Humor | Running
Let Me Teach You How to Run a 2 Minute Mile Every Morning
Honoring Sir Roger Bannister and his achievements
I love running. Having that breeze in the hair is a nice feeling. I love to run fast too. It allows me to feel competitive, even when I am racing an Octogenarian. That hard effort and explosion of sweat rivers from my skin are beyond words.
There is love in pain.
I did not start running because I was inspired by Sir Roger Bannister. On the contrary. I loved to run before I started searching for people who believed in breaking their physical limits.
I found his story online again today, and with a strange twist of fate, he made history with the sub-4 minute mile on 6th May 1954. Today is 7th May 2021.
I have not seen any stories commemorating his achievements yet, so I decided to write one.
I will also share my secret training plan for running a 2-minute mile every morning as part of my fitness regime.
Before that, let us recap his achievement on 6th May 1954.
“At the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Bannister set a British record in the 1500 meters and finished in fourth place. This achievement strengthened his resolve to become the first athlete to finish the mile run in under four minutes. He accomplished this feat on 6 May 1954 at Iffley Road track in Oxford, with Chris Chataway and Chris Brasher providing the pacing. When the announcer, Norris McWhirter, declared “The time was three…”, the cheers of the crowd drowned out Bannister’s exact time, which was 3 minutes and 59.4 seconds. He had attained this record with minimal training while practicing as a junior doctor. Bannister’s record lasted just 46 days. — Wikipedia”
I love the last sentence.
“Bannister’s record lasted just 46 days”
We have to be inspired by his story as well as his legacy. He has shown that the impossible is a man-made concept, and we can achieve the impossible when we set our minds to it.
Running a 2-minute mile is not a walk in the park.
Honestly, it is more than a sprint in the park. You want to ensure that the park is empty because, at the 2-minute mile pace, there is no chance for your voice to reach the ear of those in front before you crash into them.
Safety is our priority.
The first step is to locate a quiet place in the park. I find that 3:18 in the morning works well for me. Also, make sure that you scout for the straightest bend of the pathway. Running straight gives you the best chance to hit 1:59 in a mile.
Taking care of the administrative components is critical for success.
Then, you have to practice visualization. This is the tough one.
It is tough for me at the beginning. We simply cannot visualize the 2-minute mile in the same way that we picture running a marathon along the streets. We need to think differently and inhumanly.
This is why.
When we are running that fast, we are scratching the limits of space-time. In the Theory of General Relativity, Albert Einstein has proven that the Speed of Limit is the only constant in our universe. Because speed is a constant, distance (space) and time slosh between each other to maintain 299792458 meters per second.
The 2-minute mile requires us to notch a velocity of 13.42 meters per second.
We cannot visualize a human running that fast.
We need to anchor our thoughts on the fastest living organism on Planet Earth.
He is the one I think of.
We cannot visualize running super-duper fast. We have to picture running fast with smoke coming from our shoes, and the world around us slows to a screeching halt.
This happens when Sonic the hedgehog meets Einstein the madman.
Actual execution is the easiest part. Lace-up, warm-up, and get to the start line.
Always remember to find the straightest bend in the park. We have to protect our knees and ankles from potential injury as we are running close to the speed of light.
I have another tip for you.
This is how you should feel when you run. You should feel the toe-off transmitting power to your glutes, allowing it to thrust your legs forward as far as humanly possible.
When you land, your feet must touch the ground and bounce upwards immediately. It effectively absorbs the shock from gravitational force and then throwing ourselves upwards.
The toe-off has to be powerful to create a long flight time. Imagine knifing through parcels of air resistance. Imagine that you cover 6 meters per landing step per half a second.
Euphoria comes first post-workout.
That is swiftly followed by complaints from our running muscles. They are screaming in pain and want our immediate attention.
So, we have to give it to them.
Jog around for a couple of minutes to discharge the by-products of exercise in our bloodstream. Then, walk around for a bit. Stop only when the rivers of sweat no longer flow.
Do stretches at the fitness corner.
Bend forward and touch your toes. Bend backward and touch your ankles.
Do overhead side stretches. Make sure your left palm touches your right hip. Repeat for the right palm.
Your hips might be tight. Perform a couple of 1-minute center leg split in East-West direction, followed by North-South direction. You should feel better after that.
I will proceed with my working day after a 2-minute mile.
Honestly, I never understood why people tend to skip their workouts when life gets busy.
I mean, it is just a 2-minute affair to get the biggest bang for our buck, is that not?
In any case, stay healthy and always believe that we can achieve the impossible.
Because Sir Roger Bannister taught us so.
Aldric
Disclaimer: This story is written to honor Sir Roger Bannister’s achievement with a twist of humor. You might be motivated to take on my daily routine of running a 2-minute mile, but I urge you to consult the nearest Quack to ascertain your current health status.
About the Author:
As a content contributor, I write my observations from daily life and my business exposure.
Because our life experience is the bedrock of our unique perspectives.