The Golden Rules of Running.

For someone who was never successful at maintaining a running practice, running with this group has helped me to learn some basic principles that were not at all intuitive for me. I suppose through the years my many attempts at running came to nothing because of ignorance of them. Incorporating them into my weekly routines has made the difference for me.

The September 2005 issue of Runner's World Magazine has an article by Bob Cooper summarizing these simple rules. The coaching I've received in the Wellness Program has touched on these principles one at a time and as my own needs dictated. Until seeing them printed here I never recognized how universal they were.

If you've been running for a while, you've already learned these. I share them now for the benefit of others who, like me, have only recently started running. I've found it extremely useful to know that there are a relatively few concepts you can know that will make running not just possible, but truly fun.

For details, I'd suggest you locate a copy of the article and read more about each of the "rules" and important exceptions to each.

Here are the first five of the Golden Rules of Running, the remainder to follow in subsequent journal entries.

1. The Specificity Rule.
The most effective training mimics the event for which you're training.

2. The 10-Percent Rule.
Increase weekly training mileage by no more than 10 percent per week.

3. The 2-Hour Rule.
Wait for about two hours after a meal before running.

4. The 10-Minute Rule.
Start every run with 10 minutes of walking and slow running, and do the same to cool down.

5. The 2-Day Rule.
If something hurts for two straight days while running, take two days off.