OK, enough about me. (Is that even allowed in a personal blog?!) I know I have some readers, or at least a browser or two – Yes! Bounce Rate – so let’s kick it back to you.
My friend, Jacki, wants to know how to do it. Not just run for her life; she has been doing that, in three-mile bursts four or five times a week for a long time, but she has never run a marathon and is intrigued by the idea of doing so. However a friend and exercise expert tells her to fuhgeddaboudit; try swimming, or cycling or low-impact aerobics (shoot me now), not running; running destroys the joints, it’s an exercise-killer not an exercise-accelerant.
I could – and have done in this blog – cited my experts: the "Born to Run" camp who in my view rightly say that done the right way, as in "sitting" in a mechanically sound pace that fits your body type, you can run, not
just for your life, but as my blog title implies for the rest of your life. Some of these "Born to Run" folks believe in the barefoot shoe, which is open to debate, but when it comes to the mechanics piece I think they are right on the money. Try it for yourself. Join a runners group with a Born to Run bent; it could be you will make slight adjustments in your running style, find that more natural pace, one that your new running friends will declare, "Yup, that’s your gait, Sue. Go for it."
I believe as I’ve said many times on this site that barring injury all people can run, and find the will to run in races like the Boston Marathon. Yes, you can. Here’s what I’m talking about:
Scientists tell us that we are born to run. Humans have it all: long Achilles tendons, big joints, long legs, narrow waist, balanced head and big asses. (They don’t call it the MAXIMUS gluteus for nothing.) In fact, these physical advantages are not in evidence when we walk quite the way they are when we run. No other primate has the spring-like Achilles tendons that we do, and the body’s large joints and large rear end relative to our total size, provide cushion like no other animal on earth.
What’s more, recent research has shown that we need not slow down as we age. Researchers have found that for people who continue to be active, there is no physical reason why we need to slow down as we age. By training hard – running in a way that increases oxygen consumption that allows you to maintain an intense regiment – runners can continue to keep it up well into their 60s and 70s. Taken together, these studies would lead you to believe if you do it right, you can run for your life – literally.
Of course, that can be easier said than done. Nature may have endowed us with the characteristics ideal for long-distance running. But mental toughness is another thing. How do we find and embrace the inner strength to fulfill this destiny, to hit and hold those highs of a runner’s world?
So what do you think? I’d like to hear from you. (It’s easy; if you don’t have a Google account, sign up for one and put down a comment on this site. Set aside those privacy-protection fears about what records the NSA have on you; what, you’re so special?) Send me and Jacki your comments, tell us how you’ve been running for your life. Or conversely why you stopped. If you agree with the why-in-the-world-would-you-choose-a-harsh-impact-sport-like-running-when-you-are-in-the-twilight-of-your-life camp, let us know. Share your personal experience, the injury that stopped you from running, the heartache that a life of not running has left you with. If you’ve started running short distances and now are doing long ones, with the view of challenging yourself with a 10K or a half-marathon, let us know. How did you bring yourself to increase your time commitment? Have you had to work through any injuries? What type? How so? How do you motivate yourself to get up and out on a cold, rainy morning? Or in the depth of a north country winter?
I’d love to hear from you, both runners and non-runners. Sign up and make a comment. Because when it comes to running I know a few things, but it’s a personal knowledge. Like the spirit of Haruki Murakami’s “What I Talk About When I Talk About Running.” His is just one story about running and how it fits in his life. Before I returned to running marathons, M and I cheered Haruki on in the New York City Marathon from our regular perch on Fourth Avenue in Brooklyn. And that was one of the threads for me and my renewed commitment to marathoning. And in the months and years since, I have gone back to doing what I see as part of my life’s work.
What’s your story?
Next: Running for Your Life: Marathon des Sables
4 comments:
Hi Larry! I'm 41 and have run occasionally for more than ten years -- once a week or so at the most, in runs no longer than three miles. Last spring I started running twice or three times a week, and each time at least five miles. It was wonderful. I felt a whole new sense of possibility about running.
Then in the summer my back started acting up -- an aggravated disk. I associated it with sitting improperly all day at work. It never hurt after a run or during a run, though I tapered off on my running anyway to be cautious. When the ache persisted I went to a doctor. He prescribed me anti-inflammatories for a few months, which I'm still taking. I'm learning all kinds of great core exercises that won't strain my back. I'm hopeful the problem will be licked.
But then the doctor said something chilling: "Runners," he said with a cackle, "pay for my country house!" He told me that if I kept running I could aggravate my back again, and that I should really just go to the gym and do something low impact like the elliptical or swimming.
Suddenly I started thinking about how I had amped up my running shortly before my back acted up. Could running be the culprit? The room started spinning. This was like a bad movie. Running, j'accuse!
This makes me sad. I hate going to the gym -- it takes so much time! I love running. My current game plan is to do these core exercises for a couple months and see how I feel once the anti-inflamatories are overwith, and then start running again maybe once a week to see how it goes. I'm also really interested in what you have to say about adjusting one's running form to be healthier about it.
What do you think? Larry, I know you've had the leg thing for years and it doesn't seem to be slowing you down any. Do you know of anyone with back issues who has found a way to make running work for them?
Thanks,
Bob
Hey Bob ... Thanks for your comment, sorry to hear about your back pain.
Last things first: No, I don't know of anyone who has fixed a running and strengthening regimen around back pain. It would be my thought to find ANOTHER doctor (you certainly don't deserve the one you describe here!), and work toward a reasonable medical and exercise approach to meet your specific diagnosis. Go to the NYTimes.com Web site and check out a story that ran Jan. 3, 2008, "But First, Doctor, What Was Your Marathon Time?" by Gina Kolata. The feature discusses how it works for many people with medical and health difficulties to find a doctor who is a runner, or at least one who is sympathetic to a person who wants to "run for their life."
Insofar as mechanics are concerned, I'm a big believer in the soft-strike stride, in working to build core strength, weight loss, etc., so that when you run you run "quietly", minimizing the shock when your foot hits the ground, and listening to the birds and sweet cries of children rather than the slap slap slap of your sneakers on pavement.
Meanwhile, I'm hoping someone will write in with something more specific, re: back pain and a serious running regimen.
Good luck with this, Bob! Hope it works out.
Best, Larry
I'm a newbie...as you know. And my running partner (SO) Aaron is also a newbie. In high school he was slated to be a pro-athlete until 3 knee injuries put him in early retirement. He'll need a whole new knee at some point soon. His Doc told him to run. The health effects are so great if it shortened the life of his knee it would surely lengthen his life.
In my personal opinion...the mental health effects of longer distances make any potential danger worth it. Running keeps me sane. And as a retired swimmer I can know running and running alone does it for me. Just my opinion...go for it and run! Screw other people. And if you notice an overuse injury rest and swim. Heal and go back to running.
Hi Aimee,
Thanks for your comment. It's very interesting, and of course, one that I am wholly sympathetic to.
Of course, I can just see the health pro naysayers saying, OK, newbie, run a decade or so like you are now and call me in the morning.
Ha! It doesn't have to be that way. The living proof is all around us. (Not least of which is the example of the 70-plus year-old person who ran in the Marathon des Sables, that I wrote about in last Thursday's post.)
Keep it up, Aimee and Aaron. And Bob, it looks like Aaron is getting treatment from the kind of doctor that Gina Kolata was writing about ...
Later, Larry
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