Jogging the Lydiard Way with pics [4]lydiardfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/...To be interested in jogging is to be interested in your own physical welfare. Strangely enough,

Jogging

The Lydiard Way

by

Arthur Lydiard

Copyright

© Nobby Hashizume and Lorraine Moller

With the late Arthur Lydiard

The authors assert the moral right to be

identified as the authors of this work. All rights reserved.

� You must have the permission of the authors before reproducing this publication, or any part of

it, or storing it in a retrieval system or transmitting it in any form or by other means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise.

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Aerobics vs. Anaerobics: To be interested in jogging is to be interested in your own physical welfare. Strangely enough, you will be amongst the minority. It is difficult for a fit person to understand the types of people who are over-weight, but continue to gorge themselves with excessive quantities of food; the people who cough their heads off through smoking and have no sooner finished coughing than they light another cigarette; the alcoholic, who stretches out his shaky hand for more to gulp down, the people who are barely alive because their physical fitness is so poor that they have become neurotic to a degree so developing the various bad habits that generally make their general condition deteriorate further, shortening their lives and taking the pleasure out of living. In most cases, these people do not understand about their body functions and how to overcome their bad habits that affect their health and how to regain good health and fitness. Many, of course, will not be interested in gaining advice that will assist them in regaining their health and fitness until they suffer from some serious illness and the shock that they get from this will often start them taking a good look at themselves and their way of life, causing them to do something about it. Some may believe that they are too old to do anything about regaining their health, fitness, vim and vigour. However, this is not so; and amazing transformations can be made in even older people once they are prepared to exercise sensibly and take interest in their physical welfare. Unfortunately, there are business people who look upon the unhealthy as fair game to sell all type of so-called wonder drugs and various forms of athletic equipment to, claiming all sorts of relief from ailments and improvement in general health and condition. These business people make money from this type of unhealthy, gullible person simply because they are ignorant of their own simple body functions1). Why? Because they were never taught about their body functions at school and do not understand anything about exercise evaluation. They were taught how to play games such as football and basketball, but were never taught the physiological effects of the exercises upon their bodies; this being true of the average person that you will meet in any of the Western World countries2). Ignorance of simple body functions and the value of exercising leaves the bulk of the populations in these countries as fair game for the drug sellers and types of con men who trade upon their ignorance. At the present time, there is much being written about jogging and many gadgets offered for sale, purporting to bring about the finest results. In many cases, the advice being issued comes from people who lack an understanding of the practical as well as the physiological aspects involved. Some harm has already been done to the jogging movement through advice that has been given by some people, that has lead to the demise of some would-be joggers; there being some 30-odd

1) This literature was written in 1970; yet, more than 40 years later, there are so many “informercials” on TV to sell

products that claims, for example, losing 10 pounds in a few weeks by performing some sort of sit-up exercises that has nothing to do with any aerobic nature, or, worse yet, by doing “nothing” (“the belt vibrates so you don’t need to do ANYTHING, just wear this belt and…”); or some strenuous exercise routine, more like anaerobic and strengthening in nature, which probably should be avoided or approached very carefully by still-unfit persons. These products would mislead audience and, not only would they waste money on them, could potential harm them and injure them.

2) I personally remember meeting a high school physical education teacher who didn’t have a basic knowledge of

physiological aspect of exercise, such as aerobic/anaerobic and such practice as Harvard Step Test. They didn’t, however, lack knowledge and skill to teach a game of flag-football or softball.

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deaths in the USA last year (1969). This is most unfortunate, as jogging can do so much good for most individuals, enabling them to overcome health problems and so enjoy their lives immeasurably more3). If you contemplate jogging, it is necessary to have a good understanding of the effects of the exercise upon yourself physically, so as to exercise with the necessary caution that will eliminate the probability of you harming yourself or even hurting yourself. With simple precautions and an understanding of the approach that should be made and the physiological reactions to expect; then results should be good and enable you to live a more useful and vigorous life. For anybody to advise you about jogging, it is necessary to not only have a knowledge of the physiological reactions of the exercise but to also have a good practical knowledge; this appearing to be the weakness of most people advising others about how they should approach jogging4). In most cases they have never done the volume of running for a sufficiently long enough time to know its true effects. For instance; during a recent visit to Columbus, Ohio, a doctor of medicine approached me and asked if I would mind speaking onto a tape for him about the practice of jogging. He said that as a doctor of medicine, he was fully aware of the physiological reactions of jogging, believed in it and also believed that some of his patients should be jogging. However, as he was not an athletic coach and lacked this practical knowledge, he did not feel competent enough to advise people about the practice of jogging. When it came to the point for him to give actual detailed instructions for running, as to volume and the intensity of the runs, he felt that his knowledge was inadequate. He told me further that during the past few months, in Columbus, 2 joggers had died near the stadium and, in both cases, they had been running against the watch on timed schedules5). He realized that these unfortunate people had been wrongly informed about the practice of jogging and had paid dearly. He said he knew that I was the athletic coach responsible for the present world-wide interest in jogging, hence his reason for asking this advice. When you understand about jogging, you will realize that it is the best way to maintain good physical fitness, your youthful vigor and that feeling of well-being. It is possible for you to keep youthful in body and in mind and to enjoy your life immeasurably more, without sacrificing your usual enjoyable social habits providing they are in moderation.

3)

Once again, after all these years, we can still see some people advising beginning joggers with incorrect information of,

for example, attempting to do too much fast running in anaerobic nature. Often this is because that is what the “clients” want to hear and would like to do; consequently, instead of teaching them to be more patient and approach the exercise correctly, they may end up advising what they think their clients want to hear for “Quick Fixes”.

4) This seems to be even more so today with flooding information on-line and far too many people like to “talk physiology”

and disregard practical experience and/or actual results. 5)

Way too many schedules offered, even today, are based on predetermined numbers. Despite all the misinformation

about Lydiardsim, the core principles of Lydiard program is all about Response-Regulate and Feeling-Based; not 100 miles a week or minute-per-mile.

Lydiard, far left, with the original Auckland joggers in 1963 (Garth Gilmour Collection)

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If you are old, it can help you to feel and become younger; and if you are young, it will make you fitter and lay a foundation for good health to your later years. I have often been asked by people why I run so often and I reply that, if I did not run, I would feel like they do and I do not like that feeling. While on earth, you may as well keep as vigorous and as young as you are able rather than be so unhealthy and lifeless that your life becomes tedious and miserable. It is clearly the way you look at your life. You were given your body to use sensibly or abuse. It is simply your decision what you do with it. Position In The World Today: The incidence of people dying and suffering from various cardiac disorders is increasing rapidly in the world today6). In the democratic countries where there are high standards of living, the percentage dying from these causes is in the vicinity of from 42% to as high as a percentage as 48; this being amongst a generation that was far more physically active in their youthful days than the present young generation. Thirty to forty years ago, people were still walking and riding push-bicycles many miles to and from school and work. However, today most youngsters live near to schools or go by bus or car to and from school. Therefore, because these young people are living a more sedentary way of life

than their parents were at comparative ages7), it can be expected that the incidence of cardiac problems will continue to increase with deaths happening amongst progressively younger age groups. Ten to fifteen years ago, it was not unusual for people to suffer from coronary attacks in their 50s. However, now it is commonplace for people to die of heart attacks in their early 40s; some even in their late 30s. This leads me to believe that, with people spending more time at school through the need of gaining better education

and at the same time having far less physical activity than their parents did; that some people will no sooner be completing their education than they will be suffering their first heart attack. I do not believe that this is mere idle conjecture. It is surely starting to happen. General cardiac deterioration does not suddenly start when a person gets older, but often begins when people are teen-agers; this being proved by pathologists, when they examine bodies of young people who are killed in road accidents. It has been noted that atheroma, the fatty fibrous growth that forms on the walls of the arteries, is already forming in the arteries of these youngsters; that through lack of exercise and rich foods, these young people were headed for heart attacks later in their lives, had they lived longer8). 6)

In 1990, inactivity was responsible for $1 trillion in health care cost in the US and obesity-related diseases cost over

$100 billion per year. 7)

In the US, fewer than 25% of children get 20 minutes of physical activity per day. 8)

Forty percent of children ages 5 to 8 show at least one sign of heart disease risk. These figures were reported in 1990.

Now in 2008. obesity has officially become national epidemic in the US.

The image from Kids Marathon program down in Houston, TX

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The same condition has been noted in the bodies of young soldiers killed in recent wars, further proving that the incidence of heart problems is continuing to rise and that the main reason for this appears to be that it is developing through lack of activity of a sufficiently vigorous nature to keep the cardiac systems of young people well toned and developed. If you are a young person that is not interested in competitive sport, it is wise for you to consider this fact and to realize that you can do much to eliminate the possibility of your suffering from cardiac problems later on in your life, by engaging in some physical activity of a reasonably vigorous nature and by taking interest in your physical welfare. You may be one of the average people who played some form of vigorous sport, usually football or basketball, considering that you were fit enough when you retired from active participation in these sports and that this exercise will have laid the necessary foundation for your good health and fitness later. To a degree, this could be so; however, if you played a team sport, it is unlikely that you were ever really as fit as far as general good condition is measured; that your oxygen uptake was ever near its maximum possibilities, as it would have been if you had developed your cardiac systems as a distance runner would9). However, the fact that you have participated in some activity means that you have gained some physical benefits that will assist you later providing you are prepared to maintain a certain level of fitness by continuing to exercise. Do not think that you can continue to live off the development and good condition that you had previously achieved indefinitely. You must try to maintain or improve this condition. Usually this is not so as the average person, upon retiring from competitive sports, will stop exercising completely and endeavor to live upon the fruits of the previous activity in those sporting days. Invariably, the only body parts that they continue to use vigorously are their jaws and vocal organs, by continuing to eat just as much as previously when exercising vigorously and using the extra calories and also when yelling out instructions to others participating in sport, as a sports spectator. If you mention to this type of person that they should jog or exercise some other way, they will often laugh and say that they do not need to; they are fit enough through playing football or some other sport. They appear to think that it will be the other guy who will have the coronary attack; not them, and in many cases they are in fact just walking to suffer their first heart attack. The percentage is nearly one of every two men and women who suffer and die this way. You cannot argue about statistics and percentage such as this10). Even amongst women, the incidence of heart attacks is rising; simply because the average woman has many more home appliances to assist her with her work and the use of the car to eliminate pushing a pram to and from the shops while doing the messages. They are doing much less physically than previously and, in turn, their cardiac systems are deteriorating more quickly. Then again, you may be a person who does take interest in your physical welfare, but, because you were never taught about your body functions at school and you do not understand how to evaluate exercises, you have become confused as to what to do and how to exercise; so that in

9)

It is interesting to note that Lydiard used to play rugby football before he took up running, thinking he was fit; yet a

simple 5-mile run with Jack Dollan, who was twice as old as Lydiard was at the time, gave him a different perspective. Bill Bowerman used to play American football when, in 1962, at the age of 50, figured he was fit enough to join a group of “joggers” in New Zealand; and it was a 74-year-old Andy Stedman who had to slow down for Bowerman to keep him company. Many people think they are fit because they play a game of flag-football or racquetball or tennis or they go to the gym and lift weights for 30 minutes. However, their (Lydiard and Bowerman) experience gives a different perspective into a true meaning of “being fit”.

10) In 1973, the statistics revealed that the number of death from coronary diseases was more than double of that of

cancer and accident combined.

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your ignorance, you do exercises that really do little to develop your cardiac systems. You may have been tempted by some advertisement to buy some gadget or equipment that in actual fact will not gain the desired results as far as cardiac efficiency is concerned. You may even suffer from the use of some equipment and not achieve the predicted results. You may be a person who has suffered from a coronary attack and been lucky enough to have survived and are suddenly faced with a scary existence, not knowing what to do for the best and when and if the next attack will or might come. Many people and families are affected this way because, through ignorance, they have allowed their bodies to deteriorate this way, resulting in them being semi-invalided. You may be a person who thinks that, at 70 years of age, you are too old to overcome some cardiac problems and regain some of your youthful vigour; this being far from a remote possibility. Even in the 70s and older, it is possible to rejuvenate people to a degree and make them healthier and reasonably vigorous again11). I have already achieved such results with elderly people who have suffered from coronary attacks; were obese and in generally poor condition and had more or less given up hopes of recovery from their health problems; yet today are healthy, vigorous people. There is not a doctor in the world who can surely say what the limits are of developing the general cardiac efficiency of any person; even when they are 70 years of age12); providing that they do not have a diseased heart. Whatever your condition may be, you should realize that there is always the possibility of something being done to improve your fitness; that providing that your heart is a healthy one (and only about 2% of people have some form of diseased heart and may not be able to exercise) then jogging will be found to give fine results and help to make you feel a new person. I recall once lecturing to a group of people about jogging and health generally, when a doctor of medicine who was with me on this occasion was asked by one of the audience what would be the effects of jogging on a person with a diseased heart. The doctor explained that usually people with diseased hearts are aware of this and are under the instructions of their doctor and would be advised accordingly. However, he said that he was not so concerned about these people as he knew what to do for them and, if he did not, he would certainly send them to a heart specialist for advice. His main concern was for the people walking about who thought that they were in fine condition, but could drop dead at any time through not being aware of the poor condition of their cardiac systems; the people who thought, “It cannot happen to me; only to the other guy…”

11)

Interestingly, Lydiard’s best-known protégé, Peter Snell, has published a book titled “Use It, Or Lose It” in 2006. We

shouldn’t need any research to prove that, if we use our body, it becomes stronger; if we don’t, it deteriorates. Lydiard used to say, though scientifically it may not be that extreme, if you exercise today, you will be better tomorrow than you were yesterday. Conversely, if you don’t do anything today, you will be worse off tomorrow than you were yesterday.

12) Lydiard liked to use an example of this Australian individual by the name of Cliff Young. He started running when he

was 58 (though he had been a sheep farmer and stayed active) and entered the race from Sydney to Melbourne, some 540 miles in length, in 1983 at the age of 61. He won the race.

Cliff Young of Australia, winning a 875km Sydney to Melbourne race in

1983 at the age of 61

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How can you safeguard against this happening to you? Think about yourself and have a medical check-up. You must know if you are slowing up and if you are not exercising enough and have habits that are not conductive to good health and fitness. Don’t fool yourself like many do! If you are not prepared to take interest in your own physical welfare, then you cannot expect anyone else to do so. You will eventually pay for your own stupidity. Of course, there is always the possibility of having another heart transplanted later; though for may part, I would prefer to look after the one that I now have. I haven’t the slightest desire to have my chest cut open when I know full well that I can keep it in good condition with a minimum of exercise. I deplore the fact that so much attention is directed to the heart transplant operations, yet, little is done to explain more fully the results of exercising; and the preventing rather than the cutting of heart disorders. How Jogging Started: How did jogging start and the present world-wide interest come about? It began in New Zealand in 1960, soon after my return from the Rome Olympic Games and directly through the methods that I used to revolutionize the training of endurance athletes13) and through my lecture tours in many countries and also through my influencing people from other countries who visited New Zealand. For many years, there have been long distance runners running marathon distances. Men such as Walter George, Alfred Shrubb and Arthur Newton were great distance runners of the past who gained fame for their running feats and continually over the years, there have been people, particularly in Scandinavian countries and British Isles, that have been running marathon distances in competitions and for their health. However, it was not until 1945 that I started to evolve a different training approach by using aerobic training in volume to develop endurance, or cardiac efficiency, in athletes and myself as a basis on which to develop the anaerobic ability of the athletes to exercise14). When training for athletic competitions, it is necessary to develop the anaerobic capacity of a runner to exercise. However, in a jogger, this is not necessary. I repeat; NOT NECESSARY, as it can be dangerous for joggers to use anaerobic running initially; and later, unless the jogger has the realization that this is not necessary to gain fine cardiac efficiency and will only be necessary

13)

At Rome Olympic Games in 1960, two of Lydiard’s runners, Peter Snell and Murray Halberg, won gold medals and

another runner from his stable, Barry Magee, won the bronze medal, while other two, Ray Puckett and Jeff Julian, competing in the marathon – all from a small group of neighborhood boys.

