After listening to a sharing class by a group of fitness writers, senior runner Tie Ma Laoyan gave the eight-character motto at the beginning: proceed step by step and persevere. The half-hour sharing was mostly about basic knowledge, including what clothes to wear, when to run, basic running postures, running time, warm-up before running and stretching after running, etc.
I don’t know how many people have listened carefully. Some people may think that this knowledge is too basic and nothing new. But to me, Lao Yan’s sharing was sincere and practical, and his eight-character motto also touched me deeply.
Running seems very simple, and in fact it is the easiest exercise to start. All you need is a pair of running shoes to start running.
But while running, problems arise. In addition to the most basic content mentioned above, many people are also concerned about deeper professional equipment and running technical issues. They will also care about how much and how fast to run, when to complete the first full marathon, and when to show off. Out of their own constantly refreshed PB. Everyone who loves running will be exposed to these problems sooner or later, and they will be somewhat confused. Why do some people run several marathons soon after starting running? Some people can run faster and faster, while some people are easily injured. ?
I have been running outdoors regularly for almost two years. I always meet some classmates and friends who want to run and ask various questions. Many runners around me have also experienced various injuries and adjustments. As for me, I have been bothered by pain in the soles of my feet for more than half a year, and I still haven't recovered yet.
I have been reflecting seriously these days, and I also specifically asked Lao Yan for advice on the reasons and how to perform recovery exercises. After listening to Lao Yan’s sharing, I pondered over and over those seemingly simple and basic answers, and suddenly I came to an understanding. Step by step, it seems simple, but in practice it is very challenging.
——In the matter of running, patience is more important than simple perseverance and persistence.
Before you start running, you will find it too boring and difficult to persist. But once you get through the initial suffering period, form a habit, and start to enjoy the fun of running, you can run longer and longer distances. , getting faster and faster, entering the improvement period. The excitement will make you unconsciously compare with your friends, repeatedly check the monthly running volume, and feel excited about your constantly refreshing results. Although you sometimes feel tired, you want to round up the round number. , signing up for online and offline competitions, and competing in teams with friends will all make you unconsciously extend your running time and mileage.
What's more, there are always some legendary figures in the running group: those who have run from novice to marathon within a few months; the monthly running volume remains high and are always ranked first; the novices who have just started running, the speed It surpasses you... They can do it, why can't you?
I don’t have the patience to wait for my body to adapt, I don’t have the patience to study techniques and learn basic warm-up stretches, I don’t have the patience to be the person always at the back of the running group, I just want to run happily, I just want to experience The exhilarating feeling of constant progress.
But this is really dangerous.
In fact, there are also many people who blindly increase their running speed and mileage, only to have to stop due to injuries. Their enthusiasm at the beginning is dampened, and some people even quit the sport of running completely.
What is the hardest thing for a new runner? Many professionals and articles will tell you to slow down. Novices are most likely to run too much and too fast driven by their initial enthusiasm.
Everyone’s situation is different. Some people have no problem with their posture and have accumulated good physical strength when they start running. They may make big improvements in a short period of time. Such people are what we call potential. of that category. However, some people may not have good running posture in the past, or may have physical limitations or congenital conditions, so they are not suitable for adapting to higher-level sports in the short term. They need more patience to learn, train, and gradually improve.
For example, when I first started running, I felt that I had been running on a treadmill for several years, so my physical fitness should be fine. After joining the running group activities, I saw that the progress of my friends was so rapid. , and soon tried to run longer distances and increase speed. At that time, my subconscious mind was: Look, most of them run more and faster than me. I am already very cautious, and there will definitely be no problems. This improvement is considered slow, and I have to catch up.
In early May last year, I ran a long distance of 16 kilometers for the first time. In the following months, I basically ran a long distance every week. I basically run two and a half marathons every month. But during a half-marathon in September, I started to feel pain in the forefoot of my left foot, and it became more and more severe. It hurt even when I walked. I had to take a rest from October and significantly reduced my running volume. I didn’t dare to run long distances for several months. The speed has never been improved.
I know some people improve quickly, but the foundation is really important. Run away, the feet know. Step by step, from combining running and walking to extending the running time, the cumulative result will be that you can run longer in the years to come.
