It has taken some motivation to get started, but I have now decided to give running a try. Mind you, I am not running to work, not just yet any way. I have completed 3 runs so far, all have been around 2.5mi in distance. I used to run for fun when I was much younger, during my GCSE’s. There are a number of people at work that run long distance and have either completed or are training to run a marathon. Watching them don their running gear at lunch and heading out for half hour or so has really given me the impetus to try for myself. I am by no means aiming as high as a marathon at the moment but nonetheless in order to maintain some cardiovascular exercise, I have taken to running.

My first run was during a Tuesday lunch hour at work. I didn’t stretch beforehand which was an oversight. I decided to take it easy, naturally, and see how far I could get before having to walk. I had plotted out a route on Google Maps prior to the run which I felt was more than manageable. The run started good, giving my body time to warm up in the first 5mins with a gentle jog before allowing my legs to find their natural rhythm. When I felt I was going too fast I would slow the pace down again, the goal was to complete the distance I had set out to do rather than breaking any land speed records. I managed to complete the distance and was able to add an extra short loop to the end which just pushed me a bit further and brought the distance up to around 2.5mi. When I stopped my legs felt like lead. I gave my calves, hamstrings and quadriceps a good stretch afterwards but sitting back down to the computer meant I was stiffening up, crippling my walking without another good stretch. I continued to stretch out these muscles for the remainder of the day.

The following day I ran at lunch again. The same distance and route, but this time I ensured stretching my calves, hamstrings and quadriceps both before and after. It was much tougher than the previous day. I was obviously still carrying some soreness from the day before so although I was not able to run the extra loop, I did walk it which acted as a good warm down; something I skipped on the first run, as well as a pre run stretch. I had reached my peak for the working week and would not be able to run any more at lunch without overdoing it and possibly causing injury.

My last run was on Saturday evening at around 6pm. It was particularly crisp and dark so the streets were pretty baron. It was a nice atmosphere to run in and I soon warmed up after 5mins. During each of my runs I have worn my cycling tights, long-sleeved cycling top and cycling jacket. They look very similar, if not the same as what the guys at work have been running in so I didn’t feel the need to use anything different. They wick moisture away from your skin and the jacket is windproof yet breathable so pretty perfect for staying warm and dry without overheating. I had plotted the route on Google Maps again prior to the run so I knew I would be running a similar distance to the previous runs. What I hadn’t factored in was that the work route has been on the flat whereas this new run encountered some gradient. You really notice up and downhill increments no matter how small when you start running. I managed to get around without stopping but I had to push the final 1000m as the hills had made an impact on my legs. It is a good circuit though and I certainly won’t be ruling it out as a route to run in the future. I followed the pre run and post run stretches from the book titled Stretching by Bob Anderson which I wholeheartedly recommend. I have owned the book for a number of months now and it has been a great aid for mountain biking and other sports I have competed in, Bob teaches the right way to stretch with progressive stretching and the correct length of time to hold it. Overstretching or bouncing around while stretching can cause tightening of the muscles rather than the opposite. The post run stretch was preceded with a 5mins cool down on my exercise bike. Sunday I had no complaints.

I feel very fortunate that I found a distance from the start that is pushing me but is not too far. I will continue to run for the next few weeks at a 2.5mi distance and then increase gradually from there. I will try and run 3 times a week at the 2.5mi distance which is taking me 30mins. This ties in very well with the advice given on Running for Fun.

I have been wearing astro-turf football boots for these runs which are very slender and tight to the foot. They are very supportive around the ankle but I can feel that I need more supportive cushioning for my feet. I knew I would need to get hold of some dedicated running shoes but thought I would get by with what I had for the first number of runs in case I decided that it was definitely not for me. Apparently I should get some running shoe advice pretty soon or else I could cause some serious damage. Luckily living near Sutton Park which has a large running community the Sutton Runner is just down the road so they should be able to give me some professional advice. I have found running contagious and I keep looking forward to the next run and plotting where I will go on Google Maps. I have also set myself a goal to compete in the Midlands Lung Run at Sutton Park in April. I will probably take part in the 5k run which I feel will be more than manageable. This is a good sign that I will continue.

One thing that Mark Steadman has been talking to me about with his own posts is that he is looking to begin writing much more regularly but in shorter bursts much like Dave Briggs. It is not always necessary to regurgitate everything that is in your head on a subject at one time, as Dave shows you can convey everything that you want to and build up the bigger picture over time. I think this is a valuable lesson that I can learn too in my style of blogging. I am not for one minute saying I am going to give up writing long posts for good, heaven forbid. I always write naturally and just allow the post to develop organically. But I will attempt to change it up a bit and introduce a subject over several postings. You won’t lose out, I will convey my message over time, it just means that you will have to keep coming back to fill in the gaps. I hope you do.

Some companies that own websites are beginning to understand that that they can’t control how their audience interacts with them. If you force an idea your public will rebel by talking with their feet and searching out the competitions website. Giving the control back to the user and allowing them to call the shots earns a wealth of respect. If a company does get it wrong, you can be sure that a loyal number of followers will soon be letting them know what they don’t like, and some giving souls will even tell them how to go about it.

The next step is to act on the feedback as quickly as possible. If it is going to be placed in the to do list as a long term goal then let your loyal followers know by displaying it on your website, blog about it or send a tweet. If you don’t react to the feedback given then you will have an unsettled community that could lose some members.

This of course is the control freaks ultimate nightmare, but if you do feel you fall into this bracket you really must let go for the good of your reputation. Not being perfect is only human and the benefits of allowing your audience the right to reply, no matter how bad it is that they discover, far outweighs keeping a supposedly tight ship corporate identity with a basic “About us” and “Company History” style pages without conversations being struck. I don’t need to spell out how improving a service off the back of user feedback will benefit a website and user perception and loyalty.