14) While widely misinterpreted, Lydiard knew fully the necessity of developing one’s anaerobic capacity to exercise, or the

ability to withstand oxygen debt, in performing at the utmost potential (hence variety of mixture of training that comes AFTER miles and miles of long distance work at slower pace); he also realized that this was only possible AFTER you had developed your aerobic capacity to exercise at the adequate level (hence miles and miles of long distance running at slower pace).

Distance running legends; Walter George (left) and Arthur Newton (image from “Lore of Running”)

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if the jogger intends to become competitive, then the person is no longer a jogger but an athletes, and should train as such. If you are contemplating jogging, then you must realize what you are doing and approach this exercise in a common-sense way if you are to get the full benefit from it and also enjoy it. In 1945, at the age of 27 years, I had decided that I was too old for contact sport such as rugby football and so decided to exercise some other way to keep from getting fat and un-healthy, without being competitive. I started to read all the books that I could on physical fitness, about body functions and exercising and, the more that I read, the more I realized how contradictory much of the information was; and did not always make sense. I became confused and decided that, best way to exercise to maintain a reasonable standard of health and fitness, was to test the various exercises upon myself. It was 15 years later, after running many thousands of miles, evaluating exercise through trial and error in training and racing, before I was satisfied that I could balance a runner’s training program efficiently; as there had been much more to learn than I had at first anticipated. However, by this time, I had trained the best group of middle-distance and distance runners in the world, who, during the next 4 years broke 9 world’s track records and won 6 Olympic medals15) as well as winning numerous other important international races. During this time, I had succeeded in keeping myself in fine trim and as I became fitter, became competitive by racing in marathons, so that at the age of 37, I was the New Zealand marathon champion and, at the age of 39 years, I ran second and finished with the time of 2 hours 35 minutes16). Today, at the age of 53, I am still able to run with good runners at quite fast training speeds and have been running with some runners in training up to 160 miles a week. Not that I feel the need to run this far in training, but I have done this to encourage young fellows to train harder. On my return from the Rome Olympics in 1960, where 3 of my group of runners had won 2 gold medals and a bronze, I was asked to speak to a Lions Club in Tamaki, Auckland, where I lived. They were interested to know how I trained 3 runners to win the Olympic medals. As I lectured, I explained that it was because I had concentrated upon general cardiac development and toning, which is endurance, that these runners had been successful. That I had

15)

Peter Snell won 3 gold medals (800 in 1960 and 800/1500 double in 1964), Murray Halberg won 1 gold (5,000 in 1960)

with Barry Magee a bronze (marathon in 1960) and John Davies a bronze (1500 in 1964). But since Snell himself had held total of 8 world records, including 4 × 1 mile relay, with Murray Halberg at least 3 world records (3-miles and 2 miles twice) and Bill Baillie set 2 world records in the same race (1 hour run and 20,000m) in 1963, there should be at least 13 world records, quite a bit more than 9 world records held by “Arthur’s Boys”.

16) Years later, at the age of 61, Lydiard managed to run a marathon in 2:58:58.

Original “Arthur’s Boys” at Rome Olympic Games: From left; Murray Halberg, Ray Puckett, Barry Magee, Lydiard, Peter

Snell and Jeff Julian (Garth Gilmour Collection)

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managed to get their bodies into a more-or-less tireless state, whereby they could run without tiring quickly and, therefore, were able to endure the fatiguing Olympic racing and keep improving. That I had even trained the 800m runner, Peter Snell, as a marathon runner; and that, while this was not an accepted way of training middle distance runners and quite unorthodox, at least it had proved successful and, as a coach, I was only interested in good results. After my talk, 3 men approached me and explained that they had suffered from coronary attacks and had been told that they must lead semi-invalided lives; that their doctors had told them that they should not do anything too energetic; otherwise, they may have fatal heart attacks. They said that what I had just told them in explaining the development of cardiac efficiency in my runners made sense to them and, in light of this, whether I believed that the same physiological reactions would occur with them if they were to run on a modified program; the same in principal to the runners17). I said that I believed this would be so; and that, in my opinion, if they were to sit about and not exercise, they would surely die soon; that they should first see their doctor about running and see what his reaction was; that under no circumstances should they run without his approval. They asked me how they should approach the joggingjoggingjoggingjogging (a word I had been using in my running schedules since 1945); and I explained that as soon as the doctor gave them the green light to jog, that they should go about it in an easy, relaxed way; that I believed the only way that they would harm themselves was by going too fast or by running anaerobically. I told them to TRAIN and NOT STRAIN. Two months later, I had a call from one of these three men to say that they had all been jogging and that the doctor had agreed and was pleased with their progress. He went on to say how at

first it was difficult to run very slowly for more than a few minutes; thought now that two months had passed, they were all able to run several miles without stopping and that they had lost some weight, were feeling generally better and their daily habits were changing. They were sleeping better, smoking and drinking alcohol less and becoming more selective with their diet18). He then asked me if I was prepared to speak to a group of 20 businessmen, also interested in jogging, as they had noted the improved condition of him and his two jogging friends. The following

weekend, I spoke to this group of 20-odd men of varying ages from their late thirties to the oldest man of 74 years of age. I explained the physiology and practice of jogging. I told them that they could not help but improve their health, providing that they did not make the jogging competitive. I recall these fat unhealthy men looking at each other and laughing at the thoughts of them being competitive. However, I know human nature and I realized that, as soon as these men started to become a little fitter, that they would start to race each other or their jogging by

17)

Sound training principles can be, and should be, applied to a four-minute miler as well as four-hour marathon runner;

an elite runner as well as slow Joe the Jogger. 18)

If you are tuned in, you will notice what your body is craving.

Lydiard (center) talking to the original joggers

(Garth Gilmore Collection)

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putting a watch on their runs to see how fast they could run; that they would start to run anaerobically19). One of the reasons that I was successful as a coach was because I understood how to use anaerobic running and I always had control. Many athletes spoil their chances in important competitions and retard the development of their potential through indiscriminate use of anaerobic running, and these were not athletes that I was talking to; but fat, poorly conditioned middle aged and old men20). Within 6 months of starting jogging, this first group were running strongly and improving rapidly so that a few entered a team into a cross-country race with their doctors’ approval. Within 8 months, 8 of them entered a full marathon race of 26.2 miles and 7 of these finished, the other withdrawing at 20 miles21). As I had predicted, they had become competitive, though only after months of aerobic running that had been carefully controlled. They had heeded my advice well and their improved condition had not only surprised their doctors but also themselves. Today, 9 years later, none of these men have had any more coronary attacks and are healthy, vigorous people who often compete in races up to 26 miles marathons and many now train and compete as athletes. During this time, I have spoken to joggers in many countries throughout the world and the interest continues to grow. It was in 1962 that Bill Bowerman22), the head track coach of the University of Oregon, came to New Zealand on a lecture tour and I invited him to run with the group of joggers who met each Sunday morning in one of the local parks. There were about 70 joggers there on this occasion and Bill took off with the group and it wasn’t until I got back from the run that I saw Bill again. He was sitting in a dejected manner so I asked him what was wrong. He said, “I will never let that happen to me again. That old man of 75 years of age23) had to wait for me!” Bill was apparently amazed that this could actually happen.

19)

Interestingly, this can still be one of the biggest issues amongst joggers or slower runners today. They tend to “chase

numbers” instead of going by how they feel, consequently they will be competitive within themselves. The less they worry about how far they run or how fast they are running, the better; Lydiard used to always say.

20) The less aerobically fit you are, the slower the running pace at which you will get into “anaerobic” or get oxygen debt.

The fitter you are, the faster you can run and still stay aerobic. Slower, unfit people will have higher likelihood of getting into anaerobic at even slower running speed. In other words, slower unfit people would have to be extra careful not to run too fast.

21) These people were running the marathon somewhere around 4 hours.

22) Bill Bowerman, one of the greatest track & field coaches the US has ever seen and co-founder of Nike, was visiting New

Zealand with the world record breaking 4 × mile relay team from University of Oregon he coached. 23)

This 75-year-old man is Andy Stedman, one of Arthur’s original joggers.

Bill Bowerman (left) with Arthur Lydiard:

at Prefontine Classic in Eugene, OR, in 1997

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What had happened was this; that as the group jogged through the park, Bill started to feel the effects of the exertion and started to drop back behind the others. The older man, noticing this, dropped back to run with Bill and told him that he knew a shorter way back if he was interested. Bill was interested. From then on, during the 6 weeks that Bill toured New Zealand with me, he jogged for one hour each morning and improved so rapidly in condition that he was able to run for 20 miles with me over a rough trail through hills and fording streams, at the end of the tour. It was interesting to see the difference in Bill’s appearance, as when he arrived in New Zealand, he bought a pair of slacks which measured 42 inches around the waist. They were now far too big around the waist for him as he could wrap them about his waist through losing 6 inches of blubber. In early 1963, I paid a visit to Bill’s home in Eugene, Oregon, and met the first group of American joggers that he had organized and I was surprised to see the interest that he had been able to create24). Through his work in this field, Bowerman was to later receive an award from President Kennedy, an award that I believe he richly deserved. There are now many joggers throughout the world in many countries and the movement continues to develop as more and more people realize the benefits of the exercise and what they can do for themselves. In West Germany, the jogging movement is well organized and controlled by medical people and enthusiasts. After an initial probationary period, during which time the would-be jogger gradually trains within his or her capacity to exercise this way, according to his/her general condition; the doctor allows the person to do some anaerobic running of a non-competitive nature. There are scheduled graded times for different distances to be run, according to the age of the runner. The runner is then timed over a distance to gauge his/her fitness and ability for grading purposes; though during the run there are no influencing factors such as other runners to compete against not lap times given. This way, the runner runs according to the way he or she feels25); without any great duress. This method gives the joggers some aims and also shows their individual progression as they achieve better fitness. In East Germany in 1965, through the work of the Leipzig Sports Medicine Institute, a national program was arranged whereby doctors and running coaches lectured on TV to the nation. The program was called the RUN FOR YOUR LIFERUN FOR YOUR LIFERUN FOR YOUR LIFERUN FOR YOUR LIFE program, named after the book about my jogging program and my joggers in New Zealand (co-authored by Garth Gilmour). I had given this book to Professor Schuster, the Director of the Institute when I was lecturing there in early 1965 about the use of aerobic and anaerobic training. My lectures there on this occasion changed the approach of the East Germans in the training and general conditioning of all their athletes.

24)

The first jogging “class” Bill Bowerman organized saw 2000 people turning up. 25)

This is one of the most important Lydiard principles – Feeling-Based Training. We are all individual. You just cannot go

by strict numbers or cookie-cutter schedule; you’ve got to go by how YOU feel.

First book on jogging:

“Run For Your Life” co-authored by Garth Gilmour

and Arthur Lydiard

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Within 6 months of their starting this health program, nearly all sports clubs throughout the country had doubled their membership. This was because the program was handled in a way that allowed the people to hear doctors of medicine and practical people, experts in their sports, tell of the benefits to be gained through exercising in a sensible manner. In Australia, South Africa, Finland, New Zealand and many other counties; there is progressively becoming more interest in jogging as a simple, inexpensive way to keep vigorous and healthy. The Approach To Be Made: Is the USA, the jogging movement is developing in a more organized way though some people continue to die through erroneous information given by some people who lack the practical knowledge to give advice; people who have never run thousands of miles in their lives and have never trained athletic champions in endurance sports and therefore cannot really understand how to approach this exercise in a practical way26). The same thing happens in training track runners. It is not the theorist, the book reader who develops the great champions, but the practical coach. Jogging is running! Training as a runner! Basically there should not be any difference in the approach to be made. People are individuals and should be trained as such, irrespective of the age of the individual. One person in the USA suggests training programs for people to train to according to their age. This is just not practical simply because individuals can vary considerably in states of fitness, even in the same age groups. It is a simple matter to find in any community, people in their 50s who have finer general cardiac efficiency than some students in the local colleges, yet it is suggested that joggers go by age when setting about their jogging. Professor Hartiala of the Turku University in Finland has proved that 62% of the students attending there have the lowest possible physical grading. I have also proved that many students in their early 20s have very poor general cardiac efficiency when I have taken big groups out for an easy jog. After a few minutes of easy exercise, many have to stop27). I have also taken older runners out on their initial jog and found some of them remarkably fit. No. It is not possible to start people this way, but setting running times and distances for certain groups; it is only practical to treat everyone as an individual, as a good track coach treats a novice runner, and that is to allow him or her to get to grips with him-/her-self in a sensible and logical way; that being, to tell the person to run or walk, or a little of both, for a given period of

26)

One of the most important things in coaching/training individuals, Lydiard always said, is to understand “people” –

knowing how to motivate them and inspire them without getting too competitive with themselves during training. 27)

In some of the recent “researches” seem to suggest that more changes occur in the muscles, not VO2Max, that affect

one’s performance level. However, in a practical sense, it IS still all up to one’s ability to take in, transport and utilize OXYGEN that determines one’s performance level. Simple, and apparent, example is that, when a new jogger gets out and starts to run, at a very slow pace for only a short period of time, he/she would start to “puff” and can’t go on any further. This is because his/her ability to use oxygen is not developed that the amount of oxygen the body requires to fulfill the task (to run at that particular pace) surpasses the body’s ability to use oxygen. As a result, you would “puff” furiously, trying to take in more oxygen. Some mistaken this with limited lung capacity (how much oxygen can go into the lungs); however, this “puffing” phenomenon is actually a feedback from the working muscles. It is ultimately the ability to utilize oxygen in the working muscles that determines the performance level.

Page 13

time such as 15 minutes. It is not a question of the distance covered being of importanceIt is not a question of the distance covered being of importanceIt is not a question of the distance covered being of importanceIt is not a question of the distance covered being of importance; but the fact that the person is exercising within their individual capacity to exercise this way. For instance, when starting off a runner, it is always wise to tell the person to run down the road for 5 or 10 minutes and then turn about and run back in the same time. If the runner took 10 minutes to run outward and 15 minutes to return, then there is little to say to him or her because the person would know that they ran out too fast. Therefore, it took longer to come back; so that the next day, the runner will not run so far out on the outward run and be able to return in the same time. In other words, the runner is getting to grips with him- or her-self. The person will learn about his or her capabilities and degree of fitness28). Nobody can possibly look at a person of any age and estimate their possibilities of the distances that the person could cover in given times. Nor can this be estimated scientifically. There is only

one way to find this out; and that is to have the person run at a speed that will make him or her PLEASANTLY TIRED; to work within their own capacity according to their present general condition. By working this way, people can actually enjoy running, given a few days and certainly not harm themselves. If the prospective jogger goes down to the track, park or trail and works well within him- or her-self; then jogging can be a rewarding and enjoyable experience. But to go out with the idea that it is necessary to run a certain distance in a certain time, particularly when these distances and times have been set by a person without the practical knowledge to do so, then the jogger can find all sorts of frustrations29). The speeds set can be too fast or too slow. Let me be specific on this point and that is; that the only time that a jogger should consider running for times over given distances is when the initial probationary jogging stage has been completed and a doctor has agreed to allow anaerobic running to be engaged in. This usually takes a period of approximately 6 months, depending entirely upon the amount of jogging that the jogger wishes to do. However, from my practical experiences with many joggers who started off jogging in their 40s and 50s and later ran full marathons of 26 miles after only 8

months to a year training; people who really “get the bug” and did the maximum possible; this would be the minimum time. I believe it advisable, to start into anaerobic work if the jogger is interested in becoming competitive30), as many eventually are. Of course, the jogger who is barely doing a minimum of, say, 15 minutes jogging a day would not be in this position and naturally would not be training hard enough to lay a foundation for anaerobic running31).

