Top Tips: Run Beyond Limits!

Most couch-to-5K programmes are nine weeks long. Follow Andrew Spires’ advice and you’ll be running a 10K in eight

PHOTOS COURTESY OF Juno Spires & Unsplash

A shark could swim faster than me, but I could probably run faster than a shark. So in a triathlon, it would all come down to who is the better cyclist.

I can run faster than a shark, but not much else. In a race with the tortoise and the hare, I’d finish a comfortable last. I recently attended a parent-child relay for my daughter’s sports day in the wonderful Tsing Yi sports stadium. I lined up against the other parents and quietly fancied myself in the top two, or at least a medal finisher. I came fifth out of six runners. One of the mums took a video of the race from the bleachers and sent it on. I looked like my legs were held on with pipe cleaners. It was time to do something about it, not least due to my daughter’s look of dissatisfaction. No dad wants that look…

My mate Alan is a wonder. Every day, regardless of whether he’s been out until 2am drinking tequila out of another man’s belly button, he’ll wake up at 6am and go for a 5km run. Alan is a legend, so when he suggested I try an Action Asia Event’s trail race, who was I to say no? Little did I know that all I had to do was run 15km in the October heat, with a swift 3km sprint at the start, then a scramble up the Ngong Ping 360 Rescue Trail’s 550 metres of elevation. After traversing a mountainside with vertigo-inducing views, I’d head back down a 1:13 hill that ’s slippery and pushes your toenails so hard into your shoes that they fall off. The toenails, not the shoes.

Obviously, I wasn’t going to undertake such an adventure without full planning. I have a wife and kids to think about, so I did the only thing any self-respecting newbie runner does. I bought some shoes. After consulting endless running blogs (I implore you not to go down that rabbit hole), I ended up with a great pair of HK$390 Asics. There is usually a deal to be had in Citygate mall if you’re willing to dig about.

Next step was to get out there and make a start. This proved harder than I thought it would be. When you work from home and don’t have a helper, time becomes a valuable commodity, and there was always something that needed doing first before I could lace up the runners. Bit of a life lesson here: try to prioritise important tasks (like running) over those that are merely urgent, but not necessarily critical to long-term goals (like doing laundry).

The solution? Be more like Alan. Set your alarm 20 minutes earlier. Once you sit up and put two feet on the floor, 95% of the chore of getting up is already done. You don’t need to take anything with you on your jog apart from your keys and a water bottle. Have those things ready on a table by the door the night before. Now step outside into the morning sunshine and start to walk briskly. No need to run yet. Walk quickly for 3 to 4 minutes and lean forward as you do this. Now start to morph this walk into a slow jog. Try to keep this up as long as possible. If you find it too much, slip back to the fast walk again.

Once you’ve got into this routine three to five times a week, you’ll start to find the ratio of walking to jogging flips. Not only that, but the out of breath before the chorus and you can’t hit the high notes for the hook, slow down a little.

Diet is one of the key ingredients to your new fitness success and thankfully I’m not talking about spinach and asparagus smoothies or three grams of creatine injected directly into your eyeballs. You might have heard of carb loading? This is just what it says on the tin. The night before you head out, make sure to include foods like dried beans, lentils, pasta, or potatoes. Balance this with protein (mushrooms, chicken, prawns or emu) and vegetables – broccoli is especially good as it contains potassium, calcium and iron which all help get your body ready for exercise.

Hydration is essential. But water, not beer. Even a couple of drinks the night before a run will make your legs feel like lead and your stamina will drop off hard. Ideally give alcohol a two-day rest before a big run and you’ll thank yourself. I stupidly did a 15km run after an all-dayer at Clockenf lap. I tried to pace myself throughout the festival, but still put away about five pints and didn’t get to bed until 1am before a 7am race start. Ouch! Save the beers for after the run.

Energy gels are a gift from the gods when you’re halfway through a run or race and you can feel the power draining out of you with every bead of sweat. I recommend two to three gels for a 10 to 15km run. Avoid the caf feine options as they leave you feeling like a Colombian drug lord after sampling the ‘product ’.

Get yourself a ‘camel-pack’ which is a small backpack that has a special pocket that fits a water pouch. This has a long tube that you can suckle on furiously as you reconsider your life choices. I found I always put too much water in it at the start which leads to a bumpy, heavy and sloshy ride. Aim for about 1.5 litres and be sure to sip it. Baby sips are your friend. Big gulps leave you cramping and sluggish.

Persistence is key. Think of running like learning a new skill. You wouldn’t sit at a piano and expect to play Flight of the Bumble Bee after your second go, so don’t expect to be hitting sub-25-minute 5km runs in your first month. Be consistent and show up, regardless of the weather. A slow run for five minutes is 100% better than no run. Make the routine of running into a habit and, I promise, you’ll eventually miss it if you skip it.

I awoke at 4.30am on my 43rd birthday in a terrifying hotel with Alan. Not because we’d been out in Wanchai the night before, but because we were about to do the 10K at the Standard Chartered HK Marathon. I never thought I’d do that and I’m so proud of myself that I did. And so are my kids. Now on to the 21K...