BMC - RUNNING for Physical Fitness (Mt. Apo)

One of the foundations of enjoying a major climb e.g. Mount Apo is to have considerable stamina to bring you from point A to point B. You can't buy stamina from your corner drugstore. Building up stamina is your responsibility.

Running and jogging can increase your stamina to levels you cannot even imagine. first let us look at running as way to a better health not just a preparation for a major climb. You cannot climb a mountain everyday but you can run daily.

Here are some of the major benefits you get from running:

1. Weight Loss - most people dream of shedding extra pounds. Running is the best tool to accomplish this.
   
2. Improved Cardio Vascular Health - a good heart can bring you a good and healthy life.
3. Improved Bone Health - the physical demand running requires actually increases bone mass and makes them stronger. This effectively retards muscle loss which in turn retards the aging process.
4. Improved Mood - running just takes away the stress after a days work. The happier you are the healthier you are.
   
5. Better coordination - this is not apparent with running on pavement. but when it comes to Trail runs... your coordination is improved as trail running requires you to navigate streams, uneven surfaces, inclines and other off road obstacles that you don't encounter in regular running.

To sum it all up, it is highly recommended to take up running to especially Trail Running to prepare yourself for a major climb.  Here's a list of little gems that could help you start your running program.

Of course there is a question of what to wear. Running unlike golf, fishing, etc. basically is a very inexpensive sport with tremendous returns on your health unless of course you get run over by a bus while running. All you really need is a good pair of sneakers. Hell you can run without clothes right? Some do it even on barefoot. But let us not get into that.

FOOTWEAR

Trail running beats "Running" any time. So the footwear you use on trail running can also be used during regular running. Experience has led me to three brands of trail running shoes that do the job well.

Northface trail running shoes look really cool. They can go with your favorite jeans and can be your everyday sneakers if you choose the colors correctly. Heck you can even use them for basketball and minor climbs. Salomon sports that space-age looks. It is so light that sometimes you'll feel your wearing slippers not shoes. Adidas is a blend of the two interms of aesthetic.

The bottom line is... these brands will give your feet the best possible stability during running. Better stability means better safety which means injuries are prevented or lessened from happening.

There are also new shoes flooding the market today that look like foot gloves. They may really do what they claim to do but personally I don't want to look like a duck while running. Of course it is a matter of opinion.

CLOTHING ATTIRE

You've gotta wear something aside from your sneakers of course lest you want to be charged of exhibitionism. :-)

Of course you can go out in your favorite shorts and t-shirt or bunny pajamas but it just won't do if the weather does not cooperate. You have to consider:

• Temperature: we're talking here ambient temperature a.k.a the thermometer reading. Is it cold out there? is it hot? is it humid?  You can't wear a parka while jogging under the heat of the sun do you?
  
• Wind: this is the wind speed reading. This comes into play on cold days, rainy days or even snowy days.  We don't have snow here in our place but there are mornings when the wind does sting cold.
  
• Conditions: is there a storm? Is it raining? come now... you just have to look out the window to determine this. Of course you can't do that if you're blind.  You better ask a housemate if you are blind. My god how are your reading this hub!
  
• Feel: this is typically a matter of preference.  It is about how you want to feel when running.  Cool. Warm. Or anything in between.
  

All these are important variables to factor in when choosing your running attire.  But of course if you've spent everything on your sneakers... you can run in all your naked glory.

Misc item you might need:

1. A light and good looking cap with visor
2. A nice pair of sunglasses
3. A discrete set of hydration belts
4. An mp3 player (i.e. if you want to get run over by a couple buses because you failed to hear them honking a couple of feet behind you) :-)
5. A time machine a.k.a watch to measure the laps you burned away.
   

Personally I'd get a hydration belt and cool pair of sunglasses.

You've gotta find time or your new ward robe which I hope you bought got from my recommendations above will be sitting pretty on your locker. but admittedly time is not always a commodity or ok ok ok a luxury we all have. So I'm going to share to you 20-minute more or less running workout. I think it covers strength, speed and endurance which I remind you is very important to have in a major climb.

Find a nearby hill to run up to. The steeper the better. Repeat the sequence until your eyes pop out. Just kidding. Repeat until you feel the strain in your legs. Remember to rest when necessary. But be mindful of the your 20 minute time constraint. I presume you already have a Garmin. :-) This routine will build your strength.

Build up your speed by running on selected a stretch of road preferably a kilometer long. Time yourself how long it takes you to complete the kilometer. Rest then run that stretch of road again but this time try completing at a lesser time. It would help to have a rapid dog snapping at your heels. Kidding.

String together a series of these 20 minute runs across a singe day and you may just have increased your endurance.