28)

This is one of the most important disciplines when beginning to train. You’ve got to understand the “feeling” of the

level of the effort that leaves you “comfortably tired” state; not starting out too fast and having to slow down in the second half.

29) We believe “Feeling-Based” training and “Response-Regulated” training are two of the critical principles of Lydiardism.

Yet, today, it seems we see even greater percentage of people are following more cookie-cutter training method of, say, things like “three 20-milers to prepare for the marathon” or “10-second slower than your current 5k race pace”, etc. Moreover, most people seem to set the goal time, say, 4-hour marathon, first and then count back and calculate the training pace and try to squeeze that pace; instead of letting the pace come naturally to you.

30) Competitive running is anaerobic in nature as you push the effort beyond your body’s ability to take in, transport and

utilize oxygen. It is very important to ease into anaerobic exercises as it is very demanding on your body with, not only excessive mechanical stress, but also chemical stress.

Jack Foster of New Zealand, winning

silver medal in the marathon in 2:11 at the age of 41 at 1974

Commonwealth Games (New Zealand Runner)

Page 14

Once again, it will be the individual’s reactions to the exercise that have to be considered and then training can progress accordingly. During the first year, nobody can set schedules that can be timed accurately for prospective joggers or runners alike32). An experienced coach can stimulate fairly accurately times to be used as a guide, but not be too closely adhered to. However, the coach needs to be experienced. Physiological Reasons And Reactions Of Jogging: Very few people seem to understand their own body functions and fewer the reactions from exercise. Most people realize that we are all dependent upon oxygen to continue living. However, few realize that it is possible to increase their possibilities of increasing their oxygen up-take, hereby improving their health and energies immeasurably through enabling their body’s metabolism to function more efficiently. When an athlete is to be trained and made fitter, basically, what is being attempted is to increase the athlete’s maximum Steady State by improving the ability to assimilate more oxygen from the air; improve transportation of the oxygen and to improve utilization of the oxygen. The Steady Sate of a man can be improved to a state whereby it is possible to have an up-take of about 5.5 liters of oxygen per minute. This would be the case with great runners such as Kip Keino, Jim Ryun and Peter Snell; when they were at their best. This gave them an advantage over the other runners as the oxygen debts that they would incur for relatively the same speeds would be much less than in the case of their adversaries, who would tire more quickly. Then on the other hand, if many people who live sedentary lives were to be tested for their oxygen up-take, it would be found that many of these people were barely alive and hardly getting enough oxygen into their bodies to allow their hearts to keep functioning and that their body’s metabolism generally was suffering. The Steady State of many of these people could be as low as 2 or less liters of oxygen per minute.

31)

Fifteen minutes a day, three times a week is often used as a reference for “maintaining” of decent fitness level.

However, this is more or less bare minimum for fitness maintenance. If you wish to improve upon your current fitness level to the point where you can “train anaerobically”, you will need to do a little more than that. A good ball-park figure might be three to five times a week, up to the point where you can run at least an hour comfortably without leaving you undue distress on the following day(s).

32) “Evaluation of training” is what training is all about. First 6~12 months should be spent to observe how you react to

various types of exercise to help construct the individualized training program based on sound training principles.

Middle Distance Greats: from left, Kip Keino, Peter Snell and Jim Ryun

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Through exercise, it is possible to make the body’s metabolism function more efficiently. The intake of oxygen is improved through better pulmonary ventilation being achieved and also through the progressive production of more red cells and hemoglobin in the blood. Assimilation of Oxygen: The lungs are probably the most efficient organs in our bodies and can take in near to 5 times the oxygen that is required under normal conditions. We breathe into our lungs much oxygen and breathe a lot out again because the pulmonary capillarization and blood toning or number of red cells and blood hemoglobin is not sufficiently capable of assimilating it all. Some air never comes into contact with the lungs’ capillary beds and fills the dead space, therefore there is always a quantity of oxygen being breathed out with the carbon dioxide. As we run, our breathing becomes faster and deeper and gradually the lungs’ capillary beds become more efficient progressively over a number of years33). There is also an increase in the blood’s red cells and hemoglobin content because of the fatigue rates being created that in turn stimulate the body’s metabolism to create more red cells with higher hemoglobin content, capable of assimilating more oxygen from the air passing through the pulmonary capillary beds.

Some people do deep breathing exercises without exercising strenuously and I have found that I gained nothing this way34); that it was better to breathe normally as I ran, through my nose and my mouth as the exercise became more strenuous. Initially the muscles about the stomach and lower rib cage became a little sore. However, this soon disappeared as I progressively trained, and the muscles became toned. Dr. Jack Lovelock, who won the 1500m Olympic gold medal at the 1936 Berlin Games was once asked why he breathed through his mouth when running and he replied that it was because his nose was not big enough. Some people will run, controlling their breath with so many steps to each breath. My advice is to breathe normally, and gradually efficiency will be obtained.

Transportation of Oxygen:

To be able to use the extra oxygen taken in through the improved respiratory efficiency, it is necessary to have quick circulation of the blood; the quicker, the better. This is achieved by 33)

According to the slide of Dr. Peter Snell’s presentation in Japan, spring of 2008 (a graph from a research done by

renowned Swedish physiologist, Dr. Bengt Saltine), after 24 months of “endurance training”, mitochondrial development, capillarization development as well as VO2Max (though not as distinct as other two) showed continuous improvement; which also showed immediate, and dramatic, drop as soon as the training was discontinued.

34) As stated earlier, the amount of air (oxygen) taken into the lungs is not a good indication of how much oxygen is

actually being utilized in the working muscles. “Puffing” is actually not the result of not being able to take in enough oxygen into the system; “puffing” is actually a feedback of muscles not being able to use sufficient oxygen in order to execute the task aerobically, therefore, you are getting oxygen debt, or getting “anaerobic”.

Jack Lovelock

From Dr. Peter Snell’s presentation. Study done by Dr. Bengt Saltin, indicating the development of various

elements in 24-months time; and also how quickly the ability diminishes once exercise is stopped

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improving and developing the blood vascular or circulatory system generally. In our bodies, there are many under-developed arteries, arterioles, capillary beds and veins; the channels that the blood circulates through. And these can be developed through exercise to increase their capacity to allow a greater flow of blood to percolate through. The heart, which is a muscle, can be developed into a larger, stronger and more efficient organ capable of pumping greater volumes of blood when necessary; so increasing the cardiac output to much higher levels. The volume of blood ejected by each ventricle of the heart during each contraction is called the Stroke Volume and as the heart develops, so the Stroke Volume becomes greater and allows the heart to work

more easily. This being one reason why the pulse, or heart rate, will gradually decrease; when noted over a period of weeks as training progresses. The pulse rate per minute is not a very accurate method of estimating a person’s fitness; but can give an indication of gradual and general cardiac efficiency development35). A person with a normal pulse rate of somewhere near 70 beats per minute, taken at rest, can expect this to drop down lower as training progresses and, if much training is done, a reduction of as much as 25 beats per minute (down to 55bpm) can be expected. People who are out of condition and have very high

pulse rates in the 80s and 90s can expect a far greater reduction. I have noted the pulse rate of some people, over a period of months, drop from 90-odd beats per minute down to the low-50s. Then again, I know of a jogger whose pulse rate was as low as 36 beats per minute at rest, who had improved in health immeasurably and whose doctor had assured that he had an abnormally low pulse rate before he started jogging and that this had been further reduced as he became fitter; that there was no need to become concerned because it was so low because he was in fine physical condition and to continue on as he was doing. This man could not run as fast as a competitive athlete, yet, he has the lowest pulse rate that I have noted. Then, on the other hand, one runner that I trained to win a bronze medal in the marathon in Rome Olympics, Barry Magee, never did have a pulse rate below 50 beats per minute; yet he was a very capable runner who had run a marathon in 2 hours 17 minutes and 3 miles in 13 minutes 11.02 seconds. He must have had an abnormally high pulse rate prior to training, yet this did not prevent him from being a very successful competitive runner36).

35)

The lower resting heart rate would not guarantee better performance; however, reduction of resting heart rate, taken

under the same, or similar, condition can be a good indication of how your general fitness level is improving. Bear in mind, however, such things as body position (standing, sitting, laying down, etc.), emotion, caffeine, temperature, etc., would affect your resting heart rate (as will be stated shortly); so any number should be taken in with these considerations in mind.

36) Running fast, or performing well in middle and distance running events, involves a lot of different elements. Many

scientific researches have been done that suggest things like “VO2Max would not improve running performance.” One of the problems with scientific research is that it has to isolate one variable and focus on it. The actual fact is; running fast involves a lot of variables and combination of several variables working together. A good example is; Lydiard used to say that a young kid before puberty has higher oxygen carrying capacity per kilogram of body weight than that of (ordinary) adult. This is because their cardio-respiratory capacity develops before their body is fully developed, in other words, while their body weight is not fully developed; therefore, milliliters of oxygen their body can transport and assimilate can be higher per kilogram of their body weight than fully-developed adult. However, in most cases, a young kid of 10 or 11 or 12 cannot run a mile as fast as runners of equal VO2Max figure simply because their muscles are not strong enough to generate stride length and stride frequency necessary to post decent mile time.

X-ray image of heart: of a normal person on the left and of a marathon runner on the right (image from “A Scientific Approach to Distance Running”

by Dr. Dave L. Costill

Page 17

Pulse rates are also influenced by emotions and can vary from time to time, according to the feelings of the individual. Temperatures can also affect the pulse rate, as the hotter a person becomes, the harder the heart must work to pump more blood to the arterioles in the skin for cooling purposes. The pulsing or contractions of the heart is attributable to the Pacemaker, a small node of specialized muscle, that discharges rhythmic impulses that make the rhythmic pulsing of the heart. The Pacemaker is influenced by the cardiac nerves that terminate in the heart and are responsible for the slowing and increasing of the pulse rate; in conjunction with the Pacemaker. Therefore, it can be seen that an individual’s pulse rate can vary quite considerably from day to day. However, if a person takes his/her pulse rate in the same time daily, say, just before going to train each day; then he/she could gain a fair indication of his/her progression. When I was training runners, I never did pay too much attention to the variances of the runners’ pulse rates; but preferred to treat this as a gimmick to further encourage my athletes and show that there was some improvement. Invariably the runners’ pulse rates eventually dropped down approximately 25 beats when they had completed enough training37). To develop fine circulation of the blood and general circulatory development, it is necessary to raise the heart’s work load and bring up the pressure by the heart upon the circulatory system so as to start blood coursing through the under-developed arteries, arterioles, capillary beds and veins for as long a period as possible; and as often as possible. The way to do this is by lifting the body against gravity by running, jumping, skipping or any other form of exercise that will bring into use the big powerful upper leg muscles; the only muscle groups that are capable of making the heart work hard enough to maintain the necessary pressure by the heart upon the circulatory system to bring about the development of the under-developed arterial system. Naturally, this must be controlled and does at an economic level, as I will mention later. Utilization of Oxygen:

The third aspect is the utilization of the oxygen in the various body parts and this ability is also increased through sustained work; NOT through stopping and starting as some prefer to believe. Years ago, I discovered that, by running for long sustained periods of time, I became fitter and could run further AND faster sessions. I was later to find out from a German physiologist in Cologne University in West Germany, that experiments he had conducted with marathon runners there showed that, if exercise was sustained for long periods, there was an increase in the efficiency of the capillary beds in the muscles giving better general capillarization than if the

37)

Peter Snell, after going through Lydiard marathon conditioning training, dropped his resting pulse rate down to 38

beats per minute.

Barry Magee winning Asahi Marathon in Japan in 1961; the first sub-2:20 in Japan’s soil

(from Garth Gilmour Collection)

Page 18

exercise was done in shorter periods, even though more intensely38). I knew this in practice, however, at the time I did not understand the physiological reactions of the exercise. Once a person has developed fine general cardiac efficiency, allowing for better assimilation, transportation and utilization of oxygen; then his/her body will function much better by assisting the various metabolic functions. People who do not exercise and live sedentary lives and have low Maximum Steady State are not able to take in enough oxygen into their bodies to allow their metabolism to function as well as it is possible to and, therefore, there will be a quicker deterioration in their bodies over a number of years than in the bodies of those who maintain a high Steady State. In other words, if two people who had finished their competitive sporting days at, say, 30 years of age were to take the opposite attitudes; one continuing to exercise regularly and the other sitting about; in a matter of years, the active person would continue to look and be quite young physically, whereas the latter one, living a life of leisure, would start to deteriorate more physically and look older. If you want to keep young; keep fit and exercise so as to maintain a reasonably high Steady State. Provide your body with the necessary oxygen it needs. Many women should realize this fact and, instead of trying to maintain their youth by buying cosmetics, get out and exercise and keep their Steady State at a reasonable level. This way, they will not only look younger, but also feel younger. To lift the Steady State, it is necessary to exercise as often as possible and regularly, as previously explained. Because of the daily renewal of red cells in the blood, it is better to exercise a little daily rather than a lot one day and none the next. It has to also be realized that the more exercise undertaken, the better; though there being minimum time that will also give rewarding results without being too fanatical. The more done, the better the over-all results will be. When running, it is important to understand the different effects of running at various speeds. When a person is running at speeds that require only enough oxygen within their personal Steady State, then this exercise is termed aerobicaerobicaerobicaerobic; i.e., exercising with oxygen. When the speed becomes faster requiring greater quantities of oxygen above the runner’s capacity or Steady State, then the exercise becomes anaerobicanaerobicanaerobicanaerobic; i.e., exercising without oxygen, or sufficient oxygen39). Each person, according to his or her own physical condition, is able to assimilate from the air, transport and utilize a limited amount of oxygen per minute; and this limit can be increased with exercise. It is possible, through chemical changes in the body’s metabolism, to exercise anaerobically though this is the uneconomical way of exercising, as great oxygen debts can be incurred which quickly result in waste products such as lactic acid40) forming in the body and in tern resulting in neuron-muscular breakdowns, or in other words, tired muscles that refuse to function.

38)

German physiologist at Cologne University, West Germany, Dr. Ulenbrook found out, after studying ultra-marathon

runners, that, if the exercise is continued for a long period of time, particularly for 2-hours or longer, very quickly capillary beds around the working muscles will be developed.

39) In a strict physiological term, “anaerobic” means WITHOUT oxygen. Here we use this term when one is exceeding

his/her ability to assimilate, transport and utilize oxygen and creating oxygen debt, meaning, there is not enough oxygen to execute the intensity of exercise aerobically.

40) With recent study, lactic acid is not the “enemy” that clogs up our working muscles as once believed but it actually

provides energy. The main waste products when exercising anaerobically is H iron that brings body’s pH level down.

