"Exerting yourself to the fullest within your individual limits: that's the essence of running, and a metaphor for life — and for me, for writing as whole."
Haruki Murakami, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running
Running is not for everyone, but many writers have found it to be a wonderful way to stay active and counteract the sedentary nature of the work. I (Euan) love running, so this chapter is for those writers who might want to try it too. Just skip over this if it’s not your cup of tea.
If you are new to exercise then here are three basic errors that will make a significant difference to your training. Get these right and you will see major improvements in relatively short periods of time. You will minimize the risk of injury and you might just enjoy it. If you are new to running, then come back to Error #2 later.
Error #1: Going too fast
This is common to almost all runners, even the very experienced, but it is particularly important for newbies. It is possibly the single biggest reason that people hate running and never manage to get into it.
People run too fast and end up bent over, panting for breath, and hating the experience. They are in pain.
But it shouldn't be this way.
A common method of measuring this is to say that you should be able to hold a conversation with somebody.
Try it next time you’re out for a run. You'll find that it is much slower than you expected. Do not be demoralized. You may be itching to go faster. Don’t. You may be embarrassed to be running as slowly. You may even have to resort to a fast walk. That’s OK. Do not go faster.
You are still getting massive cardiovascular benefit at the conversational level. The great advantage of going more slowly and exercising in this heart-rate zone is that you will be nowhere near as tired as you would have been if you try to push it harder. That means that your leg muscles will be less sore and you will feel fresher and recover quicker. Rather than going for a run and feeling completely wrecked for four days afterwards, you’ll have some mild discomfort but feel reasonably normal the next day. There may even be a chance that you’ll feel positively enthusiastic about going out again.
Running at the right speed feels good!
The only thing that makes people run faster is some expectation that they put on themselves or that gets put on them by people around them. You are not aiming to stride out like double Olympic champion Mo Farah hitting the bell. You may only be able to manage a fast walk because even a gentle jog will make you too breathless. You have to get over that and shut out the world around you.
Remember Golden Rule #1: Beware comparisonitis. Those who go out and thrash themselves for two or three runs can’t maintain that habit for the long term.
Error #2: Going too slow
This one is only applicable for more advanced exercisers.
Once you get yourself moving and you’ve picked up a little bit of an exercise habit, then you may start to think about pushing it further and getting quicker. It is worth mentioning as you may feel you have no chance of improving your running if you continue to exercise in the easiest heart-rate zones.
When it comes to going faster with running what you have to do is run really fast. For short bursts. Yes, welcome to the fantastic world of intervals and repetitions (reps). These are the real gold when it comes to getting fast at running.
The idea is that you take period of time and get yourself fully warmed up. That might be a 15 or 20 minute jog during which you take it easy and you make sure the blood is flowing and you have a bit of a sweat on. Some gentle stretches are a good idea.
Once you are fully warmed up, you are then ready to do some intervals. These can be done just about anywhere and you don’t need to have any special facilities. Having said that, if you have a local running track, then you will have a better idea of exactly how far you are running for each interval, but it’s certainly not crucial.
For many years I did these around a local football pitch, which was ideal as I was running on soft grass. Nowadays I tend to do any interval sessions on the hillside and so I incorporate them into my regular fell run.
So, everything is ready … Let the fun begin.
Let’s take an interval set of 5×100 m. The aim is that you will run that hundred meters fast. Not an all-out sprint but a sustainably fast pace. You will then have a break where you might jog back along the 100m or you’ll just jog for 30 seconds. You then run another hundred meters at the same pace. You keep on doing this until you are finished with the session.
While these seem deceptively straightforward on paper, they do bring in a whole new dimension of discomfort. It will be approximately half-way through your first interval session when you begin to wish you had taken up knitting. The only crumb of comfort you can cling onto during these intervals is that they will give you remarkable results in terms of your overall fitness. You’ll be stronger, faster, and mentally hard as nails.
Remember, they are absolutely not to be undertaken until you have a solid base of aerobic fitness. Remember Golden Rule #2: Don’t get injured.
Error #3: Taking it too seriously
This is a common error that many runners make. Particularly once you start throwing in a few faster runs and intervals. It all gets so serious and determined.
Running should be tremendous fun.
When you see kids tearing around a playground, screaming and laughing, reveling in physical activity, they aren’t thinking about whether or not their heart rates are in zone one or two or whether they are at their anaerobic threshold.
They are not thinking about the training benefits they are getting and the adaptation that is going to occur.
They are not fretting about how they are going to humble brag on Facebook later about the run. They are just simply in the moment, enjoying themselves. They are the ultimate mindfulness machines when it comes to physical exercise. You need to be the same.
We should be aiming for the uninhibited, unselfconscious freedom of enjoying our bodies in the moment. I like running in the hills and it is those experiences that are burned into my mind. Tearing down the side of a hill, legs thumping, arms whirling, with a face-splitting grin. Those are the memories that will never leave me.
So, that means you shouldn’t go out and buy an expensive GPS watch, you shouldn’t obsess about your status on Strava. You should try to get yourself an exercise habit that means you feel good about yourself and brings you pleasure. It won’t be perfect every day but if you feel the joy is lacking and it is just becoming another item on your list, then try the session below.
"The aim of effortless exercise is not to win, not even to compete. Neither is it to get fit, lose weight, or improve body shape, though all of these will happen. There’s no score to keep, no technique to master. There’s just the body, aware of itself, enjoying movement for its own sake."
Orna Ross, Go Creative series
Just for fun: the Ultimate Recovery Run
Sometimes, you need to run without a watch. Leave it at home.
Most people take a stopwatch and even that is not necessary. Go out and enjoy it.
One thing you can do if you find yourself getting oppressed by the need to record and document and analyze your training is to leave it all behind. Pull on your trainers and leave your phone at home. If you can, avoid even looking at the clock before you leave. You don’t want to know anything about your time. And then run something called fartlek. It’s a Swedish word that means ‘speed play.’
The idea is that you don’t run a consistent pace, and it's often more fun in a group. You might sprint from one lamppost to the next, then you jog very slowly for the 400m down by the canal, then you’ll pick it up for the next 5-10 minutes before settling into a jog. Or, what the heck, just walk for a bit. Then go again as if you’ve just been tagged in a playground game.
The aim is not to have a fixed pattern: you go slow, you go fast, you just run around and enjoy yourself. Sometimes I do some skipping, sometimes I do some sideways bouncing. Listen to some music if it helps. Dance a bit. It really doesn’t matter. The idea is you simply go out and immerse yourself in the activity without worrying about anything else. Just enjoy it.
"It's important to switch off, and running also allows you to access parts of your creative brain that are otherwise hard to get to."
Mark Dawson, The Healthy Writer survey