How to run a marathon - 2 - Safety first

Whether you wish to run on a regular basis, or go somewhat further and run a marathon, I will repeat the overriding principle that is most guaranteed to succeed. They are the same words with which I concluded my last entry on the subject: take it easy. Going too fast, or running long distances that you're not used to, can easily lead to injury. You need to be patient, and build up gradually. Patience, perseverance and discipline are the qualities of a successful distance runner. A good physique and natural talent are obviously extremely useful, but without the necessary mental qualities, physical qualities are simply not enough. On the other hand, you could possess an iron will and strong discipline, without being particularly gifted physically, and still become a reasonably good distance runner.

The approach I'm suggesting here is built on this method of cautious, gradual build-up. In the first week, we did our first easy runs of 10 minutes each, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, plus a slightly longer 15-minute run on Sunday. We have the beginning of the structure of a typical running week, with regular runs on weekdays and a longer run during the weekend. You could of course adapt the system to your own life schedule. Here I'm advocating an extra-cautious approach, that with the onset of middle age I've found particularly useful - a one day on, one day off system that allows my muscles to recover on rest days. Nowadays I typically run on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday plus a long run on Sunday. When I was younger I used to run everyday except Saturday. Then I added another rest day on Monday (to recover from Sunday's extra effort), until my present four runs per week. How many times you run per week is up to you, how you feel, and what you wish to achieve. But I do suggest at the very least one day off per week to allow your muscles and joints to recover.

During these first few weeks, the idea is to become used to the routine of running, to establish your preferred running routes, and to train your body to adapt to the rigours of running. If your aim is to lose weight, don't expect to achieve it at once. You will certainly lose weight eventually, but this takes time, at least four weeks, probably more. Remember, running is a long-term commitment, not a temporary whim. At my running club in Malta, St Patrick's Athletics Club, our slogan is "running is a way of life".

Patience, perseverance, discipline. These first few runs are your most crucial. If you manage to find the time, insist to go out for your run, and don't make up silly excuses to miss out, you will probably keep it up. In that case: congratulations, you may now consider yourself a runner. You won't regret it!

In the second week, you may repeat what you did on Sunday (a 15 minute run) on Tuesday and Wednesday. The following Friday and Sunday, you move up one notch to 20 minutes. Your first two weeks would therefore be something like this:

Week 1, starting on Monday - 10 min, rest, 10 min, rest, 10 min, rest, 15 min on Sunday.
Week 2 - rest, 15 min, 15 min, rest, 20 min, rest, 20 min.

I'll be away for a few days, so here's the third week thrown in for good measure. It's basically more of the same, building up more and more endurance, until we start considering speed training and eventually racing... Here's the third week, still doing simply running at an easy pace:
Week 3 - rest, 20 min, 20 min, rest, 30 min, rest, 30 min.

Safety first
I started today's piece by advocating caution. Caution is not only about training: it's also about safety. Unless you intend to do all your running on a track (which may tend to be boring), or in a park, you may need to do at least part of your running in streets. Even if you run mostly on the pedestrian pavement, you will often need to cross the street, or use some roads that do not have any pedestrian paths at all, and therefore share the road with motor traffic. Always keep in mind that car drivers are not expecting to encounter joggers on the road: so it's up to you to keep a watch out for cars. Never go out for a run in the dark wearing dark clothing. Wear yellow or white, but preferably a brightly coloured bib. It's generally a good idea to run against traffic, so that you can see the vehicles approaching you, but this is to be absolutely avoided at blind curves, because you would really be risking a bad accident that way: always run on the outside part of a curve in the road, to give drivers ample time to see you. And be extra careful when crossing the road!

Finally, as far as jogging or running on the road is concerned, unless drivers clearly and unambiguously stop to allow you to proceed, always give way to motor traffic. The road was built for motor traffic, not for joggers, and whatever the law may say, it's never a good idea at all to be hit by a car. It could mean the end of your running career, if not your life.