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Through training, it is possible to develop the ability to incur an oxygen debt of approximately 15 liters when exercising anaerobically41), though, of course, everyone has the ability to incur oxygen debts to a limited degree and in ratio to their Steady State. Oxygen debts are the amounts of oxygen necessary to counteract the anaerobic reactions of exercise. As exercise increases in intensity, so the oxygen debt doubles, squares and then cubes. The following example graphically shows this, in oxygen required in liters per minutes for increased speeds, in yards per second. YARDS PER SECOND LITERS PER MINUTE 5.56 Increase of 0.89 yards 5.08 Increase of 3.67 liters � 6.45 per second � 8.75 of oxygen required 9.10 Increase of 0.13 yards 28.46 Increase of 5.50 liters � 9.23 per second � 33.96 of oxygen required It can be noted that, when the speed is getting faster, for small increases in speed, increasingly larger amounts of oxygen are required; making the exercise uneconomic. A person’s optimum capacity to use oxygen cannot exceed the approximate amount of 5.50 liters per minutes, however. Only an extremely fit athlete is likely to have such a capacity. Metabolism is the chemical reactions that occur in living tissues and often refer to the oxidations that are the ultimate source of biological energy. A muscle is a machine for converting chemical energy into mechanical work. It is stimulated by nervous impulses and chemical changes furnish nervous energy for contraction. The immediate source of energy is thought to be the breakdown of High Energy compounds such as Adenocine Tri-Phosphate (A.T.P.). High Energy compounds are the result of the oxidation of foodstuffs. Exercise requires adjustments in respiration, circulation, temperature regulating mechanisms, kidney functions and, in fact, all the body is affected by the increased metabolism that provides energy for exercise. The breakdown of High Energy phosphated compounds are the immediate source of energy for the body activities including muscle contraction, i.e.:

� Aerobic Metabolism: Food – Oxidation – High Energy compounds (A.T.P.) • Net results: Carbon dioxide and water • The net energy yield is: 1 molecule of glucose forms 36 molecules of A.T.P.

� Anaerobic Metabolism: High Energy compounds – Pyrvic Acid • Net results: Lactic Acid42) • The net energy yield is: 1 molecule of glucose forms 2 molecules of A.T.P.

It can be clearly seen that aerobic exercise is 19 times more economical than anaerobic exercise in respect to use of body fuels.

41)

Today it is believed that the limit of oxygen debt is more like 5 liters; meaning you can continue the particular intensity

of exercise up to the absence of 5 liters of oxygen. 42)

Today we know lactic acid actually as a fuel source. It is lowering of blood pH caused by H+ ion from lactate that upset

the contraction of muscles.

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Accumulation of lactic acid from anaerobic exercise increases the activity of the cells, interfering with the activities of enzymes in various cellular activities43). An enzyme being an organic catalyst, that is produced by living cells, has a function of speeding the velocity of chemical reactions in the body; hence assisting greatly in the recovery from exhausting exercise. The pH is a notation for expressing the degree of acidity or alkalinity of a solution. At neutrality pH equals 7.0, with values above 7.0 indicating alkalinity while those below 7.0 indicate acidity. A normal blood pH is between 7.36 to 7.46, slightly alkaline. Anaerobic exercise creates acid. Therefore continued anaerobic exercise day after day will eventually lower the blood’s pH to lower than normal levels that can adversely affect the body’s metabolism. In athletes in strenuous training levels as low as 6.89 pH have been noted and the continuation of exercise such as this bringing such low pH levels eventually undermines the efficient functioning of the body’s metabolism in this respect; i.e., the nutritive system can be upset by the destroying and neutralizing of the effects of food vitamins, hence retarding general development; interfere with the functions of the enzymes, resulting in poorer recovery from training and making successive running sessions more difficult; upset the nervous system, so that the person becomes disinterested and irritable; in an athlete’s case called staleness; and also increase the possibilities of neuron-muscular breakdowns44). As mentioned previously, to bring about fine cardiac efficiency, it is necessary to bring the pressure by the heart up to a level that will start to force blood through the under-developed arterial system. It must be first understood that the heart can develop great force, far in excess of that that is requires for this purpose. The heart can pump 7 pints of blood per minute at rest and increase its capacity of work 8 to 10 times, according to the condition of the person; therefore, it can be seen that a person who is running daily for long periods, maintaining a reasonably high pressure upon the circulatory system, will eventually develop faster blood circulation or the ability to transport increased quantities of oxygen to the various body parts45). The more running engaged in, the better and the less waste products resulting, the better; therefore, it will be realized that to do a volume of work this way, it will need to be aerobic and economic; not anaerobic and uneconomic. The fact that anaerobic exercise quickly creates oxygen debts resulting in the formation of lactic acid, precluding the possibilities of doing a large volume of training; retards recovery through enzyme actions being adversely affected; uses body fuels uneconomically; affects the nutritive system adversely; upsets the central nervous system and makes the possibilities of injuries increasingly more likely, shows that it is unwise to exercise this way without understanding the effect of the training.

43)

Whether it is lactic acid or lactate that is causing it, lowering of blood pH caused by excess oxygen debt, upsets

activities of enzymes that would affect body functions such as recovery because most enzymes only function in a very narrow pH range on the alkaline side.

44) You are what you eat; your physical and mental states will be affected by the chemical balance. If your body pH level

becomes too acidic and enzyme function retarded, your mood swing will be affected as well as muscles’ ability to recover and/or handle strenuous exercise.

45) Once I asked Lydiard possibly developing your heart further by doing some long intervals (known as cruise intervals

such as 3~5 × mile) where your pulse rate will be raised higher than long runs (i.e.: 160~180BPM vs. 120~150BPM); his answer was simply; “Your heart will develop by doing a lot of work…” indicating the necessity of doing long continuous runs at more forgiving pace. If you start out running too fast, you may have to end it prematurely.

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When a person’s Steady State or oxygen uptake is reasonably low, when exercising at relatively slow speeds, he can be incurring oxygen debts that another person may not be incurring at the same efforts. However, as the individual’s Steady State rises, so, the previously lower anaerobic efforts now becomes high aerobic efforts and progressively this reaction continues until the higher levels of efficiency are reached. This would be nearer to 5 liters per minute. Therefore, as training progresses, the possibilities of running further AND faster must increase46). The coronary arteries that provide the blood flow to the heart to keep it functioning branch off from the aorta near the heart. The heart requires a certain minimum quantity of oxygen to function at basal rest and more as it is influenced by exercise, emotion, posture and temperature. If a person’s maximum Steady State is low, his heart will have to have more blood flowing through the coronary arteries to supply the necessary amount of oxygen needed during rest or exercise periods than if his maximum Steady State is higher so as to compensate and maintain the same quantity of oxygen being provided for the heart. The higher a person’s maximum Steady State, the easier it is for the heart to work; for with the better oxygen enriched blood, a lesser quantity needs to be forced through the coronary arteries to enable it to function efficiently. When a person’s maximum Steady State is low, the heart has to pump blood much faster in larger quantities per minute to provide the necessary oxygen for body functions, causing the pulse rate to rise; this extra pressure helping to distend the coronary arteries to as to take the extra blood flow necessary. However, it also builds up excessive blood pressure upon the main arterial system; this being because people who have low maximum Steady State usually have poor circulatory development so as to preclude the possibility of the blood circulating quickly and, therefore, being able to complete the circuit by returning quickly to the heart again. When the heart rate per minute is extremely high and the blood does not circulate quickly enough to allow it to fill fully again with each diastole or relaxing and dilating action, then efficiency is affected as it can be seen that if the heart is working hard to maintain a sufficient blood flow to the coronary arteries to keep itself functioning according to the demands being made upon it; but cannot get sufficient blood back through the veins to eject to the coronary arteries, then there could be a neuron-muscular breakdown47). When the heart ejects a volume of blood into the aorta and it is already full, this blood is displaced by flowing onwards through the smaller arteries and arterioles into the capillaries and veins. High resistance to the blood flow by the arterioles into the capillaries prevents the dispersion of the blood quickly enough to keep pace with the flow into the aorta, this resulting in the pressure in the arteries rising steadily, distending the elastic arterial walls, until the increased flow through the aorta. This is Systolic Pressure, the maximal level of arterial blood pressure. As the heart relaxes and the aortic valve closes, the arterial pressure drops allowing the distended arterial walls to contract, hereby forcing the accumulated blood onwards; this

46)

This is why some elite marathon runners are able to run at sub-5-minute mile pace and stay aerobic. 47)

German athletic coach/doctor, Ernst van Aaken, who coached Olympic medalist, Harald Norpoth, also recognized this

phenomenon as early as 1950s, stating in his book: “…the faster the heart rate, the less efficient is the filling of the ventricles and their recovery time after contraction. Above a pulse rate of about 162~168, the amount of blood pumped out with each heart beat decreases and the reserve blood in the ventricular reserves can no longer be economically used at all…” (Van Aaken Method: Page 42, World Publications, 1976).

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contraction ensuring that the flow of blood continues into the capillaries during the intervals between the heart’s blood ejections. The lowest arterial pressure level reached during these contractions is called Diastolic Pressure. Increased viscosity of the blood raises the general level of blood pressure and therefore retards quick flowing of the blood. Any persons who have a high blood cholesterol level must realize this fact and understand that it must be detrimental to their health. Possibly one of the main reasons that people have heart attacks is due to them having low maximum Steady State and when a jogger starts jogging, it is well to realize that this development should be the first aim; i.e., to raise the Steady State and alleviate the overload upon the heart, as the initial step. Body Temperatures: Body temperature varies in parts of the body and heat is lost from the body by physical processes that are aided by physiological factors that enable the blood to be cooled as it flows through the skin and by providing water for cooling the skin, by vaporization. When the air is cool, the blood vessels of the skin constrict, so diminishing heat loss; and dilate when the air is hot, so eliminating the excess heat produced in the body when exercising. When heat is increased, more perspiration is secreted and evaporative heat loss is greater. When the body temperature rises during exercise, there is an increase in the rate of perspiring and in the amount of blood flowing through the skin. When exercise is of a strenuous nature, there is a need for more blood to the muscles and also to the skin for cooling, resulting in both suffering, especially when exercising in heat. When exercising in heat, increased blood flow is needed to the exercising muscles and the skin for thermal regulation and this situation could get to the stage whereby the exercise in demand may be beyond the capacity of the heart to increase the cardiac output, causing nausea and dizziness and even heat stroke. Those not accustomed to exercising strenuously in heat are faced with suffering certain problems such as heat cramps, through excessive loss of salt and water, causing a neuron-muscular break-down; heat exhaustion; through circulatory inadequacy caused by dehydration and should a person endeavor to continue exercising when in a dehydrated state, heat stroke can follow and this condition is serious enough to prove fatal as the temperature controlling center of the brain becomes deranged. People can accustom themselves to exercising in the heat by gradually exercising for daily periods in the heat; this steadily improving the circulation of blood to the arterioles in the skin for cooling. Marathon runners are often required to race in hot condition when body temperature may rise to extremes and dehydration be excessive. If they have been training in the heat, they can invariably handle those conditions quite well, with good recovery later, while those not accustomed to exercising in the heat rarely finish the courses and often are in distressed condition for some time later. People having their first sauna baths usually feel extremely hot and uncomfortable in temperature of 80 C°, yet, after regularly bathing in the sauna over a period of weeks, temperatures of 120 C° become quite agreeable and cause no discomfort.

Page 23

The body’s temperature regulating mechanism is very efficient, as I have proved during marathon competitions when I have been suffering from the effects of the heat and have poured a bucket of water over myself, the beneficial effect being almost instantaneous, allowing me to run freely again. On marathon courses that I often ran over, I found that I could usually run about 10 to 15 minutes faster on a cool day than on a hot day, proving that the body’s metabolism is greatly overtaxed under hot condition and that there is always the ever present danger of someone harming themselves. Often people can be seen distance running on a hot and humid day searing too much clothing with the purpose of sweating off weight. They surely rid themselves of water and salt which they probably replace again soon afterwards; however, because of the small volume of training possible when their body temperatures become too high, they do not burn up as much fat as they hope48). With the higher body temperature causing blood to be taken from the working muscles to go to the skin arterioles for cooling, the efficiency of the working muscles is impaired so that performance is lessened. It being necessary to do as much running at an economic level as possible when developing cardiac efficiency, anything that prevents a volume of running being carried out should be avoided; therefore, it is wise when conditioning by running to have on only clothing that is necessary and will not retard movement and overheat the body. A person is able to run further and faster when cool than when hot and should only wear the clothing that is necessary on the day according to the prevailing condition. Try to be comfortably warm. How To Jog: The first step to take when considering being a jogger is to be examined by your doctor to be sure that there are no medical reasons why you should not jog. This also eases any worry from the mind of the husband or wife of the jogger, as some people do worry about an individual that is probably obese, generally out of condition and possibly even suffered from a previous coronary attack or attacks. Once the doctor knows your intentions, then it is necessary to understand your own physical condition and approach the exercise with a common-sense. The main thing is that you try to understand what is actually going to happen to your body when you start to exercise. It is necessary for you to understand how to evaluate exercises so that you gain the best value for the time that you have to spend. It will suddenly be realized that much can be gained for a little time spent exercising daily.

48)

If weight loss is your goal, you should run comfortably so that you can run further and faster aerobically. If you wear

extra clothes, you may lose extra water by sweating profusely; you will not be able to run as far and fast as you otherwise would if you dress appropriately/comfortably.

Olympic marathon is traditionally run in the heat of the summer which makes it more challenging

to runners. The image is from 2008 Beijing Olympics men’s marathon where runners were

running through the mist spray

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What do you have to do to get basically fit and gain fine general cardiac efficiency? You have to stimulate your heart to increase the pressure upon the cardio-vascular and cardio-respiratory systems at an economical level; aerobically; i.e., within your capacity to assimilate, transport and use oxygen (within your Steady State or Oxygen Uptake). How do you do this? By exercising with the use of the big, powerful upper leg muscles; running giving the best results, for the time used exercising49). Some people believe that they can keep generally fit and maintain good cardiac efficiency by doing manual work; gymnastics and calisthenics; weight lifting and many other forms of exercising that is designed to bring about muscular efficiency rather than general cardiac efficiency50). I term the people who develop huge muscular systems, “Buses with Mini Minor Motors in Them.” Put people such as this upon a running track and get them to run as fast as they are able; (and it won’t be very fast) over two laps and see the pitiful result. They lay there at the finish as though their last days had come, gasping for breath with an excessively fast pulsing heart; their big muscles being useless to them in this state, which takes only about 2½ to 3 minutes to bring about. If exercise is evaluated, it will be found that even swimming will not develop cardiac efficiency as running will51). The swimmer is actually exercising in a resting position with his/her body weight supported against gravity by the water, this being the reason why youngsters in their early teens can break world’s records, yet this is not possible on a running track where the runner must try to lift his/her body’s weight against gravity, the stress being too great through the severe anaerobic exercise. Even when cycling, a person sits on the seat and helps to alleviate the gravitational pull; though should he get up off the seat, the exercise becomes more strenuous as he now has to fight gravity. I do not say that various forms of exercise are not good for you if used in a common-sense way; what I am saying is that, because we have limited time in our busy lives, it is important to gain the best and desired results possible for the time being used; otherwise it will be found that we are using time and not achieving the important results; in our case, fine general cardiac efficiency.

49) Running, perhaps along with cross country skiing where you use your upper body even more vigorously, is one of the

best aerobic exercises because you use most of major muscle groups to lift the entire body weight in the air against gravity. Stands the reason why any athletes in the sport that requires superior general cardiac efficiency; such as kayaking, rugby football, or even tennis, gymnastics, figure skating or even boxing; benefit from simple activity of running

50) This material was written in the early 1970s, yet, even today, many still believe that some exercises of non-aerobic nature such as weight lifting, particularly exercises involving more upper body, being equally effective as running, sighting some hastily conducted research; or simply using that as an excuse not to run as much.

