Phedippidations

We all understand the concept behind the phrase “no pain, no gain‿. As runners, we can accept some level of aches and injuries for our efforts on the road; but we must not invite pain as an expected and acceptable consequence for hard training…we must prepare our bodies for the pressure and force that we’ll put upon it by taking preventative measures that will help us to run without the hurt.

Junk miles and recovery runs are important elements of a good training program as they can help you run faster and longer. They allow you to enjoy slow easy runs while your body is healing from the stress forced upon it in the hours before you hit the road and they allow you to reach some whole number goal of daily or weekly mileage to appease the guilt you might carry for running below a self made threshold of distance that you consider significant and a source of pride.

As runners, our intent in a race is to meet and exceed our goals by moving as fast as possible towards the finish…but while the motion of running is always going to be our primary method of locomotion, you should not ignore the benefits of incorporating walk breaks as a means towards finishing fast and strong, as well as to ensure a faster recovery.

When you get to an age where the world tells you that you’re quote “old‿, when society begins to classify you as a “senior‿ and treats you with the respect that the elderly deserve: don’t reject the kindness or attention; but neither should you “act your age‿. If you are a runner, training and taking part in a road races: then you are NOT old.

You owe it to yourself, and to the rest of the running community, to start writing a blog, or producing a podcast. Write about your thoughts, your opinions and share your rambling diatribes…because at some point you’re going to write or record something that will touch another fellow runner, somewhere in this world, in such as way that it will have an important and positive influence in their life.

This year, the Phedippidations World Wide Half marathon will take place on the third planet from the sun, 26,000 light-years from the galactic center.  It’s a tiny blue bubble of life swarming with fellow runners who will be thinking of this global community while running on their local portion of the planet.  As we travel around the globe, or look to imagine those places where our fellow runners take to the roads and paths, we should consider that at only 25,000 miles in circumference the Earth really is a small, small world.

The embarrassing things that can happen to our bodies may not be a good topic of conversation at a dinner party, but they are all a part of our human condition, and need to be understood and dealt with as we push ourselves past our physical limits, on the road.

Jesse Owens represented the United States in the 1936 Olympic Games, held in Berlin.  It was here that he showed the world that human beings are endowed with unalienable rights, as well as incredible talent.  Jesse proved that ethnicity and skin color were meaningless and that all men are truly created equal.

Let’s talk about what Phedippidations is, what I believe in, whether I am delusional, what running means to me, and what this podcast means to me.  These are the thoughts that go through my head during a long run in the back country roads where these Phedippidations are born. Thoughts, opinions, observations and rambling diatribes are all composed while we’re out on these long distance runs across the planets surface.

You need to experiment with what you use to fuel yourself before, during and after a marathon.  It is as important as stretching, and following your training schedule as you prepare your body for the miles you have before you.

These rules of running etiquette are common sense items that most runners follow without much thought.  They can all fit under the single heading of “being respectful of our fellow runners‿ whether we’re out training, in a race, or just getting a few miles in with friends.  It really comes down to that ol’ phrase “Do unto others as you as you would have done unto you‿.

Monitoring the rate at which your heart pumps blood around your body is one way to measure your cardiac fitness, but having a feel for your body’s perceived exertion is just as important.  A heart rate monitor device may give you some useful information you can use to help improve your running performance.

Just as it is with any recipe, the one that will comprise your existence as a distance runner will be varied and unique. But just as you require eggs for an omelet, flour for cake and potatoes for making French fries…you will have basic ingredients required of you as you re-create yourself into an endurance athlete.

The stories about a runner’s first marathon are filled with emotion,well deserved pride, and a sense of satisfied accomplishment.  You will hear  how they set themselves a seemingly impossible goal that,through hard work, persistence, and an indomitable spirit they were able to achieve.  These are changed people who have come to understand that nothing is impossible if they have the desire and dedication to run, quite literally, towards their goal.

There are 20,348 stories, from 20,348 runners who ran the 111th Boston Marathon this year, and each one is special, unique, inspirational, entertaining, and worthy of your interest.  In this episode we hear from a few of our fellow runners, who ran 26.2 miles in a New England Nor’Easter.