“To improve your body’s ability to run, only one organ is required—the one between your ears. You got it, the brain. If you can tap into the power of your brain, you will succeed. You will become a healthy, accomplished runner, capable of achieving any goals you inspire to.”
要跑得好，其實最重要的器官，是你的腦袋。只要有決心，你就能成為一個健康的跑者，沒有什麼能難得倒你，你總是能想辦法而終底於成。
“…beginning runners should avoid running by miles. It’s much smarter to run by the minute…”
菜鳥跑者，最好從衡量自己跑多久開始，而不是計算自己跑了多遠。
“Olympic marathon champions do 80 percent of their training at a slow, comfortable pace. As a beginner you should do 100 percent slow.”
奧運馬拉松的冠軍選手，在訓練的時候，其中80%的路程是慢慢輕鬆跑的。對菜鳥跑者的建議，則是從一開始全程就100%採取用慢慢跑的方式進行。
“All successful beginning running programs follow a run-walk routine. Sometimes it calls run-walk, or even a run-run-walk-walk…Run-walk plans are right starting point because they are simple, safe, progressive, flexible, and proven…you can tailor a run-walk plan to your personal needs, no matter your age, weight, current exercise activity, or lack thereof.”
成功的長跑訓練的初階課程，是組合了跑步和慢步行走而成的，所以也叫做跑跑走走。很有彈性，適用於所有對跑步有興趣的人。
“…Pick a flat course with as little traffic as possible, and run on the left side, facing incoming vehicles. Give them as much room as possible. Safety is always job one. Follow short loop or rectangular courses, or choose out-and-back route…”
剛開始跑步，可以選擇車子少的平坦路面，跑在逆向，儘量靠邊，安全第一。路線可以是一個短的廻圈，可以繞著矩形的周圍，也可以是來回往復地跑。
“Physiology studies have shown that we have a computer on board; our body learns our most efficient way to run, and that become our norm. There are only a few key principles. Run straight and tall…run with a comfortably short stride…”
我們身體的結構本來就很適合跑步，是人類天生自然的本能。需要注意的只有幾點：要跑直線，保持抬頭挺胸，步伐要自然不要刻意加大步幅。
“…Don’t expect miracles. Secret foods and pills won’t make you faster. Only training and smart racing can do that…Whole carbohydrates improve performance. So do caffeine and moderate amounts of water…”
跑步沒有捷徑。沒有什麼神奇的食物或妙藥可以使你跑得快，唯有不斷的訓練和參加各種合適的比賽，才可以達成。當然，賽前都吃碳水化合物可以改善成績，咖啡因和適度的補水也可以讓你表現得更好。
“…Animal meats provide the highest-quality proteins,…Better to eat lean meats, fowl, and fish…”
最好的蛋白質來自於動物的肉。最好吃瘦的紅肉、禽類的肉和魚肉。
“Drink water(mostly) when you are thirsty or notice your pee is yellow(rather than clear or straw-colored). As much as possible, avoid drinks with extra sugar or fat calories. Drink alcohol only with friends and in moderation.”
