A little background: I haven’t always been athletically inclined, although I did play field hockey in high school for a semester. My jock phase abruptly ended in 2001 when I was in a car accident that forced me onto crutches for about 2 months and into physical therapy for 6 additional months. I regained full range of motion but lost a significant amount of muscle, mobility, and strength as well as suffering nerve damage. On paper I was doing fine (I didn’t require any more physical therapy aside from a cortisone shot to the knee every 6 months or so), but I felt lethargic and much weaker than before.
In 2003 I decide to start walking. I started with walking around the park, the mall, anything to build up my stamina and strength. After a couple weeks of walking I decided I was ready for running and I take off, running a full sprint down the dirt path around a lake. I get about 10 steps in before my knee starts throbbing in protest...clearly that was too much too soon.
First lesson learned: Ease into things. Just because you could once do them once, or think you should be able to do them, doesn’t mean you can. Be patient.
Now it’s 2005. I can walk just fine, I’ve joined a gym and I’m a dedicated elliptical user. I decide it’s time to mix things up, so I try the stair machine. Maybe 5 minutes in to my amazing, calorie-torching workout my knee starts throbbing in that same familiar place. I try and jog slowly on the treadmill a few weeks later, same pain. I feel destined to a life of weak-knees and no running.
Lesson two: Train with a purpose. Was I trying to lose weight? If so, ANY machine will do. Was I looking to strengthen my knee? Yes. I should have been doing load-bearing exercises from the start.
I gathered opinions and the consensus was that because I wasn’t willing to have surgery, I was destined to a life of low-impact activities. I thought that sounded ridiculous, I’m in my 20’s and there’s no way my knee can be that badly injured! I decide to go to the drugstore and find a knee brace, and THAT’s how I’ll run. I try a small brace initially but it offers little stability and doesn’t quite fit right. I move on to a Cadillac-style brace, it’s big and bulky but it gets the job done. I get on the treadmill with my giant knee brace and start running. The pain is still there.
Lesson three: If you’re in pain, you’re doing it wrong. Listen to (don’t fight) your body.
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| More or less the beastly leg brace of days passed. |
Surely I can’t just WALK on a treadmill with a giant black brace around my leg. That looks silly and it makes me look like I’m out of shape. Honestly, I looked ridiculous and I still wasn’t fit enough to run. My knee couldn’t handle the force being exerted; it was still weak and unable to stabilize itself. I walked for weeks at a time until I felt confident enough to incorporate interval training. This wasn’t going to be the same sprint-style training I did on my bike, but the concept was the same. Jog for 1 minute, walk for 5. Or jog until I felt pressure, walk until it went away. Some days the pain never went away and my workout was done within 10 minutes. Gradually I worked my way up to an hour of jogging, but that took about 3 years of practice and patience!
Lesson four: Don’t give up! It can be done, but the path you’ll take may be different than the one on the map.
I reached that milestone about 4 years ago, making the injury-to-recovery time about 6 years! That was 3 years of pity, inactivity and pain followed by 3 years of trial and error. Here I am today training for a half-marathon, something I never thought I’d be able to do! In the last month I’ve learned much more about the specifics of running, as I started with a different fitness level this time around. How does one transition from weight training to long distance running?
Very slowly, deliberately, and carefully.
I created my own SMART plan for the purpose.
- Specific – To complete the 1/2 marathon in January via Jeff Galloway’s beginner training plan
- Measurable- I’m tracking my miles, routes. HRmax, HR avg, fuels, temperature, physical ailments, and comments all in a logbook. I’m tracking weekly and monthly totals.
- Attainable- I’ll give myself 7 months to train for this race and follow Jeff Galloway’s 18-week training plan for beginners.
- Realistic – I’m a beginner runner, so I’ll be happy to finish the race!
- Time bound- The race is in late January, so I’ll need to complete a 11-12 mile long run by early January at the latest.
Lessons learned this time around:
- Ease into things. Running is new and different for me, and I tend to have tight legs so I need to take it easy. I’m loosely following the 10% rule and not upping my long run distance by more than .5 miles each week
- Train with a purpose. No more spin classes just for fun, no more stair-climber machine because it works my calves. I need to save my energy and efforts for what really matters: running.
- It’s OK to take days or weeks off if you’re feeling sick, tired, fatigued, etc. Running for the sake of running while under the weather leads to injuries and burnout.
- Jump back into the game when you feel able. Don’t try to make up for lost time, pick up where you left off.
The top four reasons are still the same as they were 3 years ago. Some things may never change :-D
- Give yourself plenty of time to adapt. I’m following an 18-week plan over the course of 24 weeks to allow for potential vacations, injuries, and whatever else life may throw my way. Choose your running buddies carefully. One person’s “easy” run may leave you gasping for breath and over-striding to keep up, leading to hip injuries.
- Clothes
- Tops: moisture wicking is a must, the fewer seams the better. Cotton absorbs sweat and leaves you feeling like a sopping wet sponge.
- Bottoms: most good running bottoms come with a pocket to hold your keys & ID. Once again, the fewer seams, the better. I’ve also learned that I cannot run in running shorts due to chafing (you can use Vaseline to prevent it, or wear longer bottoms).
- Shoes: find something comfortable that matches your fitness level. If you’re new to running a stability shoe may be more appropriate than a minimalist-style shoe; try them all before you buy!
- Fuel
- Pre-run: I cannot eat anything greasy, lactose-laden, citrus, or in any way potentially upsetting a few hours before a run. That leaves me with toast and coffee for breakfast if I’m running within 2 hours, or just toast if I need to eat and run. Some people can eat pizza; it’s all about experimenting.
- Mid-run fuel: Some people swear by GU’s, beans, gels, etc. They give me horrible stomachaches, so I sip Gatorade.
- Post run: Make sure to eat enough to re-fuel your body. Focus on healthy carbs, quality calories, and don’t worry about losing weight. Running to run a race is different than running to lose weight. (Of course, weight loss may follow and in which case, congratulations!)
- What you do the night before you run matters. Alas, I cannot stay out drinking, get less than 7 hours of sleep, or be an active participant in the nightlife scene. Drink plenty of water and get plenty of sleep.
- Slow down. Seriously. I had to slow down to (what felt like) a shuffle to be able to run longer than an hour, at my current abilities. I’d estimate my pace between 11-13 min/mile for my current long runs and I HOPE I’ll get faster, but in the mean time my focus is to finish!
- Goodbye weight training. Cross training doesn’t mean lifting for strength gains in between my runs; it means choosing a complimentary activity to facilitate my progress. Gone are the days of dead lifting anything above 100 lbs because the fatigue impacts my run the following day. I lift all weights at endurance reps (12+) and do a lot more stretching and yoga.
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Do you have any tips to add for anyone looking to start running or improve their current abilities? Post a comment or contact me at SeeMeFit!
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