Of this eight hours is an outside limit, and from six to seven will generally be found sufficient, retiring to rest not later than 11 P. M., and rising from about 6 a. m. to 7.30. A. M., according to circumstances. The bedroom window should always be kept open at top and bottom, slightly in winter and wide in summer. Foul air generated by the human breath is never more hurtful than in a bedroom. Too much clothing should not be placed over the chest whilst sleeping, as by so doing respiration is more labored, and the legs and extremities, not the trunk, require extra covering for purposes of warmth. A mattress should be always used to sleep on, never a feather bed. High pillows and bolsters are very injurious. The natural height to which the head should be raised in sleep is about the thickness of the upper portion of the arm, which constitutes the pillow as designed by nature.
CLOTHING.
Flannel should be worn next the skin throughout the year, but beyond this no restriction is necessary when in mufti. The best attire for running is a pair of thin merino or silk drawers, reaching to the knee and confined round the waist by a broad, elastic band. For the upper part of the body a thin merino or silk Jersey is the best. No covering for the head is usually worn, but, in a race of such long duration as a seven miles walking or ten miles running contest, it is advisable to wear a cap or straw hat if the rays of the sun are very powerful. For running, thin shoes made of French calf, and fitting the foot like a kid glove when laced up, are worn. The sole should be thicker than the heel, and contain four or five spikes, the lacing being continued almost down to the toe. For walking races, the heel should be thicker than the sole, and containing a few sparrow-bill nails, none being required in the toes. Chamois leather socks, just covering the toes, but not reaching above the top of the shoe, are the best adapted for running. Ordinary merino socks, but not thick and heavy like worsted ones, and worn over the chamois leather coverings, are the best for walking, as they prevent the dust and grit raised from the path from getting between the shoe and the foot. Except for sweating purposes, heavy clothing should never be worn in practice, the gait and stride being much impeded thereby. A piece of cork of an elongated, egg shape should be grasped in each hand while walking or running.
TIME AND DURATION OF TRAINING FOR RUNNING.
The foregoing are the foundation rules which constitute training, but of course they require modification according to circumstances, which must be left to the judgment of the pedestrian or the trainer, if he has that necessary auxiliary to getting into good condition. For instance, the man has had too much sweating and forced work, in consequence of which he is getting weak, and, in the professional term, “training off.” This will easily be recognized by the muscles getting flaccid and sunken, with patches of red appearing in different portions of the body, and the man suffering from a continual and unquenchable thirst. These well-known symptoms tell the trainer that rest must be given to the pedestrian, as well as a relaxation from the strict rule of diet. A couple of days’ release from hard work will in most cases prove successful in allaying the unwelcome symptoms, and far preferable to flying to purgatives for relief.
The space of time which will be required by a young and healthy man will be from six weeks to a couple of months; but longer than this, if possible, would be preferable—not that it would be really wanted to improve on the mere physical condition of the man, but to enable the pedestrian, when able, to go to any limit as regards exertion, and to have time for practice at his particular length; for, however fit a man may be as regards the proper leanness, if unpractised he would have no chance of success. The principal rules of training, therefore, are regularity, moderate work, and abstinence; the other adjuncts are but the necessary embellishments to the other useful rules. When training for running a long distance—say from four to ten miles—the man should most decidedly practice daily; for the shorter length going the whole distance, and for the longer vary the distance, according to the state of health on the day, as well as whether the weather be fine or otherwise. For a short race of a hundred or two hundred yards, the pedestrian, after the body is in good health, does not require very much severe work, but the distance must be accomplished at top speed at least once daily, and about the same time of the day that the match will take place, if possible. The same rules, with comparatively more work, will apply up to 440 yards—a quarter of a mile—after which distance more work becomes necessary.