I choose to begin this in January 1996. It could also easily begin in December 1992 or in February 1998 – beginnings, as they say, are complex – they are also tenuous.
I was working in a telecommunications data centre in Vaxhall, London when a new colleague of mine, Harvey, walked into the room with a scarf in his hand.
“This ought to solve the problem, mate.”
I had been working on solving a tenacious issue with a hotel facsimile system and my chair was located directly under a cold air vent, my neck was killing me from the cold. I had asked Harvey, whom I had met only two days before how he would suggest that I deal with this cold thing, expecting him to go off and talk to the management of the facility or something, and the next morning he brought a scarf which his wife had provided. I put it on and felt immediate relief from the cold. The pain and stiffness were still there but this should prevent it from getting worse.
“Thanks, Harvey. Now if I could only figure out what to do about the pain in my neck!”
He looked me over, no doubt noticing all of my 130 kg and my clear lack of a robust musculature.
“Do you ever do any stretching? It might help”
My chiropractor suggested the same thing and had taught me to do a couple of things which had helped in the past. I resolved to try them.
“Stretching works for me, particularly, when I have something with my back and neck. It is great for legs too” said Harvey.
I looked him over, he was a fair bit older than my 37 years, perhaps mid fifties. Seemed fit and had lots of energy as we had been pulling some late nights and he was keeping up with me.
“Do you have a lot of problems with your joints, Harvey?” I asked politely but in a somewhat worried manner. The last thing I wanted or needed was a lecture from some geriatric fitness nut. I mean I knew I was in terrible shape but, I also knew that I could get in shape any time I wanted, just a matter of applying the effort.
“Only all the time, mate. At my age, you can’t go to the loo without something hurting.”
“You seem pretty fit, Harvey”
“Oh, I suppose. I was a semi professional football player for a number of years. I gave it up and then got a bit out of shape but took up running.” He looked a bit embarrassed, as if he was boastful, a trait that I later found out that he despised. “Ran the London Marathon when I was 50”
“Anyway, that is one of my hobbies”
He seemed a genuinely nice guy so I asked “What are your others?”
“Well, mate” he used the word “mate” a lot, “I am really into astronomy, serious about it”
This was surprised as he didn’t seem the type, if there was a type, of course.
“Well that’s a coincidence, me too. What is your area of interest” I asked, “I am into it in a big way as well – I really like planetary stuff, not so interested in deep space.”
“Cosmology”
Of all the studies in astronomy, cosmology is the hardest and most esoteric. I was quite familiar with a lot of the big picture pieces in this area but it wasn’t something that I focused on beyond popular articles in Sky and Telescope.
Our joint interest incited a conversation which lasted the rest of the day. By the end of it we knew a fair bit more about each other’s astronomical interests and each other as people. He was the father of two sons, one adult the other in his late teens. I was the father of a two and a half year old son. We found that we shared a number of views and interests besides astronomy. Our technical problem was now solved, the conversation making the job that much more pleasant, we tidied up and he offered to drive me back to my hotel.
“It is on my way, mate, no problem”
As we drove back, we passed Big Ben and the House of Parliament. I had been born in Britain but had lived much of my life in Canada and other places. I always enjoyed coming back to the UK but when I did I was either with my family or on business so my opportunities to see something that your average London tourist sees, were limited. It was nice and Harvey was providing a running commentary, explaining where we were and what we were seeing.
“London is home, mate. I live up north in Beds now but anyone who meets me knows within a few seconds that I was born within the sound of Bow’s Bells.”
He was referring to his cockney accent. It was strong. As I looked at him I had a bit of an epiphany – he looked and sounded just like the actor Michael Caine.
“So, after I gave up the football, mate, my wife was a bit worried about the smoking and the drinking that went with it along with no more exercise. I coached some youngster teams but it wasn’t the same.”
“Do you still smoke, Harv?”, he had asked me to call him by the short-form of his name.
“No, mate, quit about ten years ago – but it made the weight problem worse”
How well I knew – I had quit in late 1992 and already seriously overweight, obese by any definition, I had added to the situation with a vengeance ever since.
