Companionship keeps me going
It's now just 44 days til the Snowdonia Marathon which Independent Board Director Steve Corton is running to raise funds for Agewell. Read how he is getting on in his latest blog...
Back in January, when I contemplated starting to run again after a break of nearly 20 years, two things quickly became very clear to me. The first was that I had to re-learn completely how to run again. The second was how complex and confusing the simple act of putting one foot in front of another had become!
It’s not just that I’m two decades older - although this has its challenges. I now need to spend nearly as much time stretching, warming up, and winding down as the run itself takes. I’ve also needed an appropriate training plan which reduces the risk of injury and strengthens my personal areas of weakness. Plus, recovering from any training run takes a lot longer than it used to – measured in days rather than hours!
But in addition to all this, the running world has changed massively. I found myself venturing into a hi-tech market, which purports to use the latest scientific research to offer even the casual runner something called ‘marginal gains’. These are small benefits which are meant to add up to give you the extra edge in stamina, speed, endurance, and overall performance. They’re achieved by making improvements in what you wear, what you drink, what you eat, how you train, and how you rest.
New running shoes,for example, all now seem to come with densely written little glossy booklets attached to the laces (so you can’t try them on without reading up on the science first). Invariably, these are in very small print and with tiny graphs and tables explaining how they have the ‘latest foam technology’, ‘mid-sole balancing’ and‘compression durability’. All this techno-gobbledeygookreally left me scratching my head and wondering if it might just be easier to use my trusty old threadbare trainersin the loft.
For wannabe marathon runners there’s a huge industry dedicated to keeping you hydrated and nourished before, during and after your training runs. There’s isotonic drinks, protein shakes, energy gels, energy barsand even full hydration systems inside special back-packs with bottles and tubes attached. I used to get by with jelly babies and a bottle of water!
And there are the various gizmos and gadgets you can wear, especially the running ‘watches’ which are far more sophisticated than the stopwatch I had back in the day. They have GPS tracking using satellite technology, heart rate monitors, pre-loaded training schedules and races - all of which can be downloaded wirelessly to analyse every aspect of how you ran. I used to make do with a map and a Timex.
I’m not grumbling. These advances are fantastic and offer runners all sorts of insight into how your training is going and if it’s working the way it’s meant to. I wish these resources had been around 20 years ago. But trying to sift out the substance from the snake oil is bewildering. I needed help. And so I joined a local running club in Brierley Hill.
The Sweatshop Running Community (SRC) meets twice a week for the shared love of running. And it costs nothing to join. The brilliant support and encouragement I’ve had from fellow runners there hasreally kept me going. Through the dark cold winter training runs,through the slumps of demotivation and niggling injuries, and through the maze of products and remedies where I’ve benefited from the knowledge of experienced runners.
Most of all I’ve valued the companionship of others during my training runs. Though I love it, running long distances can be lonely, physically painful, and mentally gruelling. Sharing it with someone can help make it more manageable and more enjoyable, even when in our mutual breathlessness, few words are shared!
If you’re inspired to get running, give SweatShop a call on 0344 332 5671, visit their website at www.sweatshop.com/brierleyhill-store-0671 or check out their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/sweatshopbrierleyhill
Steve is pictured above right in the chef’s outfit, taking part in Sweatshop Running Community’s annual fancy dress 5k run in September. All the proceeds were split between Agewell and Birmingham Children's Hospital.
>Click here to read Steve's first blog explaining how it all started ....
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