's a good idea to get your first pair of real running shoes at a specialty running store.
You will also find that "technical"/synthetic-fiber clothing works much better than cotton clothing does. Synthetics wick moisture (sweat) away from your skin, leaving you drier and making it much less likely that you'll experience chafing problems. Cotton is almost guaranteed to cause chafing problems once you start to run for significant distances. So avoid cotton clothing. This includes socks, shorts, pants and shirts.
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RUNNING AND TRIATHLON TRAINING
I started running outdoors in recent weeks after struggling with various injuries over the winter due to an improper shoe fit. I ended up solving my problems by getting Superfeet Green insoles, which are much harder than the typical Dr. Scholl's insoles that you find at drugstores. The Superfeet insoles provide significant lateral support for your feet and ankles. They solved my issues with knee pain almost right away. (I had to take 8 weeks off from running over the winter because of a severe case of runner's knee. I still did a lot of swimming, strength training and some stationary bike workouts though.)
Anyway, I'm now running about 3 times a week, always taking about 48 hours off between runs. I usually swim on the other days. I'm finding that it's better to add bike workouts on the same days as my run workouts. You might think that it would be tougher on the legs but actually it works better that way. I get in all of my leg endurance workouts on one day and then I get the following day off from lower-body specific workouts. However, I don't always follow this schedule and I sometimes do run and bike workouts on separate days.
I did a lot of strength training over the winter too. I'm not doing as much now since I've ramped up the run and bike workouts and continued with the swimming but I still try to get in at least 1 or 2 strength workouts a week. I should clarify that strength workouts for endurance athletes and most other athletes do not resemble the weight sessions that bodybuilders do. Bodybuilders are concerned with muscle size, muscle definition and aesthetics. Functional strength, agility and muscular endurance are not as important for bodybuilders but they are very important for most athletes. I'll post more about this topic in a later blog entry.
Running outdoors is a liberating feeling. It's great to be able to roam about and see the sights outside without driving around in a car or taxi or taking the Metro (subway). I've mapped out a few different routes, including some that take me on the National Mall, around the Tidal Basin (where the famous cherry trees are located), past the Washington Monument and around the Jefferson, WWII and Lincoln Memorials. I bumped up my mileage gradually to the point where I'm now running about 4.5 to 8 miles for each run. I plan to increase my "long" run a mile a week until I get to about 12 miles or so. I'm also doing speedwork or tempo runs on one of my running days. This helps me to get used to running at faster paces, which will be helpful in races.
I'm still saving up money for a road bike. Hopefully I'll be able to get one within the next month. I only have 3 1/2 more months before the Olympic-distance triathlon. I'm doing a lot of work on the stationary bike but it's not quite the same as a regular road bike. I'm not going to get a BMX or mountain bike because they are just too slow. They are more rugged than a road bike but they just can't reach the speeds that a good road bike can. And when I talk about speed, I'm really talking about speed. Some of those cyclists can go fast, as in 35-40 mph or more! For intermediate races, it seems that I would have to average about 23-25 mph to be in the middle of the pack.
I'll have to try to find some to serve as my own personal triathlon sponsor or something. That would make it much easier to get a really good road bike or even a triathlon bike. Those can get quite pricey. While mountain bikes often sell for under $300 and commuter bicycles can sell from $150-$400, a road bike suitable for racing will usually cost more than $1000 although there are entry-level models that cost a bit less. Triathlon bikes tend not to sell in the same volume that road bikes do and they also feature expensive carbon-fiber tubing. I don't think it's easy to find new tri bikes for less than $1500 while many cost between $2500 and $3500. Some models are priced at $5000 and above while I saw one custom set-up at the bike store with a receipt of $10,000! That would be quite a bit over my limited budget.
I've taken a look at eBay but the problem is that I might not get the right fit. If the size is just a little off, you can put your knee or back in an uncomfortable position. That could cause overuse injuries in the long run, so I might stick with the local bike store. I saw at least a couple road bikes that I could probably afford. I'll also have to get a bike helmet and bike shoes. Bike shoes tend to last a long time, several years, but they do have a significant upfront cost. There are some models at around $100 while others have carbon-fiber soles and resulting carbon-fiber prices, over $300. They are really light though. I picked up a pair at a store just to see what the difference is. The soles are very stiff but the entire shoe seemed to weigh just a couple ounces.
I'm open to any ideas about sponsors. Unfortunately I am not an elite racer (yet?) so this idea might not get me anywhere. In that case, I'd just get an entry-level road bike and add clip-on aerobars. What's an aerobar? That's another topic I'll get to in a later blog entry, but basically it's a set of bars or a single curved bar that lets you lean your torso down in an aerodynamic position while your hands and forearms are pointed forward. Instead of sitting upright and presenting a large profile against the wind resistance, you can lean forward on the aerobars so that a much smaller area is facing the wind. This cuts down on the wind resistance dramatically. You won't see aerobars in most road cycling races because it's difficult to steer with them. That makes them dangerous in group riding (the peloton). But in most triathlons, drafting (riding behind another rider to minimize wind resistance) is illegal in the bike portion so it's more feasible to use aerobars.
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But enough about triathlons for now. Today is National Running Day so do your heart and yourself a favor and get out and walk or run. It doesn't matter how long or how far you go. If you aren't used to exercise, you don't need to walk or run for too long. Just get started on the road to better health. Since I'm up early today, I might go for a run right now. Today is my speedwork day. We're supposed to have scattered but strong thunderstorms this afternoon and evening so it might not be a good idea for me to run home from work today. That's about all for now but I'll have plenty more to say about triathlons, running, swimming, cycling and fitness in the coming months.
