Work it

TIM HAGEN

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Michael Holahan/Staff

Tim Hagen runs about 30 miles a week.

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AGE: 51

HOMETOWN: Raleigh, N.C.

OCCUPATION: ACSM-certified personal trainer at Health Central; also works at Fleet Feet in North Augusta

WEEKLY ROUTINE: On Tuesdays and Thursdays I run; and on Saturdays and Sundays I run. Sunday is always the long run day. That's when I'm gonna do 10 or more miles .... I'm running about 25 to 30 miles a week now. And then two days a week, I'm up in the gym lifting weights. ... The days I'm in the gym lifting weights, I focus primarily on compound-joint exercises, which are squats and deadlifts and bench presses -- exercises that you get the most bang for the buck out of.

PRE-RUN RITUAL: I always have eight ounces of this hyper-caffeinated coffee from this gas station down the street. And I hit this place in the run, like maybe four or five miles into it, where I see the caffeine and the endorphins cross, and then you just get into that really great feeling.

FAVORITE FOOD: Mexican

TIPS FOR BEGINNERS: Start by walking. And then start run-walking, never to the point where you're out of breath, for the first four weeks, three times a week. We call it the no-huff, no-puff rule. If you're huffing and puffing, you're going too fast.

MIND AND BODY BENEFITS: I kind of had a history, a lifetime, of anxiety and depression, and running has completely alleviated that. I used to be on different medications for it, and I'm not anymore. ... I used to have high blood pressure and asthma; now I don't have either one of those. ... I run as much for the emotional and spiritual part of it as I do for the physical.

FAVORITE RUNNING SHOES: New Balance 760

ENERGY DURING HIS RUNS: I carry a 10-ounce water bottle with me, the kind that you strap onto your hand and don't have to carry. And I just carry water in it. And on the days where I run long, I usually carry a pack of -- they're called chomps (energy chews). ... After the run, my favorite thing is to go to New Moon and get a breakfast wrap with extra spinach.

TRAINING FOR: The ING Half Marathon, to be held Sunday in Atlanta. I've raced in some 5Ks and some 10Ks. This will be my first half-marathon.

Know someone who likes to stay fit? Contact Ryan Wehmeyer at ryan.wehmeyer@augustachronicle.com