— Are you one of those drivers who can change lanes while eating a taco, reading the paper, tuning the radio and talking or texting on a cell phone? I hope not, but you know we share the road with multi-taskers. The combination of technology from cell phones to automatic transmissions makes it possible, if dangerous, to do two or more things at once.
— But a lifestyle that is so demanding of every second of our time cannot be healthy for body or mind. And it’s probably not healthy for pedestrians or other drivers on the road either.
— It’s only a matter of time before we’ll be in a footrace with someone who seems to be talking to himself. It will be Bluetooth and he’ll be calling friends to brag about his running pace or perhaps telling his broker to buy Nike or New Balance stock. He could even be talking to another runner on the same course. It’s OK. None of the rest of us wanted to talk to him (or her) anyway so he’ll hear no complaints.
— Some runners have to multi-task to get time for a run. If it’s the only way they can find the time, or if they need the distraction while they run that’s their business, not mine. Still, I have to wonder if they are getting the full benefit from the effort.
— I was once the Mayor of a small town. There were constant phone calls. Surprisingly, few to none of them were glowing reports or compliments on my performance. As part time Mayor and a full time firefighter, a ringing telephone could mean only one thing: problem! To this day, even in my retirement, I shy away from answering the phone and I can guarantee you will never see me running with a phone plugged into my ear.
— One of the best reasons for a run (for me) is the escape, the change of pace or for a time-out. And for me, more than anything, the best reason is solitude. Time away from the house. Time away from the phone! Time away from anything that distracts me from thinking about….whatever I want to think about.
— Running is respite from everyday stress and stress from unusual and critical situations that we encounter in our lives. A tired and warmed up body can relax and truly rest. And what could be more important to someone living a high stress lifestyle than a good night’s sleep? But wait! Do they take that thing out of their ear when they go to bed?

I’ve written about running the first mile, how hard it is for most of us to transition our bodies to running mode, warming up the muscles and getting the heart and lungs up to speed. Unless running is much easier for you than me, I have suggested that the first mile be run at an easy pace, until your body is ramped up to your training or race pace.
But what about mile 2, or 5 or 10? What keeps you going when your body is saying “enough”? Or when you feel like you are running in overshoes? Many times during a run I have asked myself the question, “Is it worth it?”
Since I have been answering that question for almost forty years, I must be convinced that running is indeed worth it. But often I still need to motivate myself. Once in a while, it takes a trick. After all, at this point it is a mental game, so why not use any mental trick that, well, does the trick. Here are some of mine:
I look forward to a nice cool down walk for one. Or I just dwell on a reward at the end of my run. Sometimes I think about how I will feel after a long shower and a nice relaxed dinner with my family. Should I be gloating about dessert tonight? I am out here earning it, for goodness sake!

Harvey Mackay, who wrote “Swimming with Sharks” motivates himself by asking the question, “Would I do this for 10 thousand dollars?” It clarifies the value of the effort. That number works for me too. Nobody is offering us (or Mackay) that much to run, but if they were, wouldn’t it be easier?

But here’s one I can share with those who are old enough to remember classic movies. In John Ford’s 1939 film “Drums Along The Mohawk” starring Claudette Colbert and Henry Fonda, someone has to get out of the besieged fort, through the French and Indian lines to reach the British army for help.
After the first attempt fails, Henry Fonda volunteers to give it a try. There follows a classic cross country run in which he is chased by three warriors who want to end his mission and take his scalp. In the hot sun, one by one his pursuers drop off exhausted and Henry gets through! He saves the fort!

When I start losing interest in my run, or when my body is telling me to slow down, I think about my pursuers. What will happen if they catch me? What will happen to my wife and friends at the fort? What will happen to my scalp? Then I can get just a little more from my legs and lungs. But that’s just me. Maybe mind games work better on me!
You’re welcome to give it a try when your run starts to drag. Go on! Try harder! Save the Fort!

The crabby old runner is participating in a wear test for a National Brand of running shoes. I am not sure the company would want their wear test program to be identified with my blog. Truth is I have run in the National Brand shoes for a number of years.

The purpose of the test is to check fit, comfort and durability, all the things we care about when we are making an investment in shoes. And all the things we care about when we are taking a chance on comfort and utility in a purchase that, generally, we have to live with for several months.

 I seem to need more room in the toe box than most and the ready availability of 4E widths in this National Brand ensures a good fit for me. With some manufacturers it seems to be hit or miss when it comes to extra wide. And I am not usually impressed by claims for “new” features that seem to come not from testing or engineering, but from the marketing departments.  

The test shoes seem to be a good solid design. I’ve reached about the 90 mile mark on the pair. That’s too early for me to tell about durability, but I suppose technicians at the company will be able to make some assumptions when I complete the test form and return the product later this month.

So far, they are like the shoes I want to wear and buy. I hope that helps them decide to market them.

Take your pick. On any long run I seem to do some of each.

Today I ran a hard 10 miles. I started slow, it didn’t seem like I would ever be able to pick it up. I was slogging, ready to cut it short by mile 5.

I had run like the wind on my previous run and maybe I was paying for that, or for some heavy yard work I’ve been doing.

I pushed on. My training mantra is “make a promise, keep a promise” At about mile 8 I started warming up . I actually started to feel like a runner.

Lesson learned, even after 40 years of running! Ancient bodies ask for patience. Sometimes the warm-up takes most of the run.

“You’ll never run another Marathon!” The cardiologist had just saved my life with emergency angioplasty. Then he added, “Maybe some 10k’s, but not a Marathon. Running didn’t hurt your heart, but it didn’t help it either!” I was a mere 55 years old and had recently completed my 6^th Marathon.

I was too sick to understand and I’m not the kind of person who pays good money for medical advice and then ignores it. But now I have to disagree. A 99% blockage of the LAD, the main coronary artery caused 5% damage to my heart. I am convinced that the damage would have been much more severe if I had not been in great shape. Without my years of running, I would have spent the rest of my life on the porch, in a rocking chair, watching the world run by.

Oddly, while I was still in the hospital they started me on rehab. Wait a minute! I can still work out? Exercise? Even after a major heart attack? In my mind, something did not compute. The following summer I ran a half-marathon. The next year, and each year since, I ran a Marathon. Twelve Marathons after I was told I would never run another!

So I became the Crabby Old Runner. “Don’t tell me what I can or can’t do!”

Do you suppose the first mile keeps millions of people from running? Getting started in the sport is hard enough, but that first mile is the most grueling of any run. It would not surprise me if a lot of would-be runners were too discouraged to try again. Instead they claimed their knees were too bad, their feet were too flat or they just couldn’t find the time.

Long ago I learned that, for my body, the first mile was going to be the most difficult of the run. Knowing that the pain would ease after eight or ten minutes of running made it easier to keep going.

Even with stretching and a little warm-up in place, the effort required by running is a change for your body. Legs and lungs and the heart don’t just transition to running mode because you laced up your shoes. The muscles need time to adjust to a higher activity level. And I can say from experience, old muscles need more warming up to perform at a high or even medium level. In fact, at any level!

Old or young, I believe the best way to start a run is to do the first mile at an easy pace.

It takes discipline. After all, you are fresh. You should feel your best so you have to force yourself to take it easy.

But starting slow will pay off in better overall times, better training, less shock to the system and fewer injuries. Most running injuries are muscles strains. Overused? Yes, but sometimes just badly used without stretching and without a good warm-up. Misguided runners think that better training or race times come from going out fast. Not so!  Better running happens when runners understand their body and learn to work within its limitations. Start easy!