#WeRunDxb Diary: From couch potato to 10k runner

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  • Nike's #WeRunDxb 10k takes place on Friday, December 19.

    Sport360’s Online Managing Editor Mark Lomas is competing in Nike’s #WeRunDxb 10k on December 19. This is his training diary as he aims to go from couch potato to 10k runner. 

    I’m going to let you into a little secret: I have run before. This isn’t one of those ‘Fat to Fit in Five Easy Steps’ kind of articles, more a journey of rediscovery.

    SIGN UP now to Nike’s #WeRunDxb 10k – December 19, 2014
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    It’s been a grand total of 1,331 days since my last race. The 2011 London Marathon was probably the proudest sporting achievement of my life but after crossing the finish line I sat, a quivering shell of a man, and made a vow not to run another distance race.

    For three-and-a-half years, I’ve been good to my word. Very good in fact. It was six months after the London Marathon that I first ran again and since then, 5k has always been the upper limit. A well-observed maxim. There were brief jogs around Jumeirah Lakes Towers here and short sessions on the treadmill there, but no more.

    Until now.

    Nike's #WeRunDxb takes in Dubai's iconic Burj Khalifa.

    When the invite arrived at the Sport360 office to compete in Nike’s #WeRunDxb 10k, I decided that after a long sabbatical, it was finally time to throw myself back into training and distance running. Focus had for too long been on tikka masala not trainers, pizza not performance. It was time for a change. 

    So with Eminem’s Lose Yourself – the 21st century’s Eye of the Tiger in this humble scribe’s opinion – blaring in my ears and a spring in my step, I took to the treadmill for a first training run.

    In retrospect, 6km was a little optimistic for an opening gambit. Twenty two minutes in, 4k down and with more than half of Bat Out of Hell (another favourite) to go, the treadmill ground to a halt. Chest tight and calves even tighter, enough was enough.

    “It’s alright,” I thought. “Give it a couple of days, and you’ll be back in business.”

    Unfortunately, my ‘glass half full’ approach once again came a cropper. For a week, I nursed a calf strain. Pushing too hard, too early, is a common issue among rookie runners and despite knowing that, I’d succumbed anyway. Ice baths, saunas, stretches; you name it, they were all attempted. Anything to ramp up the rehab. After seven days, my legs felt looser and I was ready to roll. My chest had other ideas though.

    Calf strain, followed by sinusitis. It was like the running gods were punishing me for breaking my vow of distance abstinence. I sound like a hypochondriac, of that I am well aware. But anyone who has tried running with a sinus infection can vouch for a feeling akin to Kane in Alien, when that small critter enthusiastically burst out of his chest cavity.  

    Another week of recuperation passed by, punctuated by Vicks, antibiotics and cough medicine, and finally training could resume.

    Learning from the harsh lesson of the first training session, run No. 2 was downgraded to 3km and was finished comfortably and without issue. Huzzah! A solid foundation had been laid but with just three weeks until the race, the building of a race-ready runner needed speeding up somewhat.

    Needing a hefty dose of motivation, I decided to make my debut at the Nike Run Club at the Palm Jumeirah Track. Warming up and cooling down as a group, the running itself takes place at your own pace. A leisurely 5k was the aim, just get more accustomed to pounding the tarmac with no concerns about time. It’s difficult not to want to impress the coach, though. Rafael Roots is an uncompromising bundle of energy who, clad in fluorescent Nike stash, was a literal beacon of encouragement. The result is faster running.

    So, all in all, things are now looking up. Five kilometres have been dispatched once more and this week, I’ll attempt to crank it up to 6k, all the while praying to those running gods not to castigate me again.

    Nike’s ‘Dawn Runners’ remains on my to-do list, but with Sport360’s Middle East Golf Awards (MEGAs) taking place this Thursday night, the 5a.m. start on Friday is looking increasingly unlikely. To those who brave the sun rise, however, I doth my headband to you.  

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