Oh, but there is pain Dragos! my quads are screaming today hehehehe.
And I did gain. I gained the knowledge that I can run 10kms without having a a heart attack.
And I did that marvelous feat by reading your book - Running for my life, and running aerobically i.e. slowly.
But what you are saying here is absolutely correct, one does not bring the other. And seeking out a painful path thinking you will get the best gains is just wrong.
Keep on giving us this good advice Dragos. I'm going to hobble off now and do some stretching..... and that's going to hurt! hehehe
HAHA , very cynical :D , jokes aside I have to second some points!
Great write , there a lot of points not even related to training that you have touched upon. I didn't know you had written a book , much less that you are a ultramarathoner , the image i had of myself running just got passed by miles.
It's been the same in my experience , I've always felt like running slowly and in pace makes the most sense.
Slowly shouldn't be missunderstood since as it is stated the pace increases quickly ad before you know it you are running for miles without feeling much of a stress past the first 10-20 minutes , there is the question of the joints and blisters , but i will have to look at the book , maybe there is something there :)
I can recommend @dragosroua's book if you are into running. It's a good read and there are lots of little tidbits that can help you in your running.
It has even inspired me to start running again. 10kms so far. Tomorrow.... who knows :-)
Thank you , maybe one day , right now I can't afford books , the informative snippets are all to go by. I'm going to read it if i get this month on track (:D ) and start with the challenge , that seems like a good incentive to go to bed at 5 oclock. :D
Joints are not a problem if you eat properly (and supplement with a bit of magnesium and glucosamine). Blisters can be a problem and I had a lot of trouble with them. It's all about the right combination of socks and shoes. For me, wool socks made the difference. So it can be solved but it's a rather slow and painful process until you figure out what works for your combination of skin, sweat and movement.
Makes perfect sense , I'm having some joint issues , more like traumas , In my mind we arent treating our bodies very nicely, one thing i'm missing is active recovering , like massages and basically supplements.
Wool socks i presume are working because they are made from a natural substance , so you should be getting less irritation on the skin , although the sweating is another question.
One more question , how important is stretching , as much as running , or not so much , also do you stretch a lot (before and after) ?
Finally , I've got a look of your bookcover , I think it perfectly illustrates what running is supposed to be , a joy.
Thanks for the nice words about the book, hope you'll read it one day :)
As for stretching, I do it regularly, but not necessarily before and after running. I practice yoga consistently, every morning, at least 5 minutes, sometimes even 20 minutes. Nothing fancy or complicated, just sun salutations, trees and warriors, most of the time.
For me, the most effective strategy in avoiding injuries was the warm up. At least 10 minutes of walking before a long run, and a proper cool down after, probably 1 km walking. It's better than stretching.
As i thought , once again makes perfect sense. Yeah so i'm not missing much. I've been doing morning routines too , not yoga , something along the lines of qigong and when i was consistent it was really paying off , I could basically train 3 times a day , run from place to place(halfway) , I had more time because I was getting up earlier and enjoyed the days more , although I gave up most of my work related headaches and ditched the computer. It's worth it for a time , you get to really meet people and spend time in the park , read write , possibilities are endless.
Of course there is pain, but there is no direct link between the amount of pain and the odds of succeeding, that's what I'm talking about.
"Pain is unavoidable, suffering is optional". Although this is as popular as the "no pain, no gain" mantra, I tend to embrace it more.
Keep it up, I'm watching you :)