Another sign of patience is understanding the importance of taking time outside of running. Learn correct posture, learn to stretch, do enough warm-up and cool-down, and do core muscle training regularly. Over time, your body will naturally prepare to provide more stable support for your running.
At this point, I did very poorly. I basically never participated in a professional training camp or asked a coach to help me check my running form. I just read books and watched videos by myself, and did not discover my problems early.
In fact, in the running group, I am not considered a runner, nor am I a fast runner, but I am still injured. For this reason, I felt aggrieved at one point: How come it’s okay for others to run more than me, but not me? Probably every injured person has this mentality: Why is it me?
At that time, I didn’t understand that people are different. When I went to the hospital to check my feet, the doctor said that I didn’t have typical plantar fasciitis (my heel didn’t hurt, it was mainly the forefoot that hurt). , I can’t tell the cause of the pain, I just feel that my big toe bone is slightly valgus and the forefoot is thicker (I once had a corn on the forefoot of my left foot when I was in high school, and I had surgery to remove it, which may have had an impact). The doctor said that maybe your foot shape and walking habits are not suitable for running. There is no good treatment method, which is to run less and walk less. He also emphasized that not everyone is suitable for long-distance running, so don’t compete with your body.
But I still love running too much to stop just like that.
I read many specialized articles, asked some coaches, and running friends also helped me find a lot of information. I also prepared tennis balls, frozen water bottles, and bought professional muscle-effect patches.
I did spend a period of time doing recovery training at the beginning, but I didn’t stick to it very well. I kept thinking about it before doing it. I also felt that I might not have fasciitis anyway, so I used to treat plantar fascia. The methods for treating inflammation may not work, and I always think half-heartedly about running. As long as I feel slightly better, I always want to run. I am anxious and want to catch up with my friends as soon as possible, which makes me even more impatient to persist in doing the boring activities of turning my ankles, stepping on tennis balls, soaking my feet, and grabbing towels every day.
In the first half of this year, I gradually increased my running volume, from less than 80k per month to 140k in August. I still feel pain in the soles of my feet when running, but it will get better as I continue running. It can be better if you adjust your footing and focus. Until the last run in August, the weather was cool and I was in good condition. I started quickly and ran 10 kilometers under an hour again. It was almost a year later, so I was still very happy. But in fact, I felt pain in my feet when I ran in the middle, and the idea of ????running quickly made me ignore these signals and still did not slow down.
When I was stretching after running, I felt obvious pain in the sole of my foot. When I walked and raised my foot, it started to pull and hurt. The next day it was even painful to walk.
Sure enough, I didn’t recover well, I still acted too hastily. As a result, it is time to enter the recovery period again.
That is to say, for me, I should be patient and do some relaxation and recovery exercises on the soles of my feet, but I am still anxious to stand on the track and run decent results, without taking it seriously. Due to my own pain, I didn’t insist on doing foot exercises. The current situation is a reflection of the accumulation of pain.
In fact, I was lucky. I didn’t suffer from knee joint injuries or iliotibial band pain like some runners, and it took me a long time and a lot of energy to recover. But precisely because of this, I didn’t pay enough attention to it. No matter what kind of injury it is, it is necessary to restrain the urge to run and take enough time to recover and adjust. The most terrible thing is that if you don't pay attention to it for a long time, it will cause irreparable pain.
Haste makes waste, as is the case with anything. With a solid foundation and persistence, you will naturally achieve a leap from quantitative change to qualitative change.
For some lucky people, this process may be smooth and does not take long, but for most ordinary people, a short leap is really unreliable. Perseverance alone overcomes pain and persists until The end is not a wise move either.
It is not difficult to move forward. The difficult thing is to slow down and know when to persist and when to give up. The body's signals will be transmitted to you in various forms, and what you have to do is to listen patiently, distinguish and respond.
Life is so long. I don’t want to run for such a short time and then get injured because I want to run farther and faster. I don’t want to cause physical damage and be forced to stop just because I rush to run. If you want to run for a lifetime and grow old, you must start to understand the importance of gradual progress and recovery bit by bit.
To understand this, I am determined not to look at the running meter, no longer care about pace, pay more attention to running form, do more recovery training, and use today’s patience in exchange for a more enjoyable run tomorrow. .