The benefits of steady running

So why are we doing it? Is it to get fit, to lose weight or to get in shape for a particular charity race we have been talked into doing?

Any weekly running plan should have an aim and reason. A simple aim could be to improve on the mileage or the time spent running on the previous week. The reason for the aim is that it shows we are capable of an improvement, even though it may be only a few miles, minutes or kilometres. This means we must be getting fitter to achieve this extra training load.

But the benefits of steady distance running are immeasurable.

• Steady running is good for your heart
  You will have a much lower resting heart rate than you had before you started steady running. It also means that your respiratory system will be improved meaning your blood will circulate around the body more efficiently.
• Steady running improves your muscle tone
  The more you partake in this type of exercise, then the more efficient your sweat rate becomes, and the greater chance of losing weight. Particularly if your steady runs are of a long duration and there are a number of them during the week.
• Steady running reduces stress levels
  If you have a particularly demanding job, an emotional situation at home or with a partner, steady running can really help. After a few miles, the stresses of the day are forgotten as you focus on the next corner or the horizon as you strive to keep your steady pace degenerating into a steady shuffle.
• Steady running reinvigorates your body
  Steady running is beneficial if you have a sedentary job where you are sitting down all day and have large lunches. Not only will it help reduce or keep your weight down, it will also ensure that your body is reinvigorated after being under-utilised throughout your working day. It can also help keep your cholesterol levels down.

• Steady running outside is better than a treadmill!
  Steady running outside is more beneficial than running on a treadmill because you can run longer, it is not as monotonous as the countryside and terrain are constantly changing. This means you don't have to constantly be changing the levels of the treadmill, it is done for you while you are out running over the countryside. It also means you are out in the fresh air which will greatly assist your lungs rather than being on the treadmill in some hot stuffy leisure centre (even if the air conditioning is on).

The amount of time you spend on steady running is primarily down to yourself and how many sessions you can fit around your other commitments. The more steady runs you can do a week, the more beneficial it will be to you. Similarly, the further you run in these sessions, the more beneficial it will be for you.

If you have difficulty in fitting in daily sessions it may mean that you run more miles or kilometres on the sessions that you can manage. For example, if you run for six days a week over four miles a day or six kilometres a day, this will add up to a weekly total of 24 miles or 36 kilometres. But if you can only manage three sessions a week you may
increase the distances you run to compensate for only doing half as many sessions.

This would mean doing eight miles or 12 kilometres each run, to give you a weekly total of 36 miles or 60km. Obviously, the more regularly you can get out, the more benefits it will give you and the easier you will find the running.

However, even if you are going out steady running regularly almost every day, it would help if the distances were not the same each day. Therefore, a longer run of 10 miles or 16 kilometres would be followed by a shorter or medium run of four to six miles or eight to 10 kilometres.

In any form of running, the more often you can do it, the more proficient and efficient you will become and the more benefits you will acquire. However, if your steady running is not consistent and is very sporadic, the benefits will be far less. If you have a break from steady running, every time you have to start again, it will be from a lower fitness level.