51) Swimming and cycling are probably two of the most widely used alternative to running as best aerobic exercises. However, because the body is supported during swimming/cycling, it would take longer to achieve same general development as would have with running. Of course, because of this reason also that these would make suitable alternate cross training (non-weight bearing).

Former offensive linemen for Alabama Crimson Tide (above) vs. young ladies who run (big heart with small frame) – the one in the middle is a 30:32-

10,000m runner. Their oxygen carrying capacity is probably triple of that of linemen’s because they run

Page 25

So you decide to run as the best form of exercise. How do you run; how far and how fast? As I previously explained, nobody can say to any person of any age just how far nor how fast they should run in the initial stages. It might look good to write a lot of schedules as guides; however, this is impractical and unwise as any coach of runners understands. In the joggers case, his/her condition could be such that he/she is close to having a heart attack, with a low Steady State, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, poor circulatory and respiratory development and be suffering from atheroma (a fiberous, fatty growth) in the arteries as well as some hardening of the arteries. In other words, if two people had different Steady States, one with a low 2 liters capacity per minute usage against the other’s ability to use 4 liters per minute; it would be found that if they were to both carry out equal work loads, the former person’s heart would be forced to work twice as hard as the latter person’s to pump near twice the quantity of blood through the coronary arteries so as to compensate for the lack of oxygen in the blood. In such a case, the former person would be building up great blood pressure in the main arteries, simply because a person in this state would have very poor circulatory development and blood circulating possibilities, notwithstanding the fact that there would also be a high cholesterol

state that would increase the viscosity of the blood, further precluding the possibility of the blood circulating reasonably fast. This person could get to the state whereby sufficient blood would not reach the heart to fill it during each diastole or relaxing and dilating action, eliminating the possibility of getting sufficient blood to the coronary arteries and raising the possibility of a breakdown. When jogging is to begin, it is wise for the jogger to understand this and realize that the first and most important thing to do is to alleviate pressure of work off the heart and the best way to do this is not to worry about blood pressures, atheroma, cholesterol, etc., but to lift the Steady State or oxygen uptake52). When a person exercises, his/her body’s metabolism is stimulated into creating more hemoglobin in the red cells in the blood and it is also possible that there could also be an increase in the red cells’ count. Buffers are also created to counteract

the lactate that form initially when exercise begins and any more that may develop if the exercise becomes strenuous or intense enough. The buffers are in the form of blood bicarbonate. In other words, the body’s metabolism makes it possible to assimilate more oxygen from the air and initially this is what is required in the jogger’s case. In the totally unfit person with a low Steady State or oxygen uptake and generally poor cardiac development, it would be impossible to run at speeds that would bring about the development of the under-developed arterial system, simply because the heart is already under great duress through the low oxygen capacity of the blood and extra work could cause complications.

52)

This is why the exercise should be “Feeling-Based” (go by how you feel; not by any pre-determined numbers) and

“Response-Regulated” (not by pre-determined schedule/plan but how your body is responding).

The one who spread the gospel of

“Jogging” to the rest of the world: Bill Bowerman (left) and his wife,

Barbara, walking on Pre’s Trail in Eugene, OR

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Quantities of (lactate) in the blood of such a person are also undesirable as (lactate) causes neuron-muscular breakdowns. In a person with a low Steady State, when exercise is engaged in, he/she can very easily go into an anaerobic state as; the less the cardio-vascular fitness of the person; the greater the rise in lactate53). So what do you do when you start to jog after the doctor has given you the green light? You find out about yourself in practice; and only YOU can do that, no one else. Only YOU can find out what your level is to run for distance and at what speed. NO ONE can tell you initially at what speed you should run and how far; this is purely a thing for the individual to find out for him-/her-self. As I previously stated, age does not enter into this – only the individual’s capacity to work according to the person’s individual fitness. How can you do this – find out your own capacity to work – to find your own level of fitness? You know you must not exercise anaerobically (at this point) so that it is important to maintain control of yourself by not overdoing things, by becoming a little competitive and running or trying to run too fast; faster than your condition will allow. As long as you are exercising more than previously by running a little each day or every other day; no matter how slow it may seem to you, you must realize that you are winning. You are starting to improve your basic condition. Control of yourself is of the utmost importance in the initial stages and, for that matter, even later on if you wish to become competitive. One of the reasons that I was reasonably successful as a track coach of middle distance and distance runners was because I always made my runners exercise control in training so that they always had something in reserve54). I taught them to train and not strain – to enjoy their running and this is only possible by running within your own capabilities. As I taught Bill Bowerman years ago; TRAIN, and DON’T STRAIN. You will not get a medal for trying to run too fast too soon; however, you could kill yourself (by trying to run too fast). At least you wouldn’t have any worries anymore, but your family would. Some people are saying that it is necessary to raise the pulse rate to levels of 150 to 180 beats per minute to bring about cardiac efficiency. Don’t you believe it! When a person is exercising and the pulse rate is that high, the exercise will be (most likely) of an ANAEROBIC nature, not AEROBIC; and this is not what a jogger wants to do. I proved years ago in the fields of the best competition in the world, the Olympic Games, that the people using anaerobic training for conditioning and excess later in training were wrong; and that using such methods precluded the possibilities of doing a volume of work and undermined the body’s metabolism. There is no need to worry about pulse rates. Even if you are just walking or running fast enough to bring your pulse up more than normally, with exercise, you will start to achieve cardiac efficiency55).

53)

Again, some training program, even for beginners, calls for high intensity exercises, such as intervals and tempo runs,

a few times a week. As far as we are concerned, it is a totally wrong approach to start with. 54)

The best way to train is to finish the workout knowing you could have done a little faster and a little further if you

wanted to; if it’s interval/repetition, never EVER do “one more”… 55)

Lydiard used to say that, even if you bring about your heart rate to 90~100, you ARE doing some good and developing

cardiac efficiently.

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There are runners in the USA who are at present gaining fine results by carrying out this principal by running for long distances at slow speeds to develop their stamina and, while I believe that they could gain better results by running at their best aerobic speeds rather than at lower ones; the facts remain that they are achieving fine endurance or cardiac efficiency by running at these slow speeds – not by running at speeds that raise their pulse rates to above 150 beats per minute56). So what do you do? You go to the park, or track, or forest trail, or on the road, or anywhere that you believe you can run. If the surface that you intend to run on is hard, then it is necessary to have soft soled shoes that I will mention later. Now you are not going to see how far you can run, nor how fast. You are going to look at your watch prior to starting; and you are going to be exercising for 15 minutes at your own level (speed) to exercise. You start off at a slow run, not fast, and you keep going at a speed that you feel happy about. If you become too tired to the extent that you are breathing rather hard and you start to feel a little uncomfortable, then it is time to walk for awhile until you are ready to jog again. You continue this, walking and running (jogging) alternating until the 15 minutes is completed. All the time you have been exercising, you have been placing only enough duress upon yourself to make yourself PLEASANTLY TIREDPLEASANTLY TIREDPLEASANTLY TIREDPLEASANTLY TIRED57). Pleasantly tired is the key to jogging and even training for competitive running. Only you as an individual can know when you are pleasantly tired; and as long as you are prepared to run this way, you will learn to enjoy running and also continue to improve your general condition. At first, you will probably walk much more than you will run. However, it will not be long before your possibilities to assimilate oxygen from the air will improve and gradually alleviate the work load off your heart, so allowing you to run progressively a little faster. Initially, the speeds you will be running at will be too slow to bring about the development of your under-developed circulatory system, but later as your blood becomes better toned and oxygen richer, so greater pressure will be placed upon this under-developed arterial system so that progressively these channels will increase their capacity to allow more blood to flow through. Initially, when there is practically no further development of these under-developed parts, it will be noted that the pulse rate will start to drop lower, simply because of the greater amount of oxygen being assimilated by the better toned blood, allowing the heart to do its work progressively easier. Later the pulse will get slower because of the further development of the arterial channels. I say 15 minutes as the time to jog as a basis because I proved in practice, working with many joggers over a number of years, that this time was sufficient to improve general cardiac efficiency and, at the same time, not be too testing nor tiring for the average person. A New Zealand heart specialist who observed my first group of joggers made this remark after 2 years of close observation: “I believe that, if the average middle-aged person was to jog for 15 minutes a day, in a period of 18 months, he or she could double the efficiency of their cardiac systems generally.” I know this to be true and have proved it so. However, if you are prepared to run further daily, as you become fitter; then this efficiency will be gained much quicker.

56)

Lydiard is referring L.S.D. (Long Slow Distance) training method here. 57)

Pleasantly tired = at the end of the run, you should feel as if you could have run a little bit longer and a little bit faster

if you wanted to.

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I recall in 1962, speaking to a group of men in Hawera, a small town in New Zealand, about jogging and I made this statement that I believed that anyone who can walk can run and if they really feel inclined, they could run 20 miles and this applied to old people even in their 70s. After my talk, an old fellow by the name of Wills came to me and said that he was interested in running. However, he was 74 years of age and had had 3 coronary attacks. He was a big man of 280 pounds, obese and looked completely out of condition. He also asked if I believed that he could run 20 miles. I was a little doubtful when I looked at him, but I told him go and see his doctor and explain just what he had in mind58). I said that as long as he did not have a diseased heart and had recovered from his previous attacks, I doubted whether the doctor would be against him trying. Well, Mr. Wills started jogging, with his doctor’s consent, and the first time that he tried to run for his 15 minutes, he only got as far as 30 yards and had to walk for a time before trotting along again. After a few weeks, he was able to run for the full 15 minutes and was, soon after this, running much longer time. In 6 months from the day that he started jogging, Mr. Wills actually ran 20 miles without stopping. Besides him on push cycles rode members of the local newspapers – the hardest work they had done in years, just to see what would happen. Maybe they could see the headlines in the Daily: “Joggers Dies on Road”. However, Mr. Wills handled his 20 miles in fine style and, today, 8 years later, is a healthy and vigorous man of 82 years of age who, 3 years ago, rode a racing push cycle around a New Zealand mountain called Mr. Egmont, a distance of 100 miles on Christmas morning for a workout. On his arrival back, on being asked by the local press, what his reactions were to the ride; he remarked that it wasn’t any problem except the traffic worried him. Mr. Wills was a man who started from behind scratch by having had coronary attacks that he was fortunate enough to have survived. Many people are not so fortunate59) and, then again, some may be lucky to die rather than to be crippled by strokes and left invalided the rest of their days. Only a complete fool will allow his or her body to deteriorate without trying to do something about it; yet there are many such people, who, if you talk about running or exercising, will laugh their fool heads off and say that they could not run for a bus. The joke is or will eventually be on them. That is for sure. When you start jogging, it is also important to realize that, because of your poor condition, you will not be moving at a very fast rate; possibly making little headway at all; and because you will

58)

It is always a good idea to seek the professional opinion when you start running to be sure. Lydiard was always quite

adamant about this. 59)

First symptom of heart attack is the actual attack. And from the first attack, almost 50% of them die.

Faces of Original Joggers:

Auckland Jogging Club which Arthur Lydiard stated in 1961 (image from Run For Your Life”, Garth Gilmour Collection)

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probably be overweight, you will be landing on the ground with each step rather hard, causing a jarring reaction throughout your body that can make your leg joints (particularly the ankles and knees) and your back sore. When a runner is fit and moving quite fast, the body weight is being carried forward at speeds that alleviate the possibilities of jarring. The slower that you run, then the harder you will be inclined to come down at each stride60). Therefore, it is important to realize the necessity of having shoes that will cushion each step and so prevent such problems. It is always better to prevent than try to cure; anticipate some problem and preclude the probability of it occurring. There are very few shoes available that are really satisfactory for distance running, simply because the people who make shoes do not generally run hundreds of miles a month and do not understand the true needs of the distance runner. It is impossible to run regularly with bad fitting footwear and footwear not designed to eliminate the possibilities of injuries being suffered. Unfortunately, most people do not understand what sort of shoes are required for distance running and often try a pair on in a store that may feel alright; though when they start to run a number of miles in them will suddenly realize that they are having problems. Many people are quite vain and will buy pretty shoes rather than practical shoes irrespective of the price and, of course, will pay more later by having to buy sticking plaster, liniments and even pay doctors bills. Some athletes are like that. They would rather look pretty and pour the blood out of their shoes at the end of a competition than wear practical, good fitting shoes that do not look so attractive. Of course, many (people) are like this and will go through agony to wear a pair of shoes that are fashionable and wrong fittings rather than wear shoes that

are comfortable (but) not so fashionable. Many of them pay dearly for this through developing bunions upon the inside joints of their feet through the constant rubbing on the bone and flesh. When bone and flesh are damaged, the bone will grow before the flesh has recovered and consequently, as the bunion gets bigger, it progressively grows faster. This also happens to runners, though to the top of the back of the heels (Achilles tendon) through shoes that are inclined to bite into this part of the feet. Shoes that have an exaggerated curvature of the backs can cause this damage very quickly, particularly to people who have rather straight heels. The continual rubbing by the shoes in this area will eventually damage the bone and cause bursers to form behind the Achilles tendons and progressively they grow faster as they become bigger, so causing extreme trouble to the runner and eventually requiring the person to cut the backs down or out of the shoes61). When I was the

New Zealand track coach at the Tokyo Olympics, one of the runners, a young woman called Marise Chamberlain, had developed very large bursers upon her heels and I really wondered how it was possible for her to run at all. She had to have fine sprint and great tenacity to train and compete. I did not train this runner when in New Zealand. So that she could compete in the

60)

In the 21st century, very much more people are running the marathon and, in many cases, when they are not

adequately prepared. Many would rush to “complete” the marathon by simply increasing the mileage. Consequently, they maintain the slower pace throughout the run. The average marathon finish time of today is about 4 hours 42 minutes; almost 11-minute-mile pace. For this reason that Lydiard had pointed out here, it pays to run a little faster (say, at 8~9-minute-mile pace) would actually help prevent running-related injuries.

61) Today’s so-called modern shoes tend to have overly developed rigid heel called “Achilles protective tab”. Sometimes

this tends to dig in the Achilles, causing more trouble than protecting it.

New Zealand’s Marise Chamberlain (#151) finishing 3rd for bronze medal in 1964

Tokyo Olympics 800m

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Olympics 800m, it was necessary to cut the heels out of her shoes and tape them on her feet. She managed to run third and win a bronze medal. To have bursers removed is a difficult and costly business and unnecessary if runners make sure that their shoes fit well about the heel and do not bite in on the Achilles tendons. Already I have noted this happening amongst runners in the USA where the footwear at present available for distance running leaves much to be desired. Some young people are headed for lots of troubles through the formation of these bursers, as well as joggers. To prevent jarring, it is necessary to run on soft surfaces or, better still, have medium soft thick rubber soles on your shoes, with the heels about an inch thick and the soles about ½ inch thick62). This will ease the jarring and eliminate the probability of skin splints as well as other possible troubles that can be expected with poor footwear. The rubber needs to be of a semi-soft texture, as if it is hard it will not be effective against jarring. In actual fact, a good practical pair of road running shoes will combine three or four different types of rubber for stabilizing the shoe as well as to protect the runner. When you buy a pair of shoes, feel the upper leather and make sure that it has a soft feel. If it feels hard, there is a good possibility that it will quickly get harder as it becomes saturated with sweat and water; this I turn causing skin to be rubbed off and blistering. The shoes should fit so that the big toes are not touching the toe of the shoe, otherwise you can suffer blisters (or black toe nail). Many shoes are made on forms or lasts that are too straight instead of curving from back to toe as your foot63). This forces the big toes against the inside of the shoes, causing the runners to lose their big toe-nails and also having the effect of throwing the runners over onto the outside of their feet; this in turn causing ankle troubles. A distance-running shoe should fit roomily in the front, as when running distances, the forepart of the foot can swell and, if the shoes are too tight, blistering can be expected. The shoes should fit comfortably around the top line and not bite in anywhere. If these points are considered, you will find that you will have few, if any, foot and leg problems. In New Zealand, I was forced to train my runners upon the roads in winter for the Olympic Games because we did not have all-weather tracks, only grass tracks; these being too wet and slippery in winter as we have lots of rain. Not only did these runners run distances upon the bitumen roads, but they also did their speed training on them. Because I was managing a shoe factory at this time and also because I was a New Zealand

62)

Back in Lydiard’s days, most shoes people ran in were simple “sand shoe” with very minimal sole with canvas upper.

