Bredin on Running & Training

74 RUNNING AND TRAINING. out of all condition, and I do not expect to get fit under ten weeks. So much for my experiences of training on roads, though they were extensively used in the old days for this purpose by the majority of bygone "peds." One of the fastest sprinters who ever won a Sheffield handicap did so the first time he set eyes on a cinder– path, on turning out for his heat at Queen's Grounds. After some seasons devoted to training and running, the athlete will probably be able to judge for himself as to how fit he happens at any time to be, from the various effects produced by a hard race, apart from the watch, which can only tell the time that is done, and not what amount of improvement can be made for a future occasion. No doubt the sensations caused by great exertion will differ considerably with men of various constitutions. In my case, during a race such as a quarter, run when I am in a half-fit condition, my arms become numb and seem to be in the way-as the schoolboy's hands are when his breeches pockets have just been sewn up-but directly it is over I experi– ence little fatigue, probably because I could not run fast enough to thoroughly "beat" myself. The effect of my running a hard quarter when approaching good condi– tion, besides exhaustion, is a pain in the forehead, as if it were tightly encircled with a hot iron band; this is a good sign, and shows me that training is progress– ing satisfactorily, and only requires to be continued throughout an additional fortnight or so to give place to the desirable state of real fitness, in the enjoyment of which the after effect of the severest race is little more than to cause me to blow freely, a normal rate of breathing being resumed in the course of a few minutes.