“Ultimately, mate, it came down to wanting to live comfortably, avoiding being sick and be a good influence to the lads”
This was, much to my surprise, really resonating. I almost felt as if Harvey were a plant, my wife had been on to me about my weight a bit and it just seemed to co-incidental a meeting. Harvey and I had much in common and he had dealt with some of the challenges that I was currently facing. I didn’t realize it at the time but this particular evening was one of those life changing events that happens from time to time. What Harvey had said to his wanting to be a good influence to his sons struck me hard. When Dorothy, my wife, and I had determined that she was pregnant, I had quit smoking within 48 hours. I had always planned to quit smoking, particularly since getting married, but I am a great procrastinator and always had a excuse to put it off, particularly something as unpleasent as quiting the evil that is tobacco. Still, now I had a time dependant motivator - I wanted to be one of two non-smoking parents as I didn’t want my kids to have that negative influence. It was one of the hardest things that I have ever done but was well worth it, in spite of the weight gain. My heart might give out due to the extra weight but at least lung cancer seemed less likely for me and for my kids.
The conversation went on and on, London traffic, but eventually we got to my hotel. I had greatly enjoyed myself since this morning and my neck had improved somewhat. I passed the scarf back to Harvey.
“Keep it, mate. We have a bit more work to do tomorrow”
I was about to get out of the car but hesitated just for a moment.
“Harvey, just out of curiosity, how do you train for a Marathon”, I asked.
He laughed, “Just like you run it, mate, one step at a time”
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It was the next day when Harvey arrived at my hotel to pick me up and drive to the Vaxhall site that he handed me a file folder with a bunch of printed material on how to train for a marathon. The material or variants of it are currently available on the internet but the bottom line is to start slowly.
Let’s assume for the moment you are not running at all. How do you begin? Well, by placing one foot after the other – not to be glib but forward motion is the key. If you have to cover a distance, then you must cover it, if you can’t run, walk. Harvey’s approach was pretty simple.
Day 1, 3, 5 - Walk a brisk mile (in the UK they use miles for such things)
Day 7 - Run for 30 seconds, walk for 1 ½ minutes, repeat until a mile is completed
Day 9, 11, 13 - Run for 30 seconds, walk for 1 ½ minutes, repeat until a mile is completed
Day 14 - Run for 1 minute, walk for 1 minute, repeat until a mile is completed
Day 16, 18, 19 - Run for 1 minute, walk for 1 minute, repeat until a mile is completed
Day 21 - Run for 1 ½ minutes, walk for 1 minute, repeat until a mile is completed
Day 22, 24, 26 - Run for 1 ½ minutes, walk for 1 minute, repeat until a mile is completed
Day 28 - Run for mile (should take about 12 to 14 minutes)
After this, Harvey’s approach would be to gradually increase your mileage until you have the ability to do three miles and then you can begin a routine which is designed to get you to a Marathon distance, seven times the distance you can currently complete.
He also had some basic other tips:
1. Never run if you have or are fighting a cold
2. Proper clothing and footwear is mandatory
3. Make sure you are wearing reflective gear when running at night
4. Never increase your total weekly running distance by more than 10%
5. Drink plenty of water before, during and after a run
Sounds simple and pretty logical, right?
Well, this approach has many workable elements in it and will get you there but it does have some challenges. That last leap is pretty tough and growing your distance from one to three miles is a bit of a killer as well. The thing to keep in mind though is that through this process you are constantly moving. One common estimate is that you will consume 100 calories for each mile you either walk or run. The difference between walking and running is, according to this estimate, so small as to be negligible. I am not sure I entirely agree with this theory but it is a good place to start.
As we drove through London I looked over this material and decided that this was something I would like to try “one day”. It was a bit intimidating but it did strike me as something I could do as I had run both in high school, the military and for one six month period in the early 1980s. Still I added it to the list of things to do some time in my life. In the mean time there was work to be done, a life to be lived, and, to my surprise, a new friend to get to know.
