Lessons From The Road

I have been jogging since Dec 13th last year. That would be a little over 8 weeks now.
It has been interesting. During the early weeks, I Googled something I had seen asked by someone else on the Web: When does it get easier?
I identified with the askers. I was following a run/walk program and sometimes I was struggling through the run sections.
The answer was that it gets easier after something like 6 to 8 weeks.

When I worked my way up to running 8 minutes at a time, I was elated. I was actually a bit surprised as well, considering how I had been finding 5 minute runs difficult.

On Monday 7th Feb, I ran about 21 minutes and 30 seconds non-stop. I was very excited. I could actually run 20 minutes non-stop! This was one of the requirements in one of the training programs before training for a half-marathon so I considered it some sort of milestone.

I have learnt a few things from all this:
1) Gradual change does indeed add up. I actually moved from running 2 minutes at a time to 20 minutes, through gradual and regular increments.
2) A written plan is good. There are many free training programmes out there. I got and followed one. It felt good to cross out the days I had run and mark my time and distance. I am not sure I would have continued running if I did not have a definite programme I was following.
3) We need fans. I noticed with some amusement that whenever I was passing people, whether or not I knew them, I would try to run a bit faster or with a straighter posture. I guess we all want to look good to others. But maybe it’s just me. No wonder someone said that if you want to go faster, go alone, but if you want to go further, go with others.
4) Sometimes it indeed is mind over matter. Sometimes the reason I was eager to complete my run stretch and walk was simply that I was counting down to it. At the end of my runs, many times I was not feeling completely exhausted. I tried mental games but did not get far. If I had other things to occupy my mind, I could probably run longer before feeling the ‘need’ to stop.

I also learnt that there are very many products out there for runners – from fuel belts to energy gels to heart rate monitors. I wonder which of those are used by Kalenjin runners.