BEN PULHAM

Still apprehensive about the idea of ditching the bus/train/car and start using your feet to get home? He answers our pressing questions about making a plan to do so.

Q: I would like to explore running as a form of commuting. What’s a reasonable distance that I should attempt running to and from my office, and have energy to survive the day?

Ben: From a distance perspective, it will depend on you how far you live from work, your athletic background, current fitness level and amount of equipment you need to carry. I'd suggest starting conservatively and building up the distance over time. If you're finding it too long, it's pretty easy in Singapore to get a bus, train or cab from anywhere.

More importantly, you'll need to get the intensity you run at right. It's the intensity of exercise that determines the majority of the benefit so getting it right is very important. Running hard places a lot of stress on your body and increases cortisol levels in the body. This will likely leave you feeling more tired than running slower but for longer.

Q: How should I pack my essential work kit to get to work? Isn’t running with a regular backpack bag cumbersome and bad for my back? How should I avoid potential load bearing injuries?

Ben: To begin, I'd suggest you get a specialist running backpack. These bags are designed to be light and to help spread the load of what's inside them. Once you have that sorted, think about what is essential to take to work and leave out what is not. If it is possible, plan to keep spare clothes at work so you can alternate and not have to take clean clothes to work each day.

Q: How should I plan my route? I’m most familiar with the route the bus takes, but that isn’t always the safest for running.

Ben: With the technology available today, it is much easier to plan safe and beautiful running routes. Get onto google maps or mapmyrun and work out a route that will work for you. I'd suggest looking for routes that keep you off main roads like park connectors and back roads. I would also suggest looking for a route that is a little hilly so you can build some strength. Most runners are far more limited by their strength endurance and power than they are by their pure speed. Hills are a great way to build this important aspect of performance.

Q: Running as a form of commuting seems like extra work compared to taking the bus or train. Is it worth the effort?

Ben: Running home is most definitely more work than taking the bus or train so if you want an easy life - hop on. If you want a fulfilling life, take the path a little less travelled and lace up your shoes. While it may be hard to begin with, it will become easier with time. Eventually, it will become the new normal and you won't have to think about. While all your friends are tired and putting on weight, you'll find satisfaction in the fact that you're not only getting fitter and faster, you'll also be getting leaner, more energetic and healthy.

The Income Eco Run 2018 will take place on 29 April 2018 at the F1 Pit Building. For more information on #RUNHOMESG and to register for Income Eco Run 2018, check out IncomeEcoRun.sg

Racing to the best your ability is a challenge at the best of times.  When things are not going well, it can be awful and the suffering immense.

While it’s not always possible to control how you feel, there are certain steps you can take to increase the likelihood that you feel good on race day. Optimising your training and nutrition aside, a very simple step you can take comes in the form of your gear selection.

Many runners wait until the last minute to buy new gear or “save it to race day”, thinking it will give them a mental boost. While this can sometimes pay off, a lot of the time it causes unnecessary pain and suffering.

BUY NEW YOUR GEAR EARLY

When you leave your gear purchases to the last minute or choose to wear the race singlet that you plucked from your goodie bag at the race expo, you are eliminating your chance to practice in your race kit.
When this happens, you do not know how the gear feels when you are running at race intensity, in race conditions. As a result, there are many common issues that can show themselves for the first time on race day, lowering your race experience and performance.

Chafing.
Chafing is the painful result of rubbing. Chafing is common around the armpits and groin area with runners using new tops or bottoms. It’s also seen in runners using a hydration belt for the first time.

Blisters.
Big or small, blisters are painful and will often result from running in new (or near new), shoes or socks.

Bloody nipples.
While I (fortunately) haven’t ever experienced this myself, I can only imagine the pain that comes with bloody nipples. Bloody nipples is also a form of chafing where your top (usually heavy with sweat or water) pulls your shirt down against your skin and rubs on your nipples.

Discomfort.
While you may not end up with any of the more painful ailments listed above, running in new gear can simply be uncomfortable when you are not used to it or have not ‘broken it in’.
The failure to control the things within your ability to control is a major (and common) trait I see in amateur athletes.

Before rushing out to buy any ‘last minute’ gear, consider making do with what’s in your wardrobe. Buy any new gear, well in advance of your next race and practice in it so that you know it works, it’s comfortable and you feel confident wearing it.

I was standing down at the Eco Run over the weekend and as I stood there yelling encouragement to the runners, Mok Ying Ren jogged past on his cool down, having just won the men’s race.

As time passed more and more runners finished and I began to notice how few spent the time to do a cool down run or walk.

In my former life as a professional triathlete, I religiously invested the time to cool down after each race (and hard training sessions) and it was nice to see one of Singapore’s best runners doing the same.

A cool down run (or walk) should not just be something the elite’s do. ALL runners should spend the time - even if just 5 to 10 minutes - to do an easy jog or walk on completion of their event.

There’s a reason for this. A cool down helps to bring your heart rate back towards resting levels and in the process helps to clear away the metabolic waste that has accumulated during your race. This is achieved by facilitating movement in your lymphatic system and blood flow.

By spending the time to clear this metabolic waste from your system you’re setting yourself up to recover quickly and get back into high quality training soon after.

Consistent high quality training is the key to great results so the next time you race, I encourage you to do a short cool down and see how it lowers post race soreness and gets you back to normal in no time.

Barefoot running has been getting really popular over the past few years - largely as a result of the book Born to Run - and it’s been interesting to see how it has progressed. Many runners have cast aside their traditional trainers in favour of minimal shoes like Vibram 5 fingers or have gone “all in” and given up shoes all together in the hope of a better running experience and I imagine, lower injuries. While the theory of barefoot running is sound, the way runners are choosing to practice it is a little bit dramatic in my opinion. The body doesn’t respond well to drastic changes and anything you want to try with training, nutrition or equipment should be introduced gradually. Rather than going from a structured, padded shoe into a pair of minimal footwear (or none at all), I would encourage a more conservative approach to barefoot running. When I was racing professionally, my coach would have me jog to the track or a park, remove my shoes and run for 10mins on the grass to improve the strength the muscles, tendons and ligaments in my feet. After my 10mins, the shoes would go back on and I would complete the rest of my session or jog home. This simple approach is all that is needed to gain the benefits of barefoot running but comes with significantly less risk.