I’ve run on and off for years now. I think I started in my early teens. Maybe younger. I joined an athletics club at around 11 and the girls there were quite fast! While I knew I would never be a sprinter because of my build, (and sheer impossibility of getting my legs to move faster!) I started quite liking long distance running. At 11, the 1500m race seemed to take forever. And I’m sure it did!
But now, running 1.5km (almost 1 mile) seems like a sprint around the block. I’m older and I guess more fit and able to take longer distances. I used to run about 3kms (1.8 mi) in my early teens. So it’s not really that far, but in terms of keeping up fitness it’s not too bad.
The only trouble is – running long distance takes up a lot of time. When you’re studying or working full time, time is of the essence. A lot of us can’t afford to go out and pound the pavement for an hour or two everyday. Say you travel an hour to work every day. That’s two hours gone. You’re at work for 8.5 ish hours. That’s 10.5 nearly 11 hours gone. You sleep for 6/7 ish hours. That’s 17/18 hours gone. That leaves 6 hours to do your own thing. And not even – because some of that is spent in the morning getting ready for work, and some is spent preparing and eating dinner. So you really only have 4 hours to do as you please. Who would waste half of it on running?
I know I wouldn’t as there are more things to life than running and eating. There are hobbies and other commitments. I wouldn’t spend half my free time running but I might spend a quarter or an eighth of it. In fact, I could possibly spend an eighth of my free time running – as effectively as using half of it. This is not about maths here – not completely – but in a quarter of the time, I can get the same intensity workout in 30 mins as I can in 2 hours.
It may sound like a rich claim – but I’ve done it. I learned a technique – and improved it – that allowed me to have more free time, yet still be able to workout and maintain fitness.
Come back next week for part two!
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