Running - the benefits of little and often

My feet and legs after yesterday's muddy run!

Rambling readers with good memories may recall I set myself a little challenge at Christmas time (click here) which involved running a little every day for a set period of time.  That was worthwhile and I benefited from those runs; I am doing it again now.  I think it is okay to do this but only for 2 or 3 weeks in order to maintain my overall well being, doing exactly the same every day might become a bit monotonous.

So a week ago I decided to do this again for a similar period.  It involves running for just 20 - 25 minutes each day.  Here are the main drivers: and why I recommend it:

• Keeps your ankle and knee joints in good order
• Raising the heart rate everyday keeps your arteries flowing nicely, maintaining the capacity of your heart to pump a good volume of blood around
• A 20 minute run at a gentle pace burns around 150 - 200 calories and good for maintain a healthy steady weight
• Each time you run, your bones are put under a little stress.  This in turn helps them stay strong by being constantly repaired and made stronger, thereby maintaining a good density.  Obviously this applies to the bones in your legs but also in your feet, hip and back to a certain extent.
• Twenty minutes is fairly easy to squeeze into a daily routine
• It prepares me well for longer runs - yesterday I did my 8.5 hilly run.  This is my best, most favourite run, I love it!  Strangely I found the first 20 minutes the hard part - after that it was a breeze. I had the fun of running along some muddy trails as you can see from the photo above
• You'll find deep sleeping becomes easier, especially if you have things on your mind
• Running over grass or uneven ground helps strengthen tendons, muscles and ligaments - especially around your feet and ankles
• I never take any water with me on a 20 minute run, even on a hot day, so it's less to carry or faff around about.  A smoothie afterwards is ideal
• Easier to incorporate some faster and more vigorous runs - do remember you need to warm up for a few minutes before increasing the pace.  I often look out for a landmark 100 - 200 metres ahead and sprint for it.  Wow that feels good and increases my heart rate tremendously for a brief period
• You might even get a dose of the Runner's High after a 20 minute run.  Normally I need to go for longer and harder before I get much of a buzz but when I do that is just so amazing....
• You will never doubt that you're a RUNNER

I'm going to enjoy doing this for a while but I'm still going to have at least one longer run each week - these are really special!