What I learned after tracking 1000 KM on Runkeeper
Always Wanted to Start Running? This is for you!
For a part of my teenage, my BMI always indicated I was overweight; although I was never the typical fat guy. My effort was to stay as fit as possible but it never worked until I started running. I have recently lost 18 pounds through running and following a proper diet plan. I am still not the super fit guy, but being a regular runner makes me feel great about myself and it has become one of my favorite activities.
Running has become an activity that can fit into any of my moods: feeling stressed — run, happy — run, sad — run, anxious — Run. The only thing that has been constant for me for the past 2 years is running. I have run in chilling nights, under hot sun, in rain, on deserted roads, in traffic; and almost anywhere I got a chance. I have tracked over 1000 km on the Runkeeper app in the last 2 years. That’s in no way an achievement but surely a small personal milestone.
What I have learned about running is that it works in certain stages
A typical 5 km Run may involve the following stages**
0 km–1 km The most difficult part, body applies the greatest resistance in this stage because you are breaking the inertia, increasing your heart rate and getting yourself into motion. Most people will stop within this stage feeling that their body cannot handle more.
1 km–2 km If you are able to cross the 0 km–1 km stage you realize that your body is warmed up and the resistance you were experiencing was a mental barrier. You start to feel the flow and are now more comfortable within your run. Towards the end of this stage you are likely to feel the resistance again. You may choose to stop when you feel the resistance but if you push yourself mentally you can cross the barrier.
2 km–4 km If you have crossed the second resistance barrier and still running, welcome to the third stage. Getting through this stage will depend on how you run, your technique starts to come into picture. You may either face resistance in your legs or hands or a little pain in your chest. Your breathing may start to become inconsistent. You may not be able to cross this stage the first time you land here but with practice and gradual improvements your mind will get conditioned to break the barrier. Don’t worry too much about the technique if you are a beginner. Your body will self learn it (I will share a short blog to give you a head-start on technique). Its difficult to cross this stage if you are running after a long time and you should not push too much if you are not in the flow.
4 km–5 km If you feel a lot of resistance you should not push too much. Try to condition your body before your first 5 KM milestone. For a beginner the first 5 km Run is always great and your mind knows that. If you have got any energy left by this time you will want to push your limits and achieve this personal milestone. Your mind and body will align and you will experience the free flow.
After I completed any of my milestone runs, it was a natural high kind of state for me and that keeps me pushing for more.
My first Milestone Runs 🤗
A simple strategy to begin with
Music is always great for running but there is something I tried for a couple of months and it worked really very well for me. I use an App called Blinkist, it provides you one free book summary everyday. I started listen to the audio version of the book while running. Listening to an interesting book diverted my mind from the initial resistance and by the time the book was over my body was already in flow. It really helped me to break the initial barrier and made running easy for me. You can try this method too but make sure you are interested in the book. If the genre of the book is not interesting to you, I would recommend not to try this and rather stick to music.
Tracking your Run
If you are “once in a blue moon” kind of runner, you may not need to track your runs. But if you want to do run regularly, I would say there is nothing more important than tracking it. You will exactly know your pace, rhythm and when you face resistance. You will be able to see yourself improving and that will motivate you for more. It will help you understand your body and how it performs in a particular situation. Some days you will be stressful, some days you will have high energy and some days you will feel lethargic. You will know what are your limits in each situation. Over time, this data will become very important to you.
Let’s Run Together
If you are in Delhi NCR Let’s catch up for a weekend Run or an upcoming Marathon. Mail me on vikram@hapramp.com
**This is not the case with everyone but it’s very likely for a beginner or a semi professional non athletic runner. Professional Runners play in an altogether different space.
