How to Start Distance Running
Have you ever seen the look of sheer freedom and joy on a toddler’s face when they take their first running steps? Pretty soon, it’s nearly impossible to keep them from running, and adults are always telling them to stop. So, how do we go from loving running as kids to hating it as adults? According to Ilya Bass, one of the guests on I’d Rather Be Long-Distance Running, those timed runs in middle school gym classes are where things start to go south. Running starts to be about how far you can go, and how quickly. And unless you’re super competitive, where’s the fun in that?
Colin Turner, a fitness coach who helps adults learn to have fun with running, says, “Running's one of the few sports where there is no enemy. There's no team that you're against. Nobody has to lose, because we're all running against the clock. And the, the opponent is exhaustion, or mental doubt, or it's the training that you've put in.”
Colin breaks down three big myths about running:
Myth 1: Walking is Weakness
This myth likely also came from childhood gym classes, when the teacher would blow the whistle and yell, “NO WALKING!” And now, when many people go on runs, they’ll stop their watch or their fitness tracking app any time they take a walking break. But in reality, walking is an excellent way to build endurance and fitness. It uses the same muscle systems as running, but involves less impact, so it’s safer. And if you have an injury, walking is a great way to maintain aerobic fitness.
Professional marathoners and ultra marathoners even use a 4:1 technique, in which they run for four minutes and walk for one minute, because it’s as effective at building long-distance aerobic fitness than running without walking.
Walking also resets your nervous system and your brain’s connection with your muscles. When you run for 20-30 straight minutes, your body tends to go on auto-pilot, which means your form can get a little lazy. But if you take a walking break every five minutes, you’re creating a biofeedback loop and allowing your brain to get refreshed, and as a result, maintaining good form.
Myth 2: Your Running Cadence Should Get Higher the Faster You Go
Long strides are a recipe for injury when running. The easiest thing you can do to reduce the risk of stress fractures, shin splints, and knee pain is to increase your running cadence — elite runners average around 180 steps per minute. The more steps you take per minute, the better you’re managing gravity and the force of the ground pushing up through your legs. This reduces vertical oscillation, or the up and down pounding, that happens in each running stride.
And, your cadence should stay the same whether you’re running a fast pace or a slow pace, and while amateur runners tend to average 160 steps per minute, it’s ideal to work up to 180 steps per minute.
Myth 3: Stretch Before You Run
Study after study shows that the more stretching you do before a run, the higher your risk of injury. When you stretch a muscle by doing a static, prolonged stretch like touching your toes, you’re deactivating the muscle and teaching it to relax. Then, when you start running, that muscle is like an over-stretched mattress spring that is being strained with every step, leading to pulls or tears.
Research shows that you should activate your muscles before running, and this could be in the form of jumping jacks, squats, lunges, jump rope, or anything that gets your muscles warm and firing and your nervous system connected to the muscles. Spending around 5 minutes doing this activation is a great way to set yourself up for an injury-free run.
Start with a 20-minute 4 min Walk:1 min Run Workout
Colin recommends 4 minutes of walking, followed by one minute of running for around 20 minutes if you’re just getting into running. This will feel too easy, but it’s helping you build your endurance, and after a couple weeks, you can shift it to 3 minutes of walking, 2 minutes of running, then 2 minutes of walking, 3 minutes of running, and so on. Eventually, you’ll be able to do 10 minutes of running, 1 minute of walking over a few intervals and feel great.
For more guidance around a training plan like this, check out Colin’s 12-week running course at Turner Fitness Coaching.