在跑步時，大部分時候只要在渴的時候再喝水就可以。而當發現尿液偏黃，那也是需要補水的時機。儘量不要喝含糖或高熱量油脂的飲料。只和朋友一起飲酒，而且要適可而止。
“Recent research has shown that runners can perform best and maintain full health up to the point of 2 percent dehydration…”
跑步脫水(流汗)只要控制在體重的2%之內，就不會影響到跑者的表現。
“Whole grains get higher marks for their ability to extend athletic endurance. This follows from the slowness with which they‘re digested, which means they deliver a steady stream of energy to the blood and muscles…”
全穀類的食物可以增加運動員的耐力，因為它消化得慢，消化產生的能量會緩緩挹注到血液和肌肉之中。
“…regular meals on a regular schedule are a good thing, as are gaps between meals without snacking…”
定食定量是很好的習慣，而在正餐之間不吃零食也很重要。
“…intermittent fasting. The most popular of these diets involves eating substantially less than normal two days a week, or every other day…”
間歇性的斷食，每星期有兩天或在隔天刻意吃得很少也很好。
“…Tea was my first and favorite hit drink. I figured it was also a solid performance beverage…Don’t worry about coffee alarmist…the most recent and biggest coffee studies have linked it to positive health outcomes, particularly lower rates of diabetes and all-cause mortality. It is also associated with reduced incidence of depression and cognitive decline…coffee delivers more antioxidants than any other food group…”
茶是可以促進跑步績效的飲料。咖啡也很好，可以降低糖尿病罹患率或其他各種原因的死亡率。喝咖啡也和減少意外、降低憂鬱、避免腦神經認知相關疾病有關。在各類食物之中，咖啡含有的抗氧化物最為豐富。
“Runners are usually health conscious, and therefore tend to take multivitamin, mineral, and other supplements…There’s little to no evidence that this is an effective strategy…”
熱愛跑步的人，往往也在意自己的健康，他們很多人會服用維他命和礦物質的營養補充物。但是，相關的研究顯示，那些營養補充物對身體健康的幫助微乎其微。
“…vegetarian runners…Try not to be overly restrictive about what you eat. Far better to consume a wide variety of foods, including some high calorie foods like nuts, olive oil, avocados, and chocolate, which are full of healthy fats…”
素食的跑者，對自己吃的東西最好不要有太多的限制，要吃各種不同的食物，包括高熱量的核果、橄欖油、西洋梨、巧克力等等富含有健康油脂的食物。
“The 10 percent rule states that you should increase your training mileage by no more than 10 percent per week…”
跑步訓練計劃中的進度，有所謂的「10%的法則」：週與週之間跑步距離目標的增加，不可超過10%，要循序漸進。
“Cutback weeks…once a month, run 40 to 50 percent less: Let’s say you’re up 16 miles a week after three weeks of your marathon training plan. Don’t increase to 18 or 20 miles on week four. Instead drop back to 8 to 12 miles. After this recovery week, you can jump up to 18 to 20 miles in week five.”
每個月要安排一個「減標週」，把跑步的距離目標比前一週的減少40%到50%之間，讓緊繃的身體稍微放鬆一下。譬如在第三週的目標已經增加到了16英浬，那麼在第四週就是「減標週」，目標減少至8到12英浬，身體稍為放鬆一下之後，然後在第五週，就可以直接跳到18到20英浬的目標區了。
“The carbo-loading pasta party has become such a big part of the long-run/marathon tradition that I don’t feel right without spaghetti…Of course, you can eat other carbohydrate-rich foods…”
在比賽前夕，要吃富含能量的碳水化合物的食物。
“Weigh yourself before and after a workout of measured time or distance…Ninety-five percent of the weight you’ve lost is water, not fat or muscle, so it can be considered your sweat rate. Adjust this loss to either ounces per hour or ounces per mile, whichever you find most useful. Remember you don’t have to replace all your sweat. You simply want to keep the losses to no more than 2 percent of your body weight.”
在訓練時，可以量自己失水(體重減輕)的速度，做為跑步時補水數量和時機的參考。
“…you’ll perform just as well—and feel a whole lot better—if you simply reduce your mileage before a marathon while simultaneously switching to high-carb foods the last two to three days.”
在比賽前減少訓練的強度，加上正式賽前的前幾天補充富含碳水化合物的食物，跑起來不止信心滿滿成績也會不錯。
“The biggest mistake an injured runner can make is to return too soon to normal training. That’s how minor injuries develop into longer-lasting and more severe ones. Take your time…”
運動傷害的跑者，犯的最大錯誤往往是太急於恢復正規的訓練。那會使得小傷變成大毛病。要慢慢來才好。
“Stretching is supposed to improve flexibility, and it does. But flexibility isn’t necessarily a good thing for runners…Unlike stretching, strength work has the potential to decrease injuries and increase efficiency. Research has shown that strengthening the muscle around the knee lowers the risk of knee injury, as does hip -abductor strengthening.”
