Running for Beginners

By: Chris Brogan

How does a fat guy get fit enough to run? Are you thinking of taking up running? Here’s some advice:

Trails versus Street

First, a word about trail running. Trails are softer which gives two immediate results. One, your knees thank you for less painful impact. Two, because trails are less solid than streets, you end up running slower than your maximum potential. This is great from my perspective, because I have a habit of overdoing it. I want the slowdown.

The Right Shoes

It’s really important to us proper footwear. I learned firsthand all the crazy things that can go wrong. I will throw out there, however, that barefoot running is a really small niche interest right now, and I’ve tried it on beaches and on safe trails, and I loved it.

Every one is different and there are all kinds of articles out there for selecting shoes. Just know that you need new shoes, you need them to be really well fit for your needs (for instance, you take a larger shoe size for running than you do for casual wear), and that you need the right kind of support for the way your feet land. Google around for this, or email me. I’ll help you further, if you’d like.

Run / Walk Programs

When I had my first running breakthrough, it was this: you are still a runner if you have to slow down and walk for a bit. John Bingham’s great book, NO NEED FOR SPEED, was an excellent resource for me in learning how to run. All of John’s products are great that way, and “The Penguin,” as he likes to call himself, is a wealth of knowledge unto himself.

Standard Disclaimer: see your physician before trying this or any other program. This is just for informational use and doesn’t constitute something worth doing. Worked for me.

Here’s a sample of a run/walk program that I mentioned to a friend the other day. The “R” stands for running, and the “W” stands for walking. The number is for how many minutes of each one might do. I do this in multiples of 30 minutes for the first few weeks. As time progresses, I consider adding more minutes (maybe another cycle of the run/walk program) into the mix. The basic premise is to slowly build yourself up to running more and walking less. Each line represents a week of training:

Warm up by walking briskly for 2 minutes, maybe 3. Then, start this:

• 1R , 4W x 6 times. Week 1
• 1R , 3W x 7 times. Week 2
• 2R, 3W x 6 times. Week 3
• 2R, 2W x 7 times. Week 4
• 3R, 3W x 5 times. Week 5
• 3R, 2W x 6 times. Week 6
• 3R, 1W x 7 times. Week 7
• 4R, 2W x 5 times. Week 8
• 4R, 1W x 6 times. Week 9
• FULL Running for 30 minutes.

If you have to skip a running minute or two early on, do so. Just walk briskly and catch your breath. Don’t be religious about this. Make it work for you.

How FAST?

When I’m saying running, this is basically a step above brisk walking. Think of it as a controlled shuffle. Focus on turning your feet over quickly, and not running fast. Just keep thinking about turning your feet over, which should be slightly longer strides than if your shoes were tied together, but not big huge gaping stretches. With a run/walk program, the trick is to keep the “difference” between the running and the walking down to a minimum, so when you’re walking and catching your breath a bit, make sure that’s still a brisk walk.

Don’t worry about speed. Get your distance and your duration up. Then, speed will come out of your endurance and your toning.

Mileage versus Minutes

I’m a bigger fan of minutes versus miles, but as you get faster and better, and more confident in your running, you might switch. The best thing to realize is: unless you’re trying out for a world-class team, there is no official right or wrong way to do it, only strong suggestions and passionate people on either side of every possible schism one could experience. This is how *I* did it the first time, and how I plan to do it next.

Hydration, Eating

First, get a lexan water bottle. The famous brand name is Nalgene. They are recycling number 7, in case you’re being offered a ripoff. In the US, they cost around $7 on the low end. But why? Because those bottles handle bacteria way better than when you re-use your disposable water bottles, and they’re nicer on the environment. Having them around makes you want to drink more. And other hacks I haven’t considered.

A note about eating: do so a half hour or so before you run. An hour’s best, but fit it into your schedule. What’s good to eat (and NOT good to eat) before a run? High carbs and low glycemic index food, like energy bars (CLIF Bar is my personal favorite), Oatmeal is easy, even the instant kind. What NOT to have are things high in fats, like sausage. Peanut butter is usually a great energy food, but keep it to maybe 1 table spoon along with a slice of multigrain bread.

The point is, it’s important to have energy in the tank. The more you have ready for your run, the better you’ll feel while trying to run.

Your Advice

I’m open to your advice. One thing that’s certain about things like running: you’ll get about 50/50 responses to the above where some will say, “This is full of crap” or “that’s not running, that’s jogging” or whatever. You know what? YOU are the person qualified to tell whether advice works for you. If it’s running to you, it’s running to me. But what else will you add? I’m looking for tips before I get out all the lead and start running this week.

–Chris Brogan produces a weekly audio podcast called Fat Guy Gets Fit.

 

Running a Marathon? 10 fitness myths busted!