Lydiard was one of the early days “runners” who engaged himself with mega-mileage training on the road so he was well-aware of the importance of well-cushioned shoes. However, today’s material had advanced so much that we probably don’t have to worry so much about how much cushion we have under our feet. As a matter of fact, it’s the over-swing of other direction; we feel, as did Lydiard himself, that today’s shoes have too much cushion underneath and this might create other issues.

63) Lydiard believed this was the main cause of over-pronation and over-supination.

This illustrates different types of shoes with different degree of “curve”

Page 31

marathon champion, I was able to make the shoes to enable these runners to have the protection necessary64). While I was in West Germany last year, lecturing in Stuttgart; the German runners told me that they did not train on the roads because they suffered leg injuries. I told them it was because they did not have the correct shoes for road running, whereby they replied that they had the best shoes in the world. I told them that this was not so. I said that they had the prettiest shoes in the world, not the best. Whereupon they continued to argue further. I said that there was only one way to prove my point and that was by looking at the feet of some of the distance runners in the audience. Six young men who ran many miles came out and took off their shoes and it was interesting to observe the blisters, black and blue toe-nails as well as those missing, and sticking plaster on various parts of their feet. I then remarked that if that was what good shoes did to your feet, I would hate to see that bad fitting shoes did. I made my point. After the meeting, I was approached by a representative of a shoe factory in Nuremberg, West Germany, who asked me if I would go to their factory and help them develop a shoe that would fit every requirement of the distance runner. I agreed and spent 3 weeks there with Eugen Brutting Sport International, who made the Diamond shoes. After wearing a pair for one year myself, by running 5000 miles under all condition, in snow, ice and the tropics of Australia, through salt water and over rough terrain, I gave the firm the green light to go ahead with production. I mention this because I know how important it is to have footwear that fits comfortably and does not cause any problems. Otherwise, running can be troublesome and unnecessarily unpleasant65). Running Aims And Schedules: As previously mentioned, it is unwise to attempt to run to a schedule of any type until you have discovered your own capacity to run at speeds and ever distances, always endeavoring to become PLEASANTLY TIRED rather than to stages of exhaustion. Even when you get to the stage that you can run for 15 minutes without stopping, it is better to attempt to run for a longer time than to attempt to run faster. The more running that you are able to do on a time basis, the better. Initially, IT IS TIME ON THE LEGSIT IS TIME ON THE LEGSIT IS TIME ON THE LEGSIT IS TIME ON THE LEGS, OR TIME SPENT , OR TIME SPENT , OR TIME SPENT , OR TIME SPENT RUNNING,RUNNING,RUNNING,RUNNING, THAT COUNTS; RATHER THAN MILES COVERED THAT COUNTS; RATHER THAN MILES COVERED THAT COUNTS; RATHER THAN MILES COVERED THAT COUNTS; RATHER THAN MILES COVERED. You may not cover as many miles as some other person during a given time; but you will gain the best overall results this way. Do not push yourself when starting jogging. Try to work happily within your own capacity. Progressively you will be running faster without realizing it simply because your Maximum Steady State will continue to rise. If you are a busy person with a minimum of time, it should be realized that, if you run daily for 15 minutes, you will continue to gain in general cardiac efficiency. However, I have been asked on numerous occasions; what did I consider the minimum a person could run weekly and still be gaining? From my experience over a number of years, I would say that 15 minutes every other day will give reasonable results and keep the person improving in condition, though to do less

64)

Peter Snell won the gold medal in 800m in 1960 Rome Olympic Games, wearing spike shoes hand-made by Lydiard. 65)

The shoe technologies and materials had changed so much from 70s and 80s. However, we decided to keep this part

because some of the points Lydiard had made here are still very much valid today.

Arthur Lydiard’s shoes in the 1970s

by Germany’s EB

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than this, while giving some benefits, it is doubtful that it is sufficient to keep the person improving. The more done, the better; and the best way to accustom yourself to running longer distances is to occasionally run a longer run. For instance, I would encourage a jogger who had been running 15 to 30 minutes daily to run for one hour once a week; preferably on weekends. In many ways, it is a psychological barrier that the runner has to break through rather than a physical one. I would tell the jogger’s spouse that the jogger and I would run down a certain road in one direction for one hour and that, 45 minutes after we left, would she/he come in the car and bring us back. We would then set off and I would always run a little behind the jogger, as this assures that he is running at his/her pace and it is also a psychological boost to him/her. Invariably a jogger is a little doubtful as to his/her ability to master the longer runs and will often be a little over-careful of going too fast. However, when 45 minutes running has been completed, I found it usual for a jogger to pick up speed when I purposely mentioned that his spouse would now be leaving in the car to fetch him/her. It would invariably become a race between him/her and the car. How far could he/she get before it arrived? Tiredness would be forgotten. Always remember that it is the speed that stops the runner, not the distanceit is the speed that stops the runner, not the distanceit is the speed that stops the runner, not the distanceit is the speed that stops the runner, not the distance; and, if you are prepared to keep the speed of the run down, you will find it will amaze you how far that you can run without stopping66). This is the main necessity to gain fine cardiac efficiency, to maintain a volume of work as long as possible and as regularly as possible. If you can only run a few yards at first, providing you are prepared to try and do a little running regularly, then it will only be a matter of a few weeks before you can run miles. Initially, you can suffer from some soreness in the leg muscles which proves that they were out of good condition; and the best way to overcome the problem is not to stop running but to keep at it until you bring about better circulatory development in these muscles67). Because of poor circulatory development in the leg muscles and because some lactate is being formed, when the exercise is completed, some of this acid will remain in the extremities of the under-developed capillaries and arterioles; this irritating the muscle nerves, causing soreness. Some massage can help though it is far better to jog a little daily until better development is achieved. The pumping and pressure by the heart is better able to move the (lactic acid) than by massaging providing that the jogging is reasonably slow and well within your Steady State. The first day that you jog, it is important to realize that you may be tempted to run too fast; because you are fresh and do not have any sore muscles. If you do go too fast, then you will pay for this mistake with sorer muscles than would have been the case had you gone slower. Schedules should be attempted this way first and progressively:

Starting-Out: Try at first to be able to run for 15 minutes daily at a PLEASANTLY TIRED rate68). 66)

We feel that today’s popular technique of taking many walking breaks actually hinder one’s development; for this gives

a runner a psychological barrier that he/she cannot go the distance without stopping; consequently they interfere fine cardiac development by continuously stopping.

67) Easy jogging actually helps recovery by increasing the blood and oxygen flow to the area as well as massaging effect by

moving the tight muscles. 68)

Any form of jog/walk program should suffice and gradually increase the length of jogging without walking break (or

gradually cut back the amount of walking break) as well as the total duration of the exercise.

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Second Stage:

Monday: 15 minutes Tuesday: 30 minutes Wednesday: 15 minutes Thursday: 30 minutes Friday: 15 minutes (or rest) Saturday: 30 minutes Sunday: 15 minutes

This period should take about 6 to 8 weeks, according to how YOU feel. Never advance to the next stage unless you are happy with your condition to handle the extra work. Third Stage: If you are only interested in jogging to keep fit and maintain and develop fine cardiac efficiency generally, then there is no need to run more than has already been suggested. However, there are many joggers who will wish to become competitive or wonder just what their personal capabilities are so that, for this reason, I will continue on with further stages that will prepare a jogger to train later on as a competitive athlete. As I previously mentioned, a jogger is a runner and there is no reason why the approach should be different basically. Eventually the jogger becomes so fit that he/she may wish to become competitive; then he/she must train as a runner and develop his/her anaerobic capacity to exercise; this calling for much more rigorous exercising and the need of good knowledge and experience of a practical coach.

Monday: 15 minutes Tuesday: 30 minutes Wednesday: 15 minutes Thursday: 1 hour Friday: 15 minutes Saturday: 1 hour Sunday: 30 minutes

This period should take about 6 to 8 weeks. By the end of this period, you should have been running for about 6 months or more and should be in the condition to handle a fairly rigorous schedule – only if you wish to train as an athlete and prepare for competition. Fourth Stage (time-based schedule):

Monday: 30 minutes Tuesday: 1 hour Wednesday: 30 minutes Thursday: 1½ hour Friday: 30 minutes Saturday: 2 hours Sunday: 30 minutes69)

69)

Note; even when you get to the point where you can run 2-hours continuously, you still go back to a very easy day (30

minutes) in between for recovery.

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Fifth Stage (mileage-based schedule):

Monday: 5 miles Tuesday: 10 miles Wednesday: 5 miles Thursday: 12 miles Friday: 5 miles Saturday: 15~20 miles Sunday: 5 miles

When training over miles, it is necessary to run to time so as to control speed and efforts. It is necessary to find out your Steady State in a practical way and to train; in theory, just below your Steady State at your best aerobic speeds so as to be able to do the volume of running necessary and, at the same time, gain the best value for the time spent running. The first week, run over each course, without any influencing factors such as a watch nor another runner, and endeavor to run at your best level pace; finishing in the state whereby you feel tired, but know that you can do better. Do not increase the speed at the finish; just maintain an even speed. If you are running so fast that you must slow down, then you must know that you are starting to run anaerobically and this is undesirable. It is also possible to run anaerobically over such distances for 3 or 4 days; but not continually for weeks and months on end. This has to be understood. Once you have completed a week like this and you know your levels over the various courses, then the next week run to the watch over these same courses; i.e., if you ran 35 minutes for the 5 miles course the first week, then you would run over the same course on this occasion by running each measured mile in 7 minutes, trying all the time to maintain an even effort. After a week or two, you will find that 7 minutes per mile will become too slow for you as you become fitter and your Steady State rises70). Therefore, speeds that were previously low anaerobic speeds are now high aerobic speeds so that it will be necessary to run each mile of the course a little faster and progressively as your Steady State rises. Suffice to say that the average jogger is not interested in going to these extremes. However, if you are to take my advice and wish to become really competitive, then only train to schedules that have been arranged by a coach who has proved himself in this field. Otherwise, you may be greatly disappointed. Various Features And Reactions To Jogging: When I was first asked to tour New Zealand and speak to people about jogging and its benefits, I realized one thing; and that was, if I was to sell jogging to people, I had to use psychology in the sense that, if I tried to advise them against some of their habits that were not helping their health, such as smoking and excessive drinking; habits that they considered pleasures; then, I would not have an audience for long and never get jogging started. I also realized that if I could get people to take interest in their own physical welfare, then they would gradually start to go away with some of their habits that were not assisting their general health. I knew from experience that, as I trained and developed certain fatigue states in my body, that subconsciously I became food selective; gradually changing my diet without specifically trying to. I found that I

70)

Lydiard always liked to talk about this “theory” of increasing the running pace as you get fitter in order to stay close to

the Maximum Steady State. It does not, however, mean his runners were constantly pushing the running pace. Instead, previously explained “pleasantly tired state” is far better approach to be taken.

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needed less foods of the fatty and starchy nature; I stopped smoking, which I had indulged in for 10 years and while never a drinker of alcoholic beverages in excess, I found that I had no wish to drink spirits, though found that after training a glass of ale was satisfying. This was my approach as I toured the country. To truthfully say to people that I knew of people who had never smoked nor drank alcoholic beverages in their lives and also had exercised very little and these people had suffered from coronary attacks. On the other hand, I knew of people who had smoked and drank alcoholic drinks in moderation all their lives; they also exercised by playing tennis, etc.; and these people had never had cardiac problems; that the point I was making was that the important aspect or consideration was to exercise in moderation and then it would be possible to enjoy the vices one may have in moderation. While I agreed that smoking and drinking was not good for a person’s health, just to abstain from these vices did not necessarily mean that the person would have cardiac efficiency; unless some form of exercise was engaged in that would activate this efficiency71). This approach actually worked as I was able to observe in later years. Of the many joggers that I had previously spoken to and also later; I found that their personal habits had changed without any particular efforts by these people to stop smoking or drinking. As one man said that, in his case, he used to wake up in the morning and immediately feel about for his cigarettes. Now, after a year of jogging, he gets up earlier and runs around the park; has his shower and breakfast while reading the newspaper and never gives smoking a thought. He said that he used to drink whiskey at socials and with business associates. However, now he will just put a glass in his hand and maybe drink one all night, if that much. His desire has waned. This is the usual reaction with most people. I have noted though that those people who are beer drinkers will continue to drink some beer, as a thirst quencher. Not in excess, but as they feel the need after dehydrating after exercising in hot and humid conditions. This means that, quite apart from the good physically that the jogging is doing, the moderation and stopping of these other bad habits all tend to combine to make the person generally fitter and healthier. People who smoke cigarettes, pipes or cigars and drink alcoholic beverages in excess are undoubtedly neurotic, to a degree, and invariably overcome these habits that certainly do not assist their health generally. They must know this, but become addicted, mainly because their Steady State is so low and they do not seem capable of controlling themselves in this respect. As their Steady State becomes higher and they become more interested in their own physical welfare so they are able to master these vices. Of course, there are people who will say that they enjoy smoking and drinking hard liquors and do not feel badly for it. There is only one person whom they are fooling and that is him-/her-self. No one really wants that foul taste in the mouth in the morning and the hangovers that these people must experience. Many people will at some time or another indulge a little too much and take a little too much alcohol at a celebration. However, the person who exercises will have a metabolism that is better able to recover from the effects of the alcohol. For instance, alcohol increases the blood cholesterol, but in the case of a person who exercises, this cholesterol level will return to normal fairly quickly, whereas in the

71)

This simply means that it is better to exercise and eat bad foods (and/or drink alcohol and smoke) than not exercise

and eat right. While it still holds a truth that it is important that you actually engage in some sort of physical activities; Lydiard’s view on diet had changed quite a bit later on and, by late 1970s and early 80s, preached that “you are what you eat.” Some athletes, marathon runners or even ultra-marathon runners had had coronary dysfunction due to bad diet with excess saturated fat.

