Making Strides

The early morning sun in West Hollywood is streaming into Peet’s Coffee. It’s a crisp sunny Los Angeles morning. Sunset Boulevard is waking up along with me. I feel great and soon I’ll be ready to head out for a run.

My first recollections of the joy of intense “cardio exercise” go back to somewhere around the seventh grade. I had a big, clunky green Schwinn Bike that took me everywhere.  As soon as my parents let me ride it wherever I wanted, off I’d go. Soon, I’d explored every park in East and West Portland. The next year I talked older friends into letting me ride with them into the foothills of Mt. Hood. In the summer, we’d end up splashing in the Sandy River and coming home sunburned.

The idea that we were “exercising” never entered our minds. It was just sheer joy of the adventure and how good everything felt. Moving my body became associated with freedom and fun.

Happy Feet

In high school I started running. Running became an add-on to my bike adventures. I’d had no idea that my legs could take me so many places so fast. At the same time, I felt elated with the activity. While I didn’t understand it back then, my body was releasing tons of “feel good” chemicals. At the same time, all my insecure teen mental chatter would stop for an hour or two.

After high school I transplanted myself from the Pacific Northwest to the San Francisco Bay area. The climate was amazing, and you could run the foothills above Palo Alto all year long. I didn’t have a car, so my bike (now a 10-speed special) became my transportation.

Transportation. I guess that’s what this blog is about. I’m lucky that I love doing things that Trans-port me to a place called elation. As much as I love cars, they’ve never been able to create the same internal feeling for me as physical exertion.

I’ve coached one of my clients away from doing a long daily run. If heroin had a healthy double, running would be it for him. After two weeks of replacing some of his runs with weight training, we saw a body shift – better muscle tone and more energy. After week three, he reported that his weekend run was the most energetic and fastest he’d had in 6 months.

Most of us are like racehorses. If we don’t get out and move – we go stir crazy. Our bodies sag and slow down and our minds slow down too. Overtraining can produce the same results. Personally, I get a little grumpy if I have to be still for too long. When I’ve had a stretch of morning aches that keep me from activity, I start to feel sorry for myself.

Writing this in Peet’s, I see a jogger with an amazing stride coming up the street. As he passes I can see that he’s lost a leg and has an arc of metal to replace it. Nothing is going to stop him from following his bliss. The universe couldn’t have sent a better messenger to me this morning and I’m filled with gratitude and determined to take even better care of my body.

I like being trans-ported.

Getting Started

1. Walk first

If you haven’t run, start by walking. That’s intense walking, not walking to get yourself to work. Walk, then speed walk. Build up to a walk-run-walk-run. You’ll see results faster than you think.

2. Buy Good Shoes

Buy running shoes, not sneakers. Shoes that fit you well, are comfortable and assist you with your stride. You must change them… they don’t last forever. The more you run, the quicker you should replace your shoes. Here’s a shoe buying tip: try on new shoes on in the afternoon, our feet are usually “larger” then.

3. Get F I T

Combine these for your running program – Frequency, Intensity and Time. With this formula, you’d start with walking, graduate to a walk-run and then run. Make your "frequency" every other day, your "intensity" a comfortable pace and your "time" about 30 minutes. Your comfortable pace will increase along with the distance you cover.

4. Lighten up

If you’re severely overweight, lose some weight before you start to run. Your joints will thank you for it. Running exposes your joints to two to three times your body weight – with each foot impact!

5. Hot Stuff

Warm-up means getting your body temperature up before you hit your stride.

Speed walking, jumping jacks or push-ups. Save your heavy duty stretching for after your run.

6. Stretch It Out

When you finish, be sure to stretch. Otherwise you’re like a horse that’s been rode hard and left wet (a sure recipe for problems). Make stretching a part of your practice that you never miss.

7. Hydrate

You’ll want to drink more water and also replace lost electrolytes. Water supports your body in cushioning your joints. Dehydration is a disaster for knees and ankles.

8. Be Social

Run with friend. If you can talk to each other you’re in aerobic mode. If you’re breathing so hard you can’t talk, you’re in anaerobic mode. You’ll want to experience both modes during your run.

9. Lift Weights

Want to improve your run? Lift weights. You’ll have extra muscle and energy to propel you along the way. Long distance running can break down muscle, so build it back and add to your bone density at the same time.

10. Be safe, carry id and don’t hop right into a hot tub after your run. 

Cool down and stretch. If you’ve created inflammation during the run, getting right into a hot tub will make it worse.

Train your Body. Tame your Mind. Tame your Tongue.

Information on this site is not a substitute for consulting a licensed medical professional or nutritionist. Never begin an exercise or nutritional regime without consulting your health care provider.