So You Want to Be a Runner?

I have a couple of friends who were looking to get into running before the pandemic started. They had struggled getting that first bit of distance: the 5k. Having gone through the same struggles, I was planning to get them out together to help them along.

Of course, there’s no going out together now. But running being a great way to get some time outside during a lockdown, I figured the advice I was going to share with them might be better shared here for anyone who might want to give running a go.

When I first started running, I had a very hard time lasting for any distance. I would set out to run and become winded usually around ten or 15 minutes in and end up walking around for ten minutes trying to catch my breath before going home. Like some friends who had the same problem, I started running for a fixed time instead of trying to achieve distance, which didn’t really lead to any improvement. Months went by and I was still running about the same distance in the same time and never getting more comfortable in that time.

What I was missing was pacing of course. But even knowing this, it can be hard to go out for a run and put it to practice. However, if you learn how to pace yourself on a 5k, I’ve found it’s very easy to adjust those same techniques to longer distances as well. Let me say here that I am no marathon runner--the longest runs I get in are around 10k--and I don’t run some incredible speed (I do a 5k in about 25 minutes on average), so I’m not the person to teach you how to become a great runner. But I think I can help you to become a runner. Greatness will have to be with someone else.

First, make sure you have the right gear. You don’t need to spend a lot, but have comfortable running shoes that you wear for running. If they’re your everyday sneakers, they’re probably too worn out by now and you can really hurt your feet. If you’re like me and you have wide feet, it’s really important to have the right shoes. I can’t wear Nike, Adidas, or Puma at all, even for walking. Mizuno and New Balance are my only options, and they’re great. Other than the shoes, dress cool enough that you won’t be roasting once you heat up, and that you won’t freeze if you run out of gas and need to walk home (as you probably will a few times at least). In winter, I wear Heattech leggings and shorts, a t-shirt, and a thin jacket. I think something like this in early spring can work for a beginner. If you think you might freeze with that, get a track suit, but I’d avoid sweats. In short, you should be cold when you leave the house, you’ll warm up quick once you start moving.

Next, map your run. Don’t go out running around looking at your smartphone to see how much longer you have and meander about until you hit your distance. If you have a map you’ll not only have a sense of how much further you have, but you can run that route every week, helping you improve your pace. On The Go Map (https://onthegomap.com/#/create) is great for this. Put together a route for yourself that will get you out the door and give you a little distance to walk home to cool down (about a 5 minute walk) . Another benefit of doing this, is that you can leave your phone at home. I find running with just my keys and a wristwatch is a great way to unplug.

Now the most important part: keep running. I don’t mean daily or weekly (though get that worked out too) but when you start running, don’t stop until you’ve completed your 5k. Before you think I’m a sadist, the next important part here: run slowly. This was what killed me on all my early runs. I would start running like I was chasing a bus and wind up wheezing and walking in circles to stop from cramping up. When you are going on your first run, imagine someone is holding a door for you a couple feet away, give it that courtesy, shake-a-leg run. If you have to go slower, go slower. Don’t worry about your time, just get the distance in. The only thing is don’t fall into a walk. Of course, when you’re starting you will fall into a walk at times, but there’s ways through that, too.

When you do get winded (and you will) what I find works is to decide on a point ahead where you’ll allow yourself to walk. Say, “When I pass that tree I can walk,” then see if when you make it to that tree if you can’t keep it going a bit more with another point further on. There will be times where you can’t of course, but eventually if you keep trying, you’ll break through that wall and find your energy returning. Honestly, it was running in my 30s that I found out what a second wind really is. If you’ve never experienced it, it’s incredible. I hope you find it out there.

And that’s really all you need. Once you get that full 5k in without walking, start keeping track of your time. Try to maintain your time until you feel you can start pushing it then try to shave a few minutes from it. And if you want to go for longer distances, map one out and start over: again, don’t think time until the distance becomes doable.

Well, hope this was helpful. and gives you something to fill in the days of social distancing. On the plus, running alone (especially when starting) is the best way to get better. Oh, and if you’re starting out and you’re a bit older (like me), try once or twice a week until you get your body used to running. Good luck out there!

A View from Japan

These are strange times for all of us, but there is a particular surreal quality to it for those of us living in Japan who have another home elsewhere. Here we have been watching Covid-19 wreck havoc on much of the world, while we stand here stunned, largely unscathed. What gives?

Up until very recently, I’d say it was the Japanese showing once again how well they can work for the common good with only a light suggestion from the government. Yes, Japan did close schools 2 weeks early for spring break, and was among the first nations to limit visitors from abroad, but other than these measures, domestically there were only suggestions that people avoid crowds, that large events be cancelled, and it happened. Local events and stadium concerts were canceled immediately. The city I live in, Osaka, was like a ghost town. For two weeks. Just as the news sank in that we had been spared by our restraint, people let their guard down. As my family and I have seen the crowds return to the stores and parks, we’ve retreated more.

