What was the biggest detour you took during your running training process?

Overexertion Leads to Injuries

I didn’t realize my own limits and ended up running too much and too fast, resulting in an injury.

As a person approaching sixty years old, I used to run fifteen kilometers every day, completing each kilometer in just over five minutes. However, this excessively intense exercise routine resulted in an injury, and I am currently in the process of recovery.

Misconceptions in Running Training

The biggest mistake is having a potential goal of a half marathon race, but lacking any structured knowledge about running as a sport and just running aimlessly every day.

This is reflected in several aspects:

1. Lack of understanding of heart rate intensity

Not knowing what an easy run and intensity workout are, running based on an average heart rate of 180 every day, unable to maintain speed, and at most can only run 5 kilometers.

Due to not controlling the pace, if the training intensity is too high on a given day, the knees and leg muscles are not fully recovered the next day. But in order to “persist,” they go running again, causing increased pain.

2. Lack of understanding of recovery and rest

Not knowing that the pain is caused by the muscle intensity not keeping up with the exercise intensity, and not knowing what state of rest is needed to continue running, resulting in running intermittently without a plan.

3. Lack of understanding of training methods

Not knowing what aerobic endurance, lactate threshold, and anaerobic endurance are, so they don’t know about volume accumulation, speed training, and training schedules. They just follow the running app a few times.

4. Lack of race awareness

Not understanding the ability requirements and strategic planning of a half marathon race, they start with a 5km pace in the first few races and always hit a wall around 15-17 kilometers.

5. Lack of perseverance

They naturally stop running during the scorching summer and freezing winter, resulting in their ability being constantly unassessable before systematic training this year, let alone any improvement.

To summarize, running is a sport with a highly structured ability framework. In order to improve performance, it requires both a scientific approach and persistent effort.

Only when you have a sufficient grasp of training methods and a good understanding of the expected physical condition during the race process can you reap the rewards of hard work.

Half marathon sectional results in April 2023:

Half marathon sectional results in October 23.

Excessive Exercise

It’s not about lacking discipline, but rather about excessive exercise. Ignoring proper methods and gradual progression, blindly pursuing speed and distance. As a result, injuries, heart strain, and unexpected colds and coughs occur.

Harm caused by the treadmill.

One of the biggest mistakes I made was running on a treadmill.

I hate treadmills.

It injured my knees.

Before, my knees were very healthy, but after running on a treadmill for a while, my meniscus got injured, causing my knee to hurt for a long time. Afterwards, even after the pain subsided, my knee mobility was not as flexible.

Now, I no longer run on a treadmill, only outdoors.

Bought too many running shoes

Didn’t run well, bought a lot of running shoes~

The Purpose of Running and Taking Detours

Thank you for the invitation.

Although I run regularly, I haven’t encountered many significant detours. And I believe most people haven’t either because they don’t have a clear goal in mind.

The purposes of running can be summed up as: fitness, weight loss, and competition.

When it comes to taking detours, it is only in the realm of competition, where there is a high pursuit of improving performance, that it is easy to encounter them.

As for fitness and weight loss, they are quite straightforward. Just run and that’s it. If we must talk about detours, it’s more common to see people set their goals too high right from the start, taking huge strides and ending up frustrated. In the end, they give up. That’s all.

Or perhaps, could we interpret it in a different way? Does this count as a major detour?

Or is it this?

No Way Out, Perhaps It’s Experience

Speaking of detours, what is the finish line?

If the distance to the finish line becomes longer, it’s called taking a detour, and if you take a shortcut, it’s called a direct route.

When it comes to running training, if you’re not a professional and just doing it for the sake of your health, as long as you don’t get injured, there are no detours.

If achieving results is the goal, personal bests are constantly being set. Various types of training are needed, such as LSD (long slow distance), interval training, lactate threshold running, etc.

As an amateur runner focused on my health, I have always been progressing step by step, from 3 kilometers to 5 kilometers, 10 kilometers, 20 kilometers, and ultimately a full marathon. My monthly running volume has gone from 60 kilometers to 100, 150, and now consistently over 200. I think that’s enough because after all, I won’t stand on a podium or receive any awards.

Therefore, having no experience of detours may actually be an experience in itself.