Freedom’s Run – The Art and Science of Preparing for an Endurance Event

Mark Cucuzzella MD,FAAFP

Introduction

Thank you for the opportunity to share advice and experience with fellow runners, walkers, and fitness enthusiasts. If you are training for an event, striving to improve your health and fitness, or desire to experience less discomfort in your endurance activity –then read on. If you are training for an event, striving to improve your health and fitness, desire to experience less discomfort in your endurance activity, or trying to improve on your PT test –then read on. Although this article focuses mostly on running, the principles apply to all endurance activity. Most of us understand you must train if you wish to run well and for greater distances. What is mostly ignored in running is the concept of practice. Imagine if you take up golf and were told to get buckets of balls and each week hit more balls harder in hope that the result would be effortless and precise rounds of golf. Or you desire to finish a triathlon with limited swim skills and hope to get better in the water just by fighting it harder each day. Seems crazy for these sports, yet we allow runners to “just go run” with more and harder miles until something breaks down.

We are going to introduce you to practice for running. Practice is fun as you see more relaxed movement develop, painless efficiency, speed improvement, and confidence. So how do we practice for running?

1. Understand and fully develop the aerobic system
2. Learn good form first, then add distance, than maybe later some speed efforts
3. Practice hydration and nutrition for your event and for life
4. Putting it all together for an endurance event

“Keep everything as simple as possible….but not one bit simpler” was Albert Einstein’s approach. I will try in this article to help simplify many confusing, although not complex concepts.