拉伸是為了加強身體的彈性，但這並不見得對跑者有益。然後，和拉伸不同，強度訓練則可以減少運動傷害並增加跑步的效率。強化膝蓋附近的肌肉，可以減少膝蓋受傷的風險，加強髖外展肌，也有類似的效果。
“…Overstriding is the most common form mistake made by runners…You know you’re overstriding when your foot strikes the ground ahead of a plumb line dropped straight down from the knee. This does two bad things, First, it increases the shock forces that flash up your leg to your knee and hips. second, it puts the knee in a bad position to use its surrounding muscles and other support structure.”
跑者最常犯的錯誤是步幅太大。當你的腳掌的落點在膝蓋往下延伸的鉛垂線的前方的時候，步幅就太大了，那會使得腳、膝蓋到髖骨𠄘受從腳底傳來更大的反作用力，而且那個角度也讓膝關節不容易得到附近的肌肉和支撐結構的保護。
“…runners lived about seven years longer than a matched control group with similar demographics and health insurance. Not only that, but the runners encountered common disabilities—like knee ailments and low-back pain—ten to sixteen years later in life than the controls…The runners…derived benefit from the cumulative effort of years and years of continuous exercise.”
跑者的壽命比一般人長上七年。跑者罹患行動不便的各種疾病，譬如膝蓋的病變，就比一般人晚10到16年。跑者所享有的健康好處，是多年持續不懈運動所累積的成果。
“…Those who keep at it(keep up running) despite two or more chronic conditions enjoyed a 35 to 47 percent reduction in mortality compared to the nonexercisers with the same health issues…physical activity produced beneficial effects in all individuals with any specific chronic conditions…”
持續跑步的人，縱使有兩種或兩種以上的慢性疾病，比起不運動的人，死亡率則低35%到47%不等。罹患慢性病的人之中，有運動的人的身體的狀況都比較好。
“…hundreds of long-term epidemiological studies have shown that CV(Cardiovascular) fitness is perhaps the ultimate determinant of your longevity and resistance to disease…And CV fitness is most enhanced by relatively short but intense exertions,…. For this, it’s tough to beat a solid hill workout.”
數百項流行病學的研究顯示，壽命長短和對疾病的抵抗力，歸根究底是心血管的健康程度所決定。而心血管的健康，則可以透過短時間的強度運動來促成。在跑步裏，就是跑上坡的路。
“Run forever can’t be a literal reality. It is, however, clear simple, and bold. That’s the way we should all choose to live. Not in the limited world of fatalism but in the open-ended world of hope, optimism, and personal choice.”
跑步一輩子，不能光說不練。它有清楚、簡單而且具有挑戰性的目標。
跑步一輩子，是我們應該選擇的生活方式。不宥於宿命的、受到層層限制的世界，而是自己選擇的，充滿樂觀和希望無限的未來。
P.S. Beginner’s Half-Marathon Training Plan
WEEK DAY1 DAY2 DAY3
——— -——— –——— ————-
1. 3KM 3KM 5KM
2. 3KM 3KM 6.5KM
3. 5KM 5KM 8KM
4. 5KM 5KM 10KM
5. 6.5KM 6.5KM 11KM
6. 3KM 3KM 3KM
7. 6.5KM 6.5KM 11KM
8. 6.5KM 6.5KM 13KM
9. 6.5KM 6.5KM 15KM
10. 6.5KM 6.5KM 16KM
11. 5KM 5KM 10KM
12. 3KM 3KM 21.0975KM
—————————————————-
*：Amby Burfoot, “Run forever, you complete guide to Healthy Lifetime Running,” 2018, Hachette Book Group, Inc.
2023/8/22 Run forever, you complete guide to Healthy Lifetime Running Damakey