It feels like that the same communal thinking that allows Japan to rise to the occasion in moments of crisis also can lead it to return to normal when they see enough people outside having fun. The government, in my opinion, is trying to encourage people to go back to what we had been doing—a kind of self-isolation lite—to avoid panic and to avoid the economy tanking completely, but all to no avail.

As new cases of Covid-19 skyrocket in Tokyo, many think a lock down of that city is imminent, with Osaka soon following. It’s a shame that we couldn’t sustain this without the state stepping in. But now that we need the state their reluctance to act has gone from a steady hand in this crisis to hand-wringing indecision. 




So I Pretty Much Quit Facebook

(Again, like the last post from so long ago, sorry for not keeping up with this blog. I have been writing more and more this winter, but it's been a lot of work requiring editing and aimed for publication elsewhere. Still, I hope to get to this blog more regularly. I really enjoy just letting a post fly here and there. So, please, keep an eye on this page.)

Well, obviously (if you are linking to this from Facebook) "quit" is a bit of an exaggeration. But I have been going to the site a lot less and really slowed down how much interaction I have there. It's been good and bad. More than that though, I've found it interesting to see how the mode of interacting with people on social media feels as I've limited it.

The whole thing reminds me of when I gave up having a smartphone from around 2013 through 2018. I still kept my old iPhone handy to use when I had wifi, but usually the process of logging into free wifi was enough to keep me from needlessly surfing. I remember what it was like to see the people around me in this new light. When you're not staring down at your phone all the time it feels like everyone else is. And most people are, but surely, like a smoker trying to quit, I would see the people indulging more than those not.

Anyway, it's been almost a year since I've been trying to slow down my use of social media--Facebook really being the only form I really used. In that time I went from checking the site several times a day and having several ongoing conversations in comments (probably what I miss most, actually), and posting regularly to now looking at my feed and notifications once or twice a week.

One thing I know I'm missing out on is the immediacy sites like Facebook create. I feel like when I do look at Facebook I'm walking into a conversation at a party that I can't find a way into. And there still is that urge to hop in (and I do occasionally), but I know it will mean more time clicking away, so I usually smile and nod and make like I'm heading for the kitchen.

But it is really great to feel that you can catch a glimpse of the people you know throughout the day that adds something when you do see them. Or maybe it's that the platform, when not used, takes something away. When I do see friends now, I feel like many of us have gotten into the habit of not talking about things we've already shared on social media. I mean, why tell you about my ski trip or this cool restaurant I found if I already got a hundred likes for it; you must have seen it, right?

On the plus side though, I've stopped thinking in posts. I think a lot of what I used to share with people especially when it came to matters of opinion was usually--to use the term of the day--tribal. I don't mean this so much in the opinion itself, but in the wording of what I would share. As much as I think I was writing things to share my thoughts directly (and I hope I did more often than not) I realize now that often the promise of potential likes from my camp must have shaped the voice I gave to those ideas. Because, come on, who doesn't like likes.

Speaking of likes, that's something else I've thought a lot about recently. When I try to just slip through Facebook quickly and then wind up liking some post, I feel that I should start liking every post. It's like I gave one friend a cookie and then I realized I have hundreds of other friends and an endless supply of cookies, and everyone saw me give that one friend a cookie. (Funny that a cookie was the first image that came to mind, since all these likes definitely help shape an understanding of who we are for the advertisers and whomever else buys our data.) So now I'm trying to not "like" anything either. Sorry, I'm keeping these cookies.

As for the world outside of Facebook, I find I'm much more in the moment. Just as I don't think in posts anymore, I also don't take photos to post. Of course I still take a ton of photos (I have a soon-to-be-one-year-old at home) but I'm not trying to create something to share with the public, nor do I stop after taking a photo to think of a witty line or two to go with it and then go looking for who has seen it and commented on it. This is not to say that doing so is intrinsically bad (I used to really enjoy it and very well could again) but I find the time I would put into just accumulated to a point that I was living more on social media than I would like compared to living off it.

Well, speaking of living off screen, I'm going to wrap this up here. Hope this doesn't come off like a holy-than-thou or fuck-Facebook rant. I do miss some aspects of hanging around on Facebook, much the same way I miss some aspects of playing video games, and I see nothing wrong with doing something you enjoy if you don't find it gets in the way of what you want your life to be. (As, in the end, Facebook and gaming became fun ways of not doing what I most wanted to do.) I just thought some people out there might find these observations interesting. Feel free to email or message anytime. Or, next time you see me in the world, let's talk!