Penguin Training Tips: Part One
Famed running aficionado John “The Penguin” Bingham has twenty tips for happy training. In part-one, The Penguin outlines the first five tips to get you on the road to more enjoyable running.
1. In the beginning, there was you
It would be great if we could pick the body that we want to train. It would be great if we could start with a body that weighed a little less, was a little more fit, or a little more like what we think an athlete’s body is.
You are going to walk or run the race. The same you that’s starting today will come across the finish line. There’s no need to worry about it. You are all you’ll ever need.
2. Looking out the window
I love to travel by car. The world becomes a program on my own personal television set. I can sit back and watch as people and places come and go through my site.
I love long distance training programs for the same reason. In the next few days and weeks you’ll learn how to be an observer in your own world. Don’t get so focused on the road ahead that you forget to look around.
3. Correct and redirect
No one’s training program goes exactly as planned. There’s no way to know this early on how your body or your life will respond to the training.
Be ready at any point to rethink your goals for the day, the week, the month, and the race. The greatest discipline is the ability to respond and change to the inevitable ups and downs of a long distance training program.
4. Are we there yet?
Starting any journey is fun. Sometime, though, as the first blush of excitement fades it starts to sink in just how far it is that we have to go.
Don’t look too far ahead in your training. For now it’s enough to do what you need to do today and this week. The weeks to come will be here soon enough.
5. The Popeye Syndrome
Children of my generation grew up with a different set of super-heroes. One of my favorites was Popeye. All Popeye had to do to get out of a difficult situation was eat his spinach.
In a long-distance training program, though, there is no easy solution. Eating you spinach on race day won’t get you through. You need to slowly but sure prepare. The only thing that you’ll be able to rely on come race day will be the quality of your preparation.