Running gives more stamina for your job

Press, 18 July 1979, Page 17

Running gives more stamina for your job

RUNNERS’ DIARY

By

John Drew

A doctor writes from Nelson: “As one who has, for at least a decade now, been recommending jogging. running or some other form of enjoyable exercise to the public in the interests of preventive medicine, could I say how much I enjoy your “Runners’ Diary.” “1 am only sorry that I did not ‘discover’ it a bit earlier ... I would like to get hold of as' many back numbers of your diary as possible and keep them in a file. “Unfortunately, while I have been recommending such exfercise to others. I haven’t been able to take

my own advice much; though I have run in our last two city-to-surf runs here in Nelson with quite insufficient training, really, to be sensible.” The doctor says his main trouble at present is: “I have insufficient time and would grudge having to spend an hour on it three times a week although I most certainly would make a point of it if I had a family history of coronary heart "troubles. “We have several doctors here who are now running regularly, . one doing marathons, but all have such a family history which certainly provides motivation,” he concluded. Answer: For a professional man in a situation as demanding as your own, you may well "discover that making time for regular running can prove an investment in terms of added energy and ability to cope with your job.

This has been the experience of a busy city company executive I often run with. This friend, who began a regular and gradually increasing programme of distance running while well oh the way to 40, told me the other day: “If I had not made time to begin a training programme when I did I would never have been able to cope with my job. “I have met dozens of regular runners who say that distance training gives them greater ‘tirelessness’ in everything. If unexpected big demands are made on you which may even force you, temporarily, to cut down mileage, you discover you have the reserves to cope. “It is rather like having savings in the bank ready for a special need. “I find myself constantly having to tackle a bigger load of responsibility, handling increasing amounts of detail and making more decisions under pressure. There are some times of emergency when I have to get by with only two or three hours sleep to handle what amounts to two jobs. “I have been able to get on top of it. But without the all-round mental and physical stamina gained by regular distance running I .would never have been able, to cope.” This executive, who admits to being a "convert to running,’’ has lost more than three stone in some three years training. A tall man, he was 17 stone and. now is back to his weight, as a 20-year-old, of 13J stone. His training routines, which he has developed

gradually and systematically, are worth scrutiny. He likes to get up early, about 5 a.m., but he does not rush out of the house for a hectic training session. He likes about half an hour to “let the body wake up properly” while he has a leisurely cup of herbal tea. and reads the paper. He also does a routine of stretching and breathing so that, by the time he takes to the road, he is ready to run. “I run for only about an hour in these morning sessions and I make sure to keep a pace well within myself so that I can talk with my training mates and don’t come home puffing and sweating,” he said. “I don’t measure these outings on distance but on time on the move. But all

the same I clock up a useful 30 or so miles a week on these morning runs.” These outings, coupled with a long run at the week-end and an occasional Saturday club run with the Toe H club, has enabled him to complete a number of 26.2-mile marathon races, gain a presentable time in the annual New Brighton 50-mile race, and the big annual Symon and Lowther 100 km event. So, to our doctor reader in Nelson, may I suggest that to get benefit and the best motivation out of running you need a goal of self-improvement that is not in terms of pace but in the ability to cover greater distances. The goal with the greatest and steadily growing appeal among the newcomers I run with is the training to complete the marathon. This proves the supremely effective “carrot” to get us training effectively. .And it is not only the training but the lifestyle required to complete a marathon which confers the greatest benefits. So, if the challenge and adventure of the marathon appeals to you, I would be pleased to send you a set of simple hints on how to prepare for it. At least two Canterbury men of 60 have recently

completed marathons after training for only about 15 months. If you strive to improve, you thrive and survive better, besides setting an example to your peers to do likewise. But make sure you emulate the humble systematic approach of my friend the executive. Get the best gear available right from the start, including the proper thicksoled jar-absorbent training shoes with a heel lift. And wear the best track suit an the market until you feel sufficiently proud of your new appearance to wear shorts. Join up with a club so that you will ■ have training mates to help you on longer outings. Yau have a better chance of avoiding joint and soft tissue injuries by training, still slowly, on alternate days. Keep adding the duration to your longer run, say, every eight or nine days. Moderate your training pace to about two minutes a mile slower than your top capability for the distance. Attempt no running at speed until you have gained the capability to run for two hours or more, say once a week. And only about 10 per cent of all your running should be faster running or racing. Mornings runs should be kept at even a slower, moderate pace. New Zealand’s temperate climate is ideal fox all-year-round training: but on cold mornings it pays to wear gloves: and, because there is high heat loss from the head, wear a woolly cap. If you feel cold in the legs wear track suit bottoms. Injuries to lower limbs are less likely when legs are warm. In hot weather, if you make sure yo.u drink a lot more fluid on the run than you think you need, you won't get hyperthermia. or heat stroke — which can harm and sometimes kill. Photocopies of back numbers of “'Runners’ Diary” cap be obtained through the librarian of ‘‘The Press.”