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case of the sedentary person, the cholesterol level will remain high. The same can be said about the eating of fatty foods; they quickly raise the blood cholesterol level. I talked to a group of people once mentioning this fact and after I had finished speaking, a man mentioned his experience of the previous day; when he had been donating blood to the local blood bank. He said that he had noticed the bottle of blood from the man next to him had a layer of some substance floating on top as well as the froth. He later asked the doctor in charge what this could be; and the doctor replied that this person had probably had a big, fatty breakfast just prior to donating the blood and that seeing that fats quickly enter into the blood, that this was the result. This man said that that had put him off fatty foods for good. It is also interesting to note that when a person exercises fairly strenuously, the fats in the body are used as reserves of energy and called upon when needed. This means that after reasonably strenuous exercise, the blood cholesterol can read higher than may be normal, because of the fats that have been drawn from various parts of the body for use. This is also the possible reason why, after exercising strenuously, a person is not usually hungry. When a person runs, he will invariably clear his throat and nasal passages of excess mucus and, if the person happens to live or work in areas where the air is polluted, it will be noted that quite often the mucus will be blackish or discolored to a degree. An American doctor paid a visit to my joggers group years ago and made this observation that, he believed, one of the main benefits from jogging came from the resultant clearing of the nasal and throat passages, by eliminating excess mucus that would normally lay about there as a bed for various bacteria to gain a foothold. He stated that most diseases are contracted through germs entering the body through the throat and nasal passages and that excess mucus in these areas assists them in becoming established. When people start jogging, some often get a shock at the color of the mucus that they will spit out. It can only do a person good to be rid of this. If you are a person who is not actively engaged in some sport or exercise or a reasonably vigorous nature; if you live a sedentary life; it is important for you to realize what your condition could be. You could have poor blood circulation through inactivity. A high cholesterol level, that increases viscosity of the blood, making blood circulation much more difficult. Have atheroma in the arteries, a fatty fibrous substance that forms on the arterial walls, causing the loss of elasticity of these arteries so affecting the blood circulation, as it is the distended walls of the arteries through the pressure from the heart during its ejection of blood, recoiling, that forces the blood throughout the arterioles and capillaries, when the heart is refilling and ejection into these main arteries has ceased. Poor development of the circulatory system, resulting in your having only a few well defined and efficient channels for the blood to circulate through. Scientific photographs of the circulatory systems of sedentary workers as opposed to those of manual workers or endurance athletes show graphically the fine development of the arterial systems of the latter as against the former. The active people having a fine network of arteries, arterioles, capillary beds and veins as against those of sedentary people. This meaning that, if a blood clot should form; as can happen in anyone; in the active person’s case, if an artery should block, there would be other channels for the blood to circulate through and this blockage could cause a breakdown. A well developed circulatory system is a safeguard against this happening. Because your heart is not as strong nor as efficient as an active person’s, it cannot be expected to withstand the duress that may be

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placed upon it. The athlete or active person’s heart has thicker and more efficient muscle and is capable of developing greater Stroke Volume during exercising; to withstand greater duress and perform more efficiently. You could have a very low oxygen uptake, resulting in premature aging and general inefficiency of your body’s metabolism – lack of energy and an apathetic approach to life. Be neurotic to a degree, so indulging in smoking and the excessive drinking of alcohol. Even to the state of becoming addicted to drug taking. You could also be a sufferer of varicose veins and varicose ulcers, through poor circulation of blood through the legs. You could be sexually incompetent to the state of being near sterile. You could be obese through not using up extra calories with exercise so increasing the possibilities of degenerative diseases. You could be heading quickly for a coronary attack; this being more than a remote probability. In other words, you could be just dragging yourself through your life instead of being vigorous, fit and healthy to the state whereby you are able to enjoy a fruitful and pleasurable existence. Never forget that your brain and central nervous system requires oxygen to function efficiently and that the more that you are able to provide them with, through having a high Steady State; the better will be your thinking and the possibilities of keeping a rational approach in dealing with any problems that you may have. Things do not seem so difficult to a fit person as they may to an unfit one. Your general approach to life could be that you are only interested in making money; many people are; and then suddenly find that they have lots of money but that their health is failing them. Many times I have heard people say that they would give their wealth for their health. They suddenly discover that they have been endeavoring to be the richest people in the cemetery with the government ready to snatch most of their hard-earned wealth in death duties. Always remember that you cannot pay someone else to exercise for you and that even a doctor can only postpone your having another coronary attack with the use of medicine, as only through exercising is it able to raise the Steady State. He may give you drugs to overcome cholesterol problems and stimulate your heart with other drugs. However, it is just delaying the evil day. Still there are people who seem to prefer to have their chests opened up for a heart transplant rather than exercise a little that will make them break into a sweat. You may be a person who says that you do not have the time to run; even for 15 minutes a day or every other day. I can only say that you will be a long time in a BOX and you certainly seem in a hurry to get into it. There are people who think it is a great joke to say, “Me, run? I couldn’t run to catch a bus…” If I was in such a condition, I am sure that I would not be laughing about it; rather I would be concerned. If you do not take interest in your own physical welfare, then you can guarantee that no one else will. Only an idiot jokes about their own poor (physical) condition. Then, of course, there are clowns who in their ignorance, try to make fun of people who are endeavoring to exercise and make themselves healthy and fit. These are the people who know that they should be doing something about their physical condition, but are apathetic, negative in their thoughts and just plain lazy; who abhor the thought of doing something that calls for a little physical activity and may make them perspire. They invariably will offer all manner of excuses why they should not jog; yet, all the time knowing that they should be. They usually prefer to wait and see what happens to the others, hopefully waiting for poor results so that they will have an excuse not to start also. You can only get these types going after they have had all their excuses exploded when their friends are developing into fine general condition or when they suffer their first heart problem.

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Years ago, in New Zealand, when the first joggers took to training upon the roads, they were often plagued by the motorists that used to call out; “Do you want a lift?” This usually being to the extent of their intelligence and causing them to go into convulsions of laughter at their own humor. I have noticed the same thing happening in the USA during my visits72); however, this does not happen in New Zealand (any more) where the people who do not exercise feel a little embarrassed about their poor condition. The point is that; if you are too self-conscious at first and people like this tend to annoy you, just consider the fact that it is important to you and that they are the losers, not you; that what you are doing will eventually become commonplace and that more and more will be encouraged to jog. Your health and fitness is possibly your greatest asset and you should safeguard it carefully. If others wish to abuse their bodies and appear unintelligent in this respect, then that is their business and eventually will be their problem. Fifteen minutes a day spent jogging is a fine investment and gives great returns in general fitness and the enjoyment derived from being this way. Why get old quickly when there is no need to? Purpose Of Jogging:

1. To increase the Oxygen Uptake, or Maximum Steady State, of the individual 2. To develop general cardiac respiratory and cardio-vascular efficiency 3. Gradually rejuvenate the body generally by improving the body’s metabolic functions 4. Reduce weight when necessary and improve general muscular tone 5. Help to overcome neurotic habits such as smoking, drug taking and excessive alcoholic

drinking 6. Teach how to evaluate exercise and understand how to approach exercising 7. Teach how to run economically and safeguard from injury 8. Enjoy life immeasurably more through having a physically fit body 9. Learn about your own physical capabilities 10. Understand what training is necessary if you wish to compete 11. Understand about the use of aerobic and anaerobic training

Exercising To Prevent Injuries: When a person gets older, there is a progressive loss of suppleness, unless the person is actively engaged regularly doing suppling and loosening exercise, gymnastics and other calisthenics. You must realize this and, if considering jogging, be prepared to loosen up and stretch your muscles and sinews.

72)

According to Running USA research, the number of people who had run more than 100 days in 2008 was 14,974,000.

The number of people who run a marathon in the US, according to marathonguide.com, had increased from 382,000 in 2005 from 299,000 in 2000.

Things have changed – the Wild Fire ignited by Arthur Lydiard and then spread throughout the world by Bill Bowerman: the start of 2007 Tokyo Marathon; today

for 2010 event, 270,000 people had registered for lottery

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The parts most likely to give the novice joggers trouble will be the ankles and knees. The ankles because of the lack of the range of movement that is necessary when running. Even a jogger will be surprised; by examining his/her shoes after a few months wear; how they worn on the ends of the toes of the soles through driving at the end of each stride. You may not think that you are getting onto your toes and flexing your ankles this much; but, nevertheless, this is true73). It shows the need for you to develop fine ankle flexibility so as to assure that you do not suddenly drive too hard or slide upon driving forward and so over-flex the ankles and so strains or otherwise injure a tendon. Many athletes suffer from Achilles tendon troubles simply because they develop strong and powerful leg muscles without also developing fine ankle suppleness; the powerful driving muscles tearing or straining the poorly conditioned and tight tendon. If you are to run, it is important for you to safeguard against such a possibility; it being far better to prevent than to cure. If you are to start jogging, it is wise to do a few minutes of suppling and loosening exercises and one to do is to start by standing on a brick or block with the foreparts of your feet on the object so that you are able to raise your body up and down so flexing the ankles as far each way as you feel capable74). By doing this daily, you will soon start to develop a greater range of movement and strengthen the muscles about the ankles. As you become running fit, and are able to run for prolonged periods of time and are not suffering from any leg soreness; then you can further develop ankle flexibility by using a small hill or incline to spring up with a bouncy action, using your body weight as a form of resistance75). The idea is not to run up the hill, but to spring with a bouncing action that will take you up the hill

gradually with slow forward momentum. As you spring upwards, your ankles will be flexed to an extreme in one way; and, when you come down on the foreparts of your feet, the ankles will be flexed to an extreme in the other direction. You are advised not to overdo this exercise as you can make your legs feel quite sore. You should only do what you feel that you are capable of doing according to the

condition of your legs. Even springing uphill for 50 to 100 yards a day will bring fine results and eliminate the possibility of leg injuries through tendon troubles76). This form of exercise will develop strength and suppleness in other leg muscles and parts and also help to develop a better technique of running through accustoming you to run with your hips held comfortably forward,

73)

Lydiard claimed that this was the reason why track spike shoes has “teeth” at the end tip of forefoot so as to get the

best traction at the time of take-off. However, with more recent biomechanics study shows that equally important is the “push” of back-leg extension with hamstrings and gluteus muscle groups which is also developed with Lydiard’s Hill Bounding type exercises.

74) A typical heel-raiser exercise. Further enhanced by raising up fast and bringing down slower for an eccentric exercise.

75) Lydiard liked 3 different hill exercises; Steep Hill Running, Hill Bounding and Hill Springing. For more information,

check out “Hill Training – the Lydiard Way” under “Training” page of our website. 76)

Even a gentle hill exercise, going up a local high school stadium steps can help.

Good illustration of ankle action in Hill Springing exercise

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allowing for the knees to be lifted higher and the feet to follow through higher, so shortening the lever, allowing for faster strides and longer strides. You will eliminate uneconomical back-kick as it is impossible to spring up-hill with your hips back. As long as you realize full well WHY you are doing this exercise and its effects, and that you work at it according to your condition; then you will gradually develop powerful and supple legs and so eliminate possible injuries. This type of exercise could be termed isotonic rather than isometric and, because of the series of short sharp resistances that the muscles are subjected to, speed is developed through the activating of the white muscle fibers77). White muscle fibers are those that work in short sharp contractions that produce speed. The red muscle fibers are red because of the oxygen filled red cells they contain and these fibers are endurance fibers. The quantity and ratio of these fibers cannot be increased nor changed; however, they can be developed to become more efficient through bringing resistance to them. Your knees can cause initial troubles if you are running upon hard surfaces without sufficient cushioning upon your shoes. There are many muscles and tendons that join about the knees and too much stress and jarring can develop various sore spots in these regions. To keep your knees warm if you are in a cold climate, when training and should you develop knee soreness that is not too bad, try to keep exercising lightly, avoiding jarring the legs further. If the soreness persists, it is wise to see your doctor and, if possible, arrange for short-wave or deep ray therapy treatment. Naturally, you will have to be guided by his/her advice, though from my experience, when short-wave treatment has been used for knee troubles, that are of a persistent nature, they have been overcome. Should you suffer from strains or tendon troubles, it is a good idea to wade in the sea or lakes and streams, allowing the legs to become quite cold; then by putting your legs into hot or warm water. Even using a paddle board in a swimming pool by continually kicking your legs, you will benefit. Whirl pools with icy water in can also help strains and sore tendons. I found that it is not wise to use heat upon strains, only when bruising has been suffered or after a muscle has been pulled about 3 days after the injury78). If you pull a muscle, you can tell, more or less, by being able to put your finger upon the spot. If you pull a muscle, you should immediately put the affected part into cold water to stop the internal bleeding that occurs through the outer covering or sheath being ruptured. After a few days, normally 3, the blood that has seeped outside the muscle sheath has had a chance to coagulate, otherwise you will distribute more blood about the outside of the muscle sheath so gumming up other muscle sheaths, causing additional soreness when exercise begin again. Eventually, this excess blood will dissolve; however, the use of heat and massage will help the process. Should you suffer any injury that causes you concern and you are not sure about it is always wise to seek your doctor’s advice and leave nothing to chance. It is also wise to realize that massage, when badly needed, should be done by a properly trained physio-therapist as some of these “ham” amateur can do more damage than good and cause further problems. If you have a soft, flabby stomach, it helps to do exercises such as laying upon your back, lifting your legs up and down, in moderation. However, it is also more important to be sure that you do not allow these muscles to become too tight, so affecting their suppleness and preventing the pressure from our expanding heart and lungs, when exercising, otherwise you can suffer from “stitch” or stomach cramps through this pressure being placed upon the diaphragm.

77)

Today this type of exercise is better known as “Plyometrics” which hill training is. 78)

A common treatment for most of injuries is: R.I.C.E. (R=rest, I=ice, C=compression, E=elevation).

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In other words, muscles are supposed to operate in direct opposite to one another, so be sure to exercise both ways. Flexible stomach muscles are not necessarily soft nor loose muscles and the way to stretch these muscles easily is to stand off from a table; lean forward, and chest it, by arching your back downwards as you do this. You will feel the stomach muscles stretch and by doing this daily, about 10 times, you will find that your breathing while running will become progressively easier and that you will not suffer from “stitch”. “Stitch” is the result of pressure on the diaphragm straining at the ligaments that hold the diaphragm to the skeleton, caused through tight stomach muscles not being supple enough to take this excess pressure. A sore back will undoubtedly be the result of jarring upon hard surfaces with not enough cushioning or protection from your shoes. Keep to soft surfaces until you can acquire a suitable pair of shoes79). Running on firm surfaces is the best way to develop general cardiac efficiency as good traction allows you to run more economically so, in turn, conserving energy allowing you to run further and faster aerobically. For instance, if you were to run over an area where there is soft and sandy surfaces and testing hills and, another day, you were to run for the same time at the same effort over a road; you would find that you would run much further over the road than over the country. This being because of the poorer traction of the country, you would not be able to run so economically and, because you would be using more muscles, you would tire more quickly. The muscles would become tired causing you to drop the running speed and so allowing the sustained higher pressure by the heart upon the circulatory system to drop away to an extent. If developing fine cardiac efficiency is the goal, it is important to maintain the best economic, or aerobic, speeds possible for as long a time as possible daily. When muscles become tired and so preclude this possibility, then general cardiac development suffers. For instance, if you get down and do push-ups, you will find that you can do a certain number until your arms become tired; then you must stop after a few minutes exercise this way. You will stand up and find that though your arms are tired, your pulse rate is not very high; that it was quite easy for your heart to provide the blood necessary for the muscles used doing the push-ups; that you were forced to stop simply because the arm’s muscles became tired. This happens when running on surfaces that give poor traction or friction. Unless you are a well-trained runner who can relax completely while running on shifting surfaces, you will find that you will start to tighten up and use more muscles; so using more energy. As the muscles become tired, the running speed will decrease so allowing the pressure by the heart on the circulatory system to ease80).

79)

Once again, the dynamics of shoe technologies had changed so much since 1970. While some cushion is preferred, the

most recent Lydiard recommendation was that “you” need to be able to alleviate the landing shock with proper running technique. The shoe, with excess cushion or thickness of the sole, should never restrict proper movement and function of feet.

80) While this is one of the things Lydiard always liked to talk about and it is true that, for the time spent running, running

on the hard surface would provide better traction and also your legs won’t get tired as quickly and, hence, allows you to run faster aerobically; this does not mean Lydiard’s runners were always running on the road for better traction. Running on grassy or sandy surface has its merit and running over hilly terrain also has advantages. His runners did fair amount of mixture of different surfaces, both firm as well as soft, as well as flat and undulation; in a balanced way.