By: Dr Mahesh Jukar

So, if you’re planning on running a Marathon — to support a worthy cause or just because it’s on your ‘List of things to do before I die’ – here are a few facts you should know before you put those running shoes on.

Myth No 1: You don’t really need to train for a marathon
Fact: While runners and walkers do complete marathons with training that’s often less than ideal, they suffer during and after the event. There are tales of stress fractures, pain, not being able to walk for a week and psychological burnout from people who have not trained well enough. A good training programme takes at least a month and a good deal of commitment to be successful.

Myth No 2: Training on cardio machines at the gym is good preparation for a long run
Fact: It is always better to practice on the roads for two months or so to train your muscles. A workout for 90 minutes on various machines like treadmills, stationary bikes and stair climbers is not equivalent to half-marathon which would take almost the same time.

Myth No 3: You can train with shorter distances if you train faster. You can slow down and go farther on race day
Fact: The marathon takes a different physiology to provide the energy to go the 26.2 miles than that of shorter distance races. Those energy systems are best trained by running long and slow. It takes runs longer than 16 miles and slower than marathon race pace to get the physiology of endurance. Training short and fast or even up to 20 miles at too fast a pace guarantees that you will "run out of energy" on race day.

Myth No 4: You don’t want to waste time in the marathon taking in water or other fluids or energy sources
Fact: The body needs water to work. Losing small amounts of fluids leads to devastating losses in work capacity. The exercising body needs a minimum of 236 mililitres of water every 20 minutes during exercise. This is true in training as well as racing. The replacement can come from sports drinks such as Gatorade, energy bars, gels or candy. They need to be of the proper concentration to be absorbed, making it essential to drink water when using bars or gels.

Myth No 5: To get faster in the marathon, you need more speedwork 
Fact: Marathon performance is usually dictated by endurance, not speed. The endurance to maintain the desired speed is what most runners need. The body needs to be trained to burn more fat and spare glycogen to have enough energy to get to mile 26.2. Time spent doing short distance speed work takes away from the endurance work the body needs to go the distance. The speedwork that is essential for marathons is pace work or miles done at marathon pace.

Myth No 6: Cold weather is good for runners
Fact: When you are running in cold weather, you breathe through your mouth, and the air that hits your lungs is colder and drier. The contrast between the warm air in the lungs and the cold inhaled air can trigger an attack of asthma. Runners generate their own warmth a few miles into a race.

Myth No 7: Old people can’t run fast
Fact: Try telling that to the 60-year-old gentleman who sprinted past a runner about 25 yards before the finish line. Age is no bar for running these marathons. It’s continuous practice that builds the stamina and makes you run faster.

Myth No 8: Weight training is not required for marathon training
Fact: Running in a marathon is not the same as running a short distance. It is much more demanding and calls for strong muscles which are the ammunition for completing the run. Strengthening the muscles is important in order to avoid cramps and injury. Weight training is vital to develop muscular strength and endurance.

Myth No 9: It does not matter what kind of running shoes you wear for a marathon
Fact: Good shoes are very important to run a successful marathon. Good running shoes absorb the shock, ensuring that you do not get injured while running on rough / uneven surface thus protecting you from harm.

Myth No 10: Indian food is a good enough source of energy
Fact: Pastas (Italian) and carbs are the best foods for long distance running. Pasta, which is packed with carbohydrates, is the most important fuel for energy. It’s stored in the liver and muscles as glycogen and if these stores run low it can often cause tiredness when you’re running.

Carbs don’t make you fat; they are in fact a major source of energy. A typical marathon training diet is one that is around 65 per cent carbohydrates, 25 per cent protein and 10 per cent fat. The idea behind a carefully designed eating plan is to ensure optimum hydration, nutrition and protein-building for a runner whose needs for muscle repair and building is much higher than usual.

 

Peanut Butter as Running Food

 

In this day and age of energy bars, protein powders and weight gain shakes, many athletes forget about "real" foods, such as peanut butter. Peanut butter is one of the best sports foods around. It is tasty, inexpensive, satisfying, nourishing, and even good for our health. But all too often, one can hear athletes say "I don't keep peanut butter in my house: it is too fatty, too fattening" or "I ration peanut butter to once per week, on my Sunday morning bagel". They try to stay away from peanut butter. That is nuts! Yes, peanut butter is calorie-dense, but it can beneficially fit into your sports diet

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The following information explains why peanut butter (and all nuts and nut butters, for that matter) can be considered a super sports food for athletes who want to eat well and invest in their health.

