“So you must pace yourself so close to what you can run.”
- Jeff Galloway, former Olympian athlete
- Jeff Galloway, former Olympian athlete
Montfort Secondary, 1996 -1999
By Sec 2, I have had enough with my continual under-performance at the 2.4Ks. After slamming into the wall for too many times, I decided to take a new approach to running.
The method is orthodox, but nevertheless effective. In 1992, my Primary 4 P.E teacher, Miss Alicia Gomez, dispensed a vital tip on running smart. Basically for someone who is new to running, he needs to start off slow, mostly at jogging pace so that the untrained heart and lungs will not be exerted beyond physical means. Humbling as it may be in the beginning, it helps to conserve vital energies and steadily warms up the body systems.
When the runner jogs a considerable distance, he can carefully increase to a comfortable pace without significant compromise on performance.
That's at least the bits and pieces of Miss Gomez's running wisdom I could still recall.
On one particular morning, another 2.4K started and many of my classmates toed off to a fast start. While I would normally try to follow pace with whoever I think I can run along with, I decided to do a very slow jog which I handled with ease. One by one, friends zoomed past but I remained committed to my present pace, learning from experience what fast start-offs can do to you.
About 5 minutes or so, I got a little tired. At this point, I deliberately slowed down and walked for a few minutes before breaking off into another jog. This process was repeated throughout the route so that I did not find myself easily out of breath. I also overtook some runners along the way.
When I finally reached end point, I managed to shave about 2 to 3 minutes off my previous (dismal) record. And I was no longer the last 2. Though I can't remember much details of that day, I probably might have beat 1 or 2 more guys to the finish; it didn't matter anyway.
I was beginning to improve.
Little did I know how this tiny spark of success would one day lead to blisters, black toe nails and burnouts suffered in an intensive 8 months of marathon training.
On one particular morning, another 2.4K started and many of my classmates toed off to a fast start. While I would normally try to follow pace with whoever I think I can run along with, I decided to do a very slow jog which I handled with ease. One by one, friends zoomed past but I remained committed to my present pace, learning from experience what fast start-offs can do to you.
About 5 minutes or so, I got a little tired. At this point, I deliberately slowed down and walked for a few minutes before breaking off into another jog. This process was repeated throughout the route so that I did not find myself easily out of breath. I also overtook some runners along the way.
When I finally reached end point, I managed to shave about 2 to 3 minutes off my previous (dismal) record. And I was no longer the last 2. Though I can't remember much details of that day, I probably might have beat 1 or 2 more guys to the finish; it didn't matter anyway.
I was beginning to improve.
Little did I know how this tiny spark of success would one day lead to blisters, black toe nails and burnouts suffered in an intensive 8 months of marathon training.
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