Lydiard’s original runner, Ray Puckett,

performing upper-body rotation exercise in the original book, “Run to the Top”

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If possible, it is advisable to run on firm surfaces that allow you to run economically at your best aerobic speeds. However, this should not be attempted unless you have fine fitting and suitable footwear. Any suppling and loosening (exercises) that will help in economic movement while running, such as touching your toes, rotating your hips, high kicking while holding onto a solid object in case you lose your footing, will assist you to run better; though always remember that the best case for running is running itself. Good running calls for coordinated actions of the whole body and the best way to achieve this is by doing lots of running and gradually efficiency of movement will be acquired81).

If it is too cold or stormy to go outside to train82), then realize that, as long as you are using your powerful upper leg muscles to work against gravity, that you will be achieving a certain efficiency of your cardio-respiratory and cardio-vascular systems83). Skipping, as you would run, is an excellent exercise; though very much more exacting and tiring unless you keep the skipping rate down to a reasonable rate per minute. There is only one thing against this as in running on the same spot and that is that, because you have no forward momentum, your body’s weight is being fully taken by your legs; unlike when running forward; and this can make parts of your legs sore through the continued jarring84).

Skipping is also an ideal way to warm-up before exercising as it is always wise and necessary to warm-up the muscles before exercising them. This helps to overcome viscosity in the muscles making them softer and more pliable and so minimizing the probability of pulling muscles. If, at any time, you should be ill; you should allow common sense to prevail. If the illness was of a serious nature, then the doctor’s advice must be taken. If it was of a minor nature and the training lost was of only a short duration, then you must go into training gradually again, to find out your reactions. The running would have to be aerobic and will within your capacity to exercise. You should never push yourself after an illness until a probationary period of easy running has been completed.

The important thing is to understand the purpose of what you’re trying to achieve and to know how to achieve it best and determine a type of workout accordingly.

81) Lydiard was always a big fan of rugged Cross Country running. Running over undulating and, particularly, muddy

terrains can help you develop more supple running style by stretching various joints in your legs further; and also help you strengthen core muscle groups as well as legs and, to some extent, upper-body as well. Despite what he might have said about running hard surface for better traction and, hence, enabling you to carry on faster aerobic running (on previous page #41 with footnote #80); he always called Cross Country running “one of the best general conditioners” and encouraged his runners to head for cross country running every chance they get.

82) He might have been a bit easy for beginning joggers here; Lydiard was never a fair-weather runner. In fact, he always

said, once you get very fit, you’ll learn to enjoy running in the rain and other adverse condition (within reason). 83)

Once again, you would have to understand the purpose of a particular workout and evaluate to make sure a certain

exercise can be an alternate. More often than not, far too many people try to do so-called cross training without thinking what the “alternate” exercise is contributing.

84) While skipping can be one of the best “alternate” exercises due to the fact that you are using the same muscle groups

(legs) against gravity; it does have limited range of motions – particularly hip joints and ankle joints. In the case of some injuries, jump-rope can be incorporated as a substitute exercise but, if it may last for a long period of time, some sort of stretching should be also included so as to make the transition back to running more smoothly.

From Lydiard’s original book, “Run to the Top”: Ray Puckett demonstrates a typical loosening exercise which is still very much valid and effective known

today as “active stretching”

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If you have just a small sniffle or a nose cold, often it is helped by running providing that you keep yourself warm before, during and after the exercise. However, you should know when you are feeling too ill to run and you should not take any unnecessary risks. How To Run: Good running form calls for the coordinated efforts of all the body parts. Relaxed running style is to be desired as, this way, you are able to conserve effort and run with a better technique. The upper body should be relaxed with the arms’ action being reasonably low and loose. A high arms action will tighten the shoulder muscles, causing the trunk to move sideways to certain degrees so losing some forward momentum. Arm and leg action is coordinated when running and both will move at the same speed. However, the arms’ action will not be slower because of being relaxed but will conserve energy as well as allowing for your body to be over your driving legs85). The foot should land nearly flat with the heel touching the ground on the outer edge of the back a little before rolling forward onto the forepart of the foot, with the foot coming over from its outer side onto the toes for the final drive forward. When a runner is sprinting, the action is different that he/she does not land on the heel but lands and takes off on the forepart of the foot. This is possible because of the faster forward momentum of the center of gravity getting over and past the driving foot more quickly. In long distance running, forward momentum being slower and the body is longer getting over the foot and if the runner is to land on the forepart of the foot, he/she will start to check him-/her-self by going against traction. Runners who run long distances this way invariably finish races with badly blistered feet86). You can actually hear the feet of such runners being checked as they hit the road and go against traction or friction. It is far better to roll the foot from heel to toe as a wheel is inclined to operate.

85)

In more recent biomechanics call for more mid-foot landing technique such as Chi Running or Pose Method. At slower

speed-running, such as marathons, many elite runners still land heel-first. But the important factor is; by the time the foot touches the ground, the foot action should be a “paw-back” motion; meaning that the foot is already in the backward swing so as the Center of Gravity would come right over the landing spot by the time full weight is being borne on the supporting leg. In other literature, Lydiard had explaining the actual footfall as “…it is most economical and natural to come down with a nearly flat foot, with the heel hitting fractionally ahead of the rest of the foot…” (“Running with Lydiard” from Meyer & Meyer Sport, 2000: p35)

86) This is only so when you are actually landing in front of the Center of Gravity, causing a braking action and, yet, for

whatever the cause (most commonly with tight Achilles tendon), reaching out and landing forepart of your foot; creating slight friction by “slipping” or “sliding” inside the shoes.

These 2 images illustrate clearly 2 different types of running style at the elite level: Deena Kaster (left) a

heel-striker and Frank Shorter (right) a forefoot-striker. This also illustrates that, if you are landing on your heel,

usually the Center of Gravity would have further to travel before it goes over the landing spot, possibly

creating more braking action.

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Try to keep your head up at a comfortable angle as if the head goes down the hips usually go backwards, this tending to shorten stride length, this being undesirable. Try running with the body as relaxed as possible with your arms swinging easily at your sides with your thumbs just touching the sides of your running shorts as they follow through. Keep your hips comfortably forward and look ahead. Though this may seem awkward at first, it becomes progressively easier and more comfortable as you get fitter and practice more. Just keep thinking that you are running with your lets and that is where the effort should be. It helps you to remember to relax. Schedules: These schedules are based upon the slowest runners at a speed of 8 minutes per mile87). If a runner cannot run at least one mile in 8 minutes, he or she should not be engaging in any form of anaerobic running (=oxygen-debt tolerance training). Even a runner in this condition is not really fit enough to be doing speed (anaerobic) training. However, there has been a starting point and, if the runner is honest with him-/her-self and estimates the tables of efforts applicable to him-/her-self fairly, so as to preclude the possibility of ruining training; then 8 minutes per mile pace should be alright to start. As you progressively train and have a year’s training behind you, then it is very much easier to find your true level and speeds that suit you best. The important thing to realize is that it is far it is far it is far it is far better to train a little too slow than a little too fastbetter to train a little too slow than a little too fastbetter to train a little too slow than a little too fastbetter to train a little too slow than a little too fast. The best results will come later if you do not race your training, but are prepared to work in a controlled manner. You do not get medals for winning training runs. A schedule is only written for a guide; not to be strictly adhered to; and common sense must always prevail88). If the conditioning training has not been completed as a basis for the speed or anaerobic running to come, then you will not achieve the best possible results and disappointment can follow. You only fool yourself if you are not sincere in approaching your training. Today, with competitions being arranged for FIT joggers, nationally and internationally, in the form of MASTERS RACES over distances from 100 yards to the marathon; there will be a trend for some people who are not properly prepared for racing to enter these competitions and, in the

87)

While Lydiard would be the first one to go against offering any set-numbers, from his own experience with dealing with

initial “joggers”, he came up with this 8-minute-mile pace (not necessarily running all the miles at this speed but at least running ONE mile in 8-minute) being the minimum requirement for moving on to the next stages. This means, somewhere around 8~9 minutes for the mile (I am incline to give the range of 8~9 minutes for today’s audience for various reasons) is the pre-requisite of the level of oxygen uptake level to move on to more strenuous exercises of anaerobic nature. I personally feel, for whatever the reason – being inpatient, fast-food mentality, chasing trends and fads, etc. – majority of people seem to move up to the “next steps” way too early; meaning before they had developed adequate level of “foundation” of aerobic capacity. Most fit and healthy individuals are able to force themselves to complete 26 miles if they really want to within a few months of training; or incorporate some sort of hard (relative to their fitness level) anaerobic training. We feel compelled to state that such mentality could possibly be the cause of many cases of today’s injuries as well as some tragic outcomes in the recent road races around the country. For most “beginners”, running a mile in 8 minutes is not an easy task. However, we feel, if done – and guided – correctly, it is comfortably, and surprisingly easily, attainable within a reasonable amount of time frame.

88) We decided to even remove the effort chart Lydiard had in his original text (pace chart of ¼, ½ and ¾ effort for various

distances). We felt it is absolutely imperative to learn to respect your own reaction to training (Response-Regulated) and learn to listen to your body (Feeling-Based) instead of following any schedule blindly or structure workout based on pre-determined numbers.

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older age groups, there could be some casualties89). People are mostly competitive to overrule their common sense. I try to make you understand that it is physiologically impossible to increase your capacity to exercise anaerobically above a certain level and that this level must be in direct ratio to your maximum Steady State. Only by conditioning with as much aerobic running as possible, will you Only by conditioning with as much aerobic running as possible, will you Only by conditioning with as much aerobic running as possible, will you Only by conditioning with as much aerobic running as possible, will you get your Steady State to high levels of efficiency that will, in turn, enable you to be capable of get your Steady State to high levels of efficiency that will, in turn, enable you to be capable of get your Steady State to high levels of efficiency that will, in turn, enable you to be capable of get your Steady State to high levels of efficiency that will, in turn, enable you to be capable of increasing your anaerobic capacity to exerciseincreasing your anaerobic capacity to exerciseincreasing your anaerobic capacity to exerciseincreasing your anaerobic capacity to exercise90). I recall years ago, on going to the track to train, I noticed a middle aged man lying on his back breathing really hard and I thought he was ill. Upon asking him what was wrong, he managed to gasp out that he was told that running was good for (him) and that he lived nearby and had jogged over to the track and run a fast 220 yards. He said that he felt he was going to die. I told him that he was maybe lucky that he hadn’t killed himself and, if he was interested in running; that I would help him. I told him to jog around the track for 15 minutes daily until I told him when to run fast. I also told him to work happily and try to enjoy the exercise. He continued to do this and, at the end of 6 weeks, I told him that he could now see how many 220 yards he could run. On this occasion, he was able to run 8 times 220 yards at a good speed; simply because his Steady State had been raised and his condition generally better. This may serve as an example of what I am trying to teach you. If you wisIf you wisIf you wisIf you wish to race fash to race fash to race fash to race fast and do speed workouts; then you must be conditionedt and do speed workouts; then you must be conditionedt and do speed workouts; then you must be conditionedt and do speed workouts; then you must be conditioned (aerobically)(aerobically)(aerobically)(aerobically) to do so to do so to do so to do so91) if you wish to succeed and see your best results. When doing anaerobic training, it should be realized training schedules that really are not practical in the sense that, as long as you are creating these Oxygen Debts to the best of your ability and general condition, then it does not matter whether you are running 220s, 440s, 880s, 1 mile or any other distances in repetitions, as long as you are overloading to the best of your ability, then you will develop your capacity to exercise anaerobically92). To use various distances in repetition and vary the intervals seems to fascinate some people. However, as long as you realize what you are trying to do, how to do it and, most importantly, WHY (you are doing it), then you will get fine results. In a period of 4 to 6 weeks, it is possible to develop your capacity to exercise anaerobically to its maximum, providing that you always work to your own level. Never do anaerobic training on consecutive days; better results coming by training this way on alternate days93).

89)

As stated earlier, unfortunately, we seem to have started seeding this trend now. 90)

Lydiard always said that anaerobic training is “icing on a cake”. The body, or the foundation, of the matter is the level

of your aerobic development as has been explained earlier. Anaerobic capacity development, which now is known to be about 5 liters, can be developed on the top of aerobic capacity. While your anaerobic capacity is a limited factor, your aerobic capacity can be developed year to year – this is how you improve your performance level one year to the next.

91) If your oxygen uptake level, in other words aerobic capacity, is low; then you will get into anaerobic level – known as

beyond your threshold line – at much slower speed. In other words, if your oxygen uptake level is so low that you will get into anaerobic state at, say, 10-minute-mile pace; your “speed training” will be somewhere around that speed. In other words, you will get into breathlessness at 45 seconds for 200m (10-minute-mile pace). But if you improve your oxygen uptake level, or threshold line, to 8-minute-mile pace, then you can run 200m at 30 seconds speed before you get into oxygen debt.

92) Best way to do anaerobic training, according to Lydiard, is to run a certain distance – whatever you feel happy about –

fast and turn around and jog back…repeat this until you “start to struggle”. A good guide-line is to have the fast running in total of approximately 5000m (i.e.: 12×400 or 6×800 or 5×1km, etc.). The last one should be almost as fast as the first one without forcing or struggling to do so.

93) You should give yourself at least 48 hours before you repeat anaerobic training. For a beginner, it may be better to do

it twice a week; or even once a week and alternate the distance weekly.

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If you use common sense and try to enjoy your running, you will succeed. Always exercise control and NOT RACE YOUR TRAININGNOT RACE YOUR TRAININGNOT RACE YOUR TRAININGNOT RACE YOUR TRAINING and no harm can come to you. Monday: 30 minutes steady running Tuesday: 10 × 220 @ ¼ effort Wednesday: Sprint training for leg speed Thursday: 1 hour steady running Friday: Sprint training Saturday: 10 × 440 @ ¼ effort Sunday: 1 ~ 1½ hour steady running Carry out above schedule for 4 weeks; gradually increasing the intensity of the workouts as you become used to the faster training. * For repetitions, take the same distance for recovery jog. You should be able to run the tenth rep as fast as

the first one; otherwise, reduce the reps or slow down. If doing repeats twice a week is too much, do it

once a week so you would alternate 200s one week and 400s the next. Sprint training should be eased

into the program; do not try to run as fast as you can in the first week. Monday: 1 mile 50/50 Tuesday: 6 × 220 @ ¾ effort Wednesday: Time trial @ 7/8 effort: 1st week: 440, 2nd week: 660, 3rd week: 880, 4th week: 1 mile, 5th week: 880 Thursday: 440 @ average racing speed – 3 times Friday: Sprint training Saturday: Race: 1st week: 440, 2nd week: 880, 3rd week: 1 mile, 4th week: 880, 5th week: 440 Sunday: 1 ~ 1½ hour steady running The above schedule should be done for 5 weeks progressively running faster as you are so capable. The races are development races as you cannot race well and train quite hyou cannot race well and train quite hyou cannot race well and train quite hyou cannot race well and train quite hard at the same time ard at the same time ard at the same time ard at the same time and expect to gain fine race resultsand expect to gain fine race resultsand expect to gain fine race resultsand expect to gain fine race results. When setting your schedule, you should count backwards from the first important race that you wish to win, or do well, and use the schedule accordingly. Once you have achieved fine form, then the harder training should stop and concentration should be upon the racing. Race, then jog the next day. Then the next do some easy stride-outs for leg speed; then race again or run an under distance time trial, etc. If your legs have not recovered from a race through the track being hard, etc., never do speed training. Use your legs as an indicator in this respect. If you train this way and have conditioned yourself well, you will be able to hold your good form for months before starting the next year’s training. Remember that, when you start racing, it is important to keep FRESH and SHARP.