Distance running, my story.

Then it has to be a word I used that is flagging it...

:mad:

So, I have tried everything, I posted each paragraph individually and some of them would post, while others showed up invisible... I changed wording in the invisible paragraphs in case I flagged some stupid filter.... Nothing. I can not get this story to post... Why does MFP hate me right now?

Sorry for the duplicate topic. The first time I posted it the webberspace ate it and no one could see the text. Hope this one works...


I just finished responding to a friend of mine on a discussion about the challenges in building distance into your run. I wanted to post it here in cast it helps someone. This is my success story and may not apply to you.

I promise you that what I have accomplished is absolutely achievable for you. About a year and a half ago I got put on FEP (military "Fitness Enhancement Program, basically a fat boy program) because I couldn't do sit ups. My core strength was horrible. 42 sit ups and I was spent. Pushups were in the 50's range and run? I couldn't even run half a mile without my back giving out and my legs cramping. In January I was 265 pounds and not doing any better. I hadn't ran in about 2 and a half to 3 years. January 1st I decided to start with a diet to get some weight off so cardio would be less of an impact on my joints and heart. I lost 34 pounds and slowed down to about half a pound a week. One day I came to work and felt energetic and had alot of spunk so I decided to run. I set out on my course and just told myself that no matter how far I went I couldn't stop till I got back to where I started. I didn't run on a track or anything cause then it would be to easy to stop. I ran a course that if I stopped I would be about a mile+ from walking back, thus kind of eliminating the choice to stop. I ran a total of 4 miles that day. I hadn't ran that far EVER in my life in one stretch. The next day though I was sore and miserable and it reminded me of why I hadn't ran in the past 3 years. But instead of giving up I thought maybe I just need a supplement to help recovery from the run since it was so traumatic to my body. So I did some research and decided to try a protein and amino acid supplement (amino acids because my tendons were specifically what was hurting me). I ended up choosing "Optimum Nutrition: Recovery 2:1:1 Mucho Mango". Now I knew I could run the distance as long as my mind was focused. What this step did for me was eliminate the painful recovery time that the following day brought. This did wonders for my motivation. I could run 4 miles, then the next day feel like I never even ran the day before. That fact made it possible to focus my mind on the next element... Doing it more than one day in a row.

So my next challenge came in that I was finding that the first 1/4 to half a mile I was always struggling to get my breathing and pace down. Once I would get past that point everything would sync and I could go for what felt like forever. So I did some more research and found another supplement that would help me conquer that hurdle. I found a NO supplement that would open up my vascular system and get blood flow to the muscles faster. This happens normally but it takes a bit of cardio for your body to adjust. So I was able to start my run with blood flow I would normally have after about 1/4 mile. This made it possible for me to sync up immediately and focus solely on planting my feet in front of me and enjoying the peace that the road ahead of me presented.

The point of this story is not to promote taking things to enhance your performance, but to demonstrate the hurdles I faced and the methods I took to conquer them. You may not have the same issues but running long distances will require you eliminate the roadblocks that conquer your motivation. In my case it was the first half mile and the day after a run. If you have similar issues then perhaps you should consider a similar approach.

I guarantee that if I was able to get to this point (which is really not that significant, there are people who run 20+ miles at a time with no problems... in fact Dean Karnazes has ran 200 mile relay solo, against teams of twelve and also ran a 350 mile run.) that you can get there too if not surpass me. All it takes is the proper approach. It’s not something that you will likely accomplish though if you don't seek out advice and tips to get past the initial hurdles.

Still a blank topic?