Peanut butter is satiating and satisfying… perfect for dieters – Because you will never win the war against hunger, your best bet is to eat foods that keep you feeling fed. This means, foods with protein and fiber, like peanut butter (and nuts, in general). You will feel fuller for longer if you have half a whole wheat bagel with peanut butter, as compared to the same amount of calories of a plain white bagel. The protein and fiber in peanut butter "sticks to your ribs" and is not fattening, unless you overeat total calories that day. A Perdue University study reports subjects who ate peanuts every day did not overeat daily calories (Kirkmeyer, "International Journal of Obesity", 24:1167, 2000). Peanut eaters tend to naturally eat less at other times of the day (Alper, "International Journal of Obesity", 26:1129, 2002). Plus, if you enjoy what you are eating on your reducing diet, you will stay with the food plan and be able to keep the weight off. This is far better than yo-yo dieting!

Peanut butter is a quick and easy way to reduce your risk of heart disease – Just slap together a peanut butter (and honey or jelly) sandwich on multi-grain bread, and you have the makings of a heart-healthy meal, if not a childhood memory. A quick and easy peanut butter sandwich is healthier, by far, than a fast-food burger or fried chicken dinner and far better than, let's say, an equally easy "meal" of chips or ice cream. That is because peanut butter offers health-protective mono- and polyunsaturated oil. Trading burgers (saturated fat) for peanut butter sandwiches reduces your risk of developing heart disease. In fact, the more often you eat peanut butter (and nuts), the lower your risk of heart disease(Hu, "Journal of the American College of Nutrition" 20(1):5, 2001). Start spreading peanut butter (instead of butter) on toast. Enjoy peanut butter & banana for a "decadent" snack in place of ice cream.

Peanut butter is an affordable source of calories – If you are a hungry athlete who needs 3000 or more calories a day, you can spend a significant amount of money fueling yourself (especially if you routinely eat protein bars, weight gain shakes and other engineered sports foods). Peanut butter can fuel your body without breaking the bank. One hundred calories of peanut butter (about 1 tablespoon) costs far less than 100 calories of other protein sources, such as cottage cheese, tuna and deli turkey breast. The cost of 200 calories of peanut butter is far less than the money you would spend on 200 calories of an energy bar… and generally, the peanut butter is far tastier!

Peanut butter is a source of protein, needed to build and repair muscles – But take note: peanut butter is not protein-dense. That is, two tablespoons of peanut butter, the amount in an average sandwich, provides about 7 grams of protein. In comparison, the calorie equivalent of turkey in a sandwich offers about 20 grams of protein. Athletes who weigh 140 pounds may need 70 to 100 grams protein per day; 200-pound athletes, 100 to 150 grams. For 100 grams of protein, you would have to eat the whole jar of peanut butter! Unlikely. To boost the protein value of peanut butter, simply accompany it with a tall glass of milk: a peanut butter & jelly sandwich with 16 ounces lowfat milk equals 28 grams of protein, a good chunk of your daily requirement. Milk simultaneously enhances the value of the protein in the peanut butter sandwich. That is, peanuts are low in some of the essential amino acids muscles need for growth and repair. The amino acids in milk (as well as those in the sandwich bread) nicely complement the limiting amino acids in peanuts.

Peanut butter is a reasonable source of vitamins, minerals and other health-protective food compounds – For example, peanut butter contains folate, vitamin E, magnesium and resveratrol, all nutrients associated with reduced risk of heart disease. Magnesium is also associated with reduced risk of adult-onset diabetes. Peanut butter offers a small amount of zinc, a mineral important for healing and strengthening the immune system. As an athlete, you need all these nutrients to keep you off the bench and on the playing field.

Peanut butter contains fiber – not a lot (1 gram per tablespoon) but some – Fiber in food contributes to a feeling of fullness that can help dieters eat less without feeling hungry. Fiber also promotes regular bowel movements and helps reduce problems with constipation. By enjoying peanut butter on whole grain bread, you can contribute 6 to 8 grams of fiber towards the recommended target of 20 to 35 grams fiber per day.

Peanuts contain mostly health-protective mono- and polyunsaturated fats – When peanuts are made into commercial peanut butter, some of the oil gets converted into a harder, saturated fat. This keeps the oil from separating to the top. The hardened oil, called trans-fat, is less healthful. But the good news is, commercial peanut butters contain only a tiny amount of trans fats and just a small amount of (naturally occurring) saturated fat. For example, only 3.5 of the 17 grams fat in two tablespoons of commercial peanut butter are "bad". To minimize your intake of even this small amount of unhealthful fat, you can buy all-natural peanut butter. If you dislike the way the oil in this type of peanut butter separates to the top of the jar, simply store the jar upside down. That way, the oil rises to what becomes the bottom of the jar when you turn it over to open it. And if you eat peanut butter daily, you won't have to refrigerate it, thereby making the all-natural peanut butter easier to spread.

Caution: peanut butter is a poor source of the carbohydrates needed for muscle fuel – Don't try to subsist on peanut butter by the spoonful! Luckily, peanut butter combines nicely with banana, bread, apples, oatmeal, crackers, raisins, and even pasta (as in Thai noodle dishes). These combinations will balance your sports diet.