Bits of Wisdom Learned The Hard Way

By Jack Gray

It is not at all recommended that your most important lesson in running be learned this way. Frankly, most of us cannot expect to live long enough to make all of the mistakes ourselves. Even if you started before you were twenty you wouldn’t be able to do that. That is why it is imperative that you learn all you can from both the experiences and the mistakes of others. It also may allow you to apply your knowledge sooner and thus become a better runner quicker than they have done. It is true, of course, that some things make a deeper impression when they are learned by hard, and sometimes, painful, experience; but let me lay a few things on you, which you can check out more carefully for yourself.

1. GUARD YOUR RUNNING FORM CAREFULLY. It may not look like much compared to others; but it is uniquely yours. You can’t change it much even if you wanted to. It is just the way you run your best, yet when you become tired or discouraged you tend to lose that form. I call it “running tired”. Not running when you ARE tired (as most of us do often); but letting that tiredness dictate HOW you run.

When that begins to happen you need to correct it quickly, otherwise it will make you even more tired. Amazingly, as you pull yourself back into proper form, you will feel both stronger and run faster.

2. FORCE YOURSELF TO BREATHE DEEP. It is the only way to really get oxygen to your muscles. While shallow breathing comes mostly from being nervous, excited or anxious. Under these circumstances, the more you struggle the less deeply you breathe…and the pooper you breathe as a result. This becomes much like a person hyperventilating. They are breathing very rapidly, but it doing them very little good. If you will deliberately make yourself breathe deeper and slower, you will begin to feel the renewed strength in your legs very quickly.

3. GET YOUR HEAD UP AND SHOULDERS BACK. This is not just a way to look better running. It will also help your breathing. Get all the pressure you can off your diaphragm. Likewise, it will help in a number of ways by keeping your body weight over your foot strike.

4. RELAX AS MUCH AS YOU CAN DURING A RACE. Some tension and excitement may even give you an advantage. Being uptight the night before is to be expected; but during the race, focus on relaxing. Figure out where you are most prone to get tied into knots, and determine not to allow it to happen. Just a smile will relax your face…even if during a struggling run it may look more like a grimace. It is just self-evident that the more you relax, the smoother you will run; and the faster you will go.

5. BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU EAT. This applies especially to race day morning; but also to the night before. Naturally you have been told not to try to new things close to race time; but the truth is that a lot of the old things won’t work either. Even things that you eat regularly for training runs may set like a rock on your stomach the day of the big event. Being nervous and excited has tendency to shut down the digestive system. You must take this into account in making your choices. Then stay with what you know will work for you.

6. LET OTHERS FLOW PAST YOU EARLY IN A RACE. Very seldom are races won in the first half; but many are lost there. Don’t let anyone pull you out too soon. Stifle that urge to compete early. Your time will come soon enough. Having your competition out in front will even give you a better view of the field; and will only add to your joy of passing them later. So run your own race until the time is right to make your move.

7. COMPEL YOURSELF TO FINISH STRONG. Not just sometimes; but every time. When you are under pressure and when you are not. When you hear the competition coming and when you don’t. Just use up what you have left before the finish line. The key: if you fell you could run another hundred yards with any degree of comfort (like without passing out or throwing up), then you have not used it up! You will be surprised how many regrets this one thing may save you down the road. It is a mindset to develop.

There are lots of lessons out there. You can learn them through your own mistakes or you can learn them through mine. I only hope each one of them will come as quick and painless as possible. Just remember that any lesson learned in running is a victory in itself, and usually will be meaningful in other areas of your life as well.