Here's what I posted to Facebook on June 1 for National Running Day:
I've heard from a couple of people who were inspired by my running posts to start running as well. I have some thoughts to share.
1) Check with your doctor. Make sure you don't have a health problem that could be dangerous if you run.
2) It's hot out there. Try running in early morning or evening to avoid the direct heat of the sun. Drink fluids.
3) Start slow. I actually started about a year ago by alternating telephone poles. Run from one pole to the next, then walk to the next. Build up to a mile according to what you are able to do. In later runs, run two poles, walk one. Then run three, walk one, etc. Eventually you may be able to run a mile without stopping.
4) If you can get to a mile, try running according to time, not distance. So, if you can run a mile in 14 minutes, try doing a 15 minute run. Run for 7:30, then turn around and try to get home in the same time. Increase each run by 30 seconds every time you go out.
5) If you can get to three miles, that's the magic number. At least that's what I heard at a medical seminar on vascular health last year. People who run a minimum of three miles on a regular basis can actually have arterial plaque reverse. That's the nasty stuff that causes heart attacks. BTW, it's easy to check how far you run by using Google maps.
6) Wear good shoes. I have bad ankles and need lots of support. If you get injured, you can have a serious setback. I ran a marathon years ago, but wrecked my foot doing it. That started a slow decline that got me to where I am now. (Obese!) So, be careful. Don't get injured. (Easier said than done.)
7) Have fun. When you get into the right groove, the right frame of mind, it's fun to feel the wind in your hair, the sun in your face and realize you are covering distances that most people will only attempt in a car or on a bike. (But don't dis bikes. They can be a good workout, too.) OK, that's what I wanted to share for National Running Day.
BTW, a Facebook friend sent me this link for a "Couch to 5K running plan". Check it out. It might work for someone else depending on their style:
http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml
What if you never ran before?
The advice above works for me because I used to be a runner and I'm trying to make a return to fitness. What if someone was obese like me, but had never run before? First off, the graph on getting checked out by a doctor is now FAR more important. So, get checked out. Get checked out again, if necessary. Then, what I would do is start off just walking a mile.
if a mile is too much to walk, then walk what you can. Then, the next day try walking one extra telephone pole (or lamp post or whatever reoccurring landmark works for you). Keep adding to the distance with each walk until you can get to a mile.
Then, if you want to try jogging, start out by walking a mile and then at the halfway mark just jog from one telephone pole to the next. If that is too much for you, then go back to just walking for a week. Try it again the next week.
If it feels OK the next week, just do one telephone pole during the mile walk for a week.
The next week, do two jogs on your mile walk. This time do them at about 1/3 and 2/3s into the walk. Do that for a week.
The next week, do three jogs, this time at about the 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 marks. See how that works? Slowly add telephone poles each week, spacing them out, until you are able to jog every other telephone pole.
By then, you should be able to pick up the program I laid out above. But remember, there is nothing that says you MUST follow the progression the way I laid it out. If you are struggling at one level, just stay at that level until you are comfortable. Or take a step down and do lower intensity workouts until you feel you can push up to the next.
It doesn't matter how much you do, so long as you exercise regularly. As you walk or run, what you are doing is building up your base. Every mile you walk or run makes it possible for you to walk or run more miles. It's like building up a brick wall. You lay down one layer of bricks with your first runs. Then additional runs get added on top of the earlier runs. The more you run, the taller your wall gets. When I started training for the marathon, I used to run by a building that was just at the beginning of construction. At first they put in the foundation. Then they added the framework and walls.
That's another way of thinking about the early runs. They are laying the foundation for your longer runs that will happen down the road.
Also, if you feel chest pains, arm pain, sluggishness or inexplicable exhaustion -- for example you do a workout you should be fine with but you are strangely tired from it -- stop what you are doing and call your doctor.
Good luck. If anyone tries these out, let me know how they work for you.
BTW, a Facebook friend sent me this link for a "Couch to 5K running plan". Check it out. It might work for someone else depending on their style:
http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml
What if you never ran before?
The advice above works for me because I used to be a runner and I'm trying to make a return to fitness. What if someone was obese like me, but had never run before? First off, the graph on getting checked out by a doctor is now FAR more important. So, get checked out. Get checked out again, if necessary. Then, what I would do is start off just walking a mile.
if a mile is too much to walk, then walk what you can. Then, the next day try walking one extra telephone pole (or lamp post or whatever reoccurring landmark works for you). Keep adding to the distance with each walk until you can get to a mile.
Then, if you want to try jogging, start out by walking a mile and then at the halfway mark just jog from one telephone pole to the next. If that is too much for you, then go back to just walking for a week. Try it again the next week.
If it feels OK the next week, just do one telephone pole during the mile walk for a week.
The next week, do two jogs on your mile walk. This time do them at about 1/3 and 2/3s into the walk. Do that for a week.
The next week, do three jogs, this time at about the 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 marks. See how that works? Slowly add telephone poles each week, spacing them out, until you are able to jog every other telephone pole.
By then, you should be able to pick up the program I laid out above. But remember, there is nothing that says you MUST follow the progression the way I laid it out. If you are struggling at one level, just stay at that level until you are comfortable. Or take a step down and do lower intensity workouts until you feel you can push up to the next.
It doesn't matter how much you do, so long as you exercise regularly. As you walk or run, what you are doing is building up your base. Every mile you walk or run makes it possible for you to walk or run more miles. It's like building up a brick wall. You lay down one layer of bricks with your first runs. Then additional runs get added on top of the earlier runs. The more you run, the taller your wall gets. When I started training for the marathon, I used to run by a building that was just at the beginning of construction. At first they put in the foundation. Then they added the framework and walls.
That's another way of thinking about the early runs. They are laying the foundation for your longer runs that will happen down the road.
Also, if you feel chest pains, arm pain, sluggishness or inexplicable exhaustion -- for example you do a workout you should be fine with but you are strangely tired from it -- stop what you are doing and call your doctor.
Good luck. If anyone tries these out, let me know how they work for you.
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