Run Run Away

Question:

When I started running in May 2000 I decided for my first run to run on  nice trail that is exactly a kilometre from my house. I jogged there and almost puked upon arriving. I felt very lightheaded and sat down for about 20 minutes, then I got up and ran home, more or less. I never actually ran on the trail. I DID however, get out the door the next day. I was on a mission! Your turn! — David (in Hamilton, Ont) —

Response:

Your turn!

I went to the woods, and wanted to run the 4.7km roundtrip I had done 6-7 years before. I expected to be able to take nice and slow and get through it. Well, I think I managed around 2 km, then I hit the devils hill, and had to walk. Even that zapped my power, and I walked 3/4 of the rest, even shortcutting somewhere to make it 4.2 km instead of 4.7 km. Time was 28-29 minutes for the 4.2 km. Took me 7-8 times before I was able to make the hill without stopping (but had to stop above it). Now my time for the 4.7 km is 22:40 last time I tried a speed test. Guess it might be down to 22:00 or better now. Thing is, now 6 months after I only get passed by 1-2 persons on my training runs, but I usually pass a few people myself. And sometimes I am a bad person. When I pass people, I do so running just slightly faster than them so they think thay can keep up, and then after a couple minutes, I get back up to normal LSD / MP speed, and lose them

Response:

about April of last year, because I had bugger all to do when I was living in Italy, so I thought at least I will get myself fit.  Never really run before in my life.  So I planned what looked like a reasonable circuit in the roads around my flat. In the evening I’d get back from work, undertake some cursory stretching, and just got out and ran. Completed the circuit in 13 minutes. and collapsed on the floor of my flat panting and wheezing. Did this a few more times never getting any faster and dreaded doing it again. A few weeks later I joined a gym and started doing a 25 minutes cycling here, 25 minutes on the treadmill there, etc.  A month or so later the 13 minute circuit which exhausted me, was too short to bother with so I extended the loop. To cut a long story short, by July, when I left Italy I was regularly (4 or 5 times a week), doing 45 minute loops of approx 9km and really enjoying them. I am currently struggling to keep up with with this regime back here in London. But it goes to show that it doesn’t take long before what seemed impossible is well within one’s reach…. Toby – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – When I started running in May 2000 I decided for my first run to run on  nice trail that is exactly a kilometre from my house. I jogged there and almost puked upon arriving. I felt very lightheaded and sat down for about 20 minutes, then I got up and ran home, more or less. I never actually ran on the trail. I DID however, get out the door the next day. I was on a mission! Your turn! — David (in Hamilton, Ont) —

Response:

I’ve had a similar experience when I embarked upon my quest for fitness in September of 1999 … My wife and I moved out to west London, quite near to the Thames and a long, unbroken section of footpaths that follow the river. I thought that this would be the perfect chance for me to try start running again, after a few failed attempts in the past years. The first effort was biblically depressing: after stretching and groaning, I set off. Nine minutes later, my back was aching, my lungs were burning, and I had a sweat like a layer of frost on my back. Needless to say, I was ready to quit. But I went out again – and again – and again. Nine became 12, which soon became 18.  By the end of the first three months, I was up to the watershed 30 minutes/ four times a week schedule. Looking back, I fin it kind of funny. I remember thinking to myself "How will I ever run for 20 minutes without stopping?" I simply couldn’t believe I could get back to that kind of fitness. Now, I often think about those first few weeks when I’m doing an LSD Sunday run (now 12 miles) – it keeps me smiling and fills me with perspective. Fitness is out there – it really is. Progress is not always linear (I had to endure a 6 or 7 week layoff when I tore ligaments in my knee) but, as the old Russian saying goes: "the fiercest of warriors are these: time and patience." MB

Response:

My two penneth.. My first attempt at running in the Summer of ‘99 was a disaster. I was 33 years old, hadn’t played any kind of sport since school (and then reluctantly) and my naturallly skinny body had mysteriously developed a bloated, swollen torso. So,  I bought a pair of ‘running shoes’ and set off at what looked like a reasonable pace. 2 minutes later I was absolutely shattered, gasping, wheezing – the lot. I tried again each day (we were on holiday) but called it quits when my legs were so stiff one morning I could barely manage the steps aroung the campsite. I think by this time I could just about manage 5 consecutive minutes! Definitely not for me I thought. My first succesful run came in early 2000. I’d told the sorry tale to a friend who has run all his life. I was rather drunk and confessed my shameful inability to move faster than walking pace. He bet me