One Stride at a Time by Camilla Bazley
Running, you either love it, or hate it.
You either think you can, or think you can’t. Well, let me tell you something.
You’re wrong. You actually CAN, it’s just the way you’re thinking…
Rewind 4 years and I would be puffing after 500m… I swear to you! I HATED running. I didn’t run. Plain and simple. I was carrying an extra 20kg, and I had talked the idea of hating running so much into my thought patterns that I was like a conservative right wing activist… but towards “anti-running”.
Me, running 5km was just impossible, laughable. Or so I thought….
Fast-forward 4 years, and I’m literally a “runner”, and completing my first ever marathon, in New York!
Running has become my favourite form of training, of therapy, and way to challenge myself like no other.
What changed you ask?
The way I looked at things. I decided to challenge myself outside my comfort zone. I started running with friends, just socially. Run to that pole, walk to the next, run to that café, and walk the rest. It then went from a social activity to a weekly training schedule. I took that mindset away to run, you just needed to get outside or on a treadmill and see how long you could go for.
Running is much for than that. And to get the best results, it’s important to factor in multiple styles of training including short speed sessions either on grass or track, long and slow aerobic based run for time or distance, and fart-lek based sessions which are based on speed variations over short distances or times. If you want to get started, join a run group, aim for 3 sessions per week that are running based, taking in to consideration the following rules and ideas:
- Speed and interval session ( 4-6 400m efforts with 90 seconds recovery in between).
- A long and slow run (run for 25 mins in one direction, no matter how far you have gone, at 25 mins turn around and run the same route back).
- Fart-lek session (3 x 1.2km run varying pace from jog to walk each 300m, or from a 60% pace to 75% pace each 300m.)
Remember that running holds a vast range of benefits, from weight loss, cardio endurance and stamina, muscular tone, and more importantly, a large impact on mental health disorders such as stress and anxiety.
Empower yourself, your mind, and your body.
Running is one of the most liberating physical acts you can achieve. The opportunities are endless, and the benefits far out way any excuse you could ever tell yourself as to WHY it’s seemingly “impossible.
Make impossible, possible. Change your mind, and change your life!
Camilla.
Interested in Joining Camilla and Ben Lucas in the Flow City2Surf squad? CLICK HERE for more info. YOU CAN DO IT.