I am so excited about this post. It’s that great feeling when you love
something, and want everyone to know how much they could love it too.
Running is something I live and breathe. It’s my favourite physical activity to
train.
It’s freeing.
It’s a challenge.
It makes me feel like stopping…and then running as hard as I
can.
It’s physically exhausting….and invigorating, all at the
same time.
I’m going to provide you with the tools to start running -
or if you’re a runner already, to push your running to higher levels of
success.
Today's post is about the basics. Getting started. And a few training techniques beginners and advanced runners can use.
GETTING STARTED
First of all, make all the excuses you want to of reasons
why you shouldn't run. Everything
hurts. It’s cold outside. The gym is too far away. I’m tired.
I have a headache. I’m not good
at running. I’ll look silly running. It’s raining out. The dog ate my shoelaces.
Okay. Now go run.
These excuses may be legitimate, but you know what? Every
day there could be an excuse to NOT run.
But then you’d never get out there.
And going for a run today would eventually be next year because you
found so many excuses. Make time. Run.
You’ll soon love it, and you’ll make excuses TO run.
Find someone to run with.
Keep track on a calendar if you’d like for the days you’d like to
run. Have some great running music on
your iPod. Start a running jar at home –
every time you get out, put a toonie in
the jar – once you get to a certain amount of money, treat yourself to a new
shirt or something you love. Give
yourself reasons to get outside (or a gym) and run!
Start slow. Don’t
compare yourself to marathon runners.
Take your time and try to run further, not faster. Run at a comfortable pace for you when you’re
starting out. It’s not a race, it’s a
journey. If you feel really out of breath
or sick, you’re going too fast for starting out. Slow down.
TRAIN, NOT STRAIN. Have that your
motto as you start out. Walk when you
need, but try to increase your running time each day you run.
^^This video is phenomenal in explaining proper running techniques.
Run tall and relaxed. Try not to slouch or lean too far forward or backward. This is something I’m still working on, as I tend to lean forward a bit when I run. Run focusing on about 10 feet ahead of you. This will keep your head up and chest open.
Find the most convenient time for you to run. If it’s bright and early before your kiddos
wake up and you have a treadmill, do it!
If it’s later in the day when you can steal away to the gym, run
then. Finding time to fit a run in will
benefit your family as well, as you will have more energy and strength to spend
time with them.
Find your reason. Why
do I want to run. Really think about
why.
Here is a good starting program that is great. It starts with a 5 minute walk and finishes
with a 5 minute walk (a warm-up and cool-down).
Then we have run and walk portions of the run. Try this three times a week and see how you
do. This is a 10-week plan, but you can
work up to it as you need.
Something I didn't mention – try to have a good pair of
running shoes. I don’t mean expensive, I
mean something that offers support and is comfortable on your feet. Have a good supportive bra if needed, and
have clothes that are breathable for your skin.
TRAINING
Okay, let’s get into this!! I am going to try and explain this all in a way that is understood easily, so I'll try not to get too much into the science and more in the practicality of it.
First of all, let’s hear one of the smartest physiologists I
know, explain a bit about running. I
personally love all the science-y-ness of this video, but it’s very practical
too. Watch it – you’ll be smarter for
it!
Okay, here are types of training you can do, once you’ve
eased yourself into running and have been for a few weeks already.
And generally, you can pick and choose what kind of training you'd like to do. If you don't want to get all technical with your runs, then just go out and run! Stop when you need, run when you can - any running is amazing for your body. BUT, if you do want some guidance as to different ways to train, read on:
Long Slow Distance
For every 10 minutes of running, do 1 minute of
walking. This training is more of a
jogging pace than a faster running pace.
This kind of running increases the efficiency of your blood flow in your
body and helps raise something called your anaerobic threshold. Anaerobic threshold is basically the point
where your muscles (blood essentially) fill with lactate and become sore and
start to tire. Long story short? This type of training teaches your muscles how to last longer, instead of getting sore and tired. This requires
discipline and patience. Slow and
steady.
Race Pace
Now, don’t think I’m saying “train for a race!” when I write
this. What this kind of training does is
allow your body to run faster. Become
more efficient with speed. This is to
train your body to run the intensity that you would use if you were going to do
a race. Not sprinting, but a comfortable
faster pace. This helps develop stamina
and builds strength in your body. This
also trains your body to tolerate levels of lactate that increase with
speed. You wouldn’t believe how this
type of training increases your confidence as well. Nothing makes you feel lighter than air than
running faster.
Intervals
Now, how you do intervals should be chosen depending on what you’d like
to improve.
AT Training - If you are wanting to improve your anaerobic
threshold (the point when your muscles start to feel sore and tired) like I was
talking about earlier, a good way to do that is this kind of interval training:
**Intervals that are 1:1.
What that means is 1 minute of work to 1 minute of relief.
The minute of work should be a little faster than you’d
normally run (your pace), and the minute of relief should be a little slower
than your pace.
What this kind of training does is it allows your body to
practice getting rid of lactate – and become more efficient at doing that.
VO2max Training - If you are wanting to improve your breathing
when you run – you feel out of breath quickly and want to improve that – a good
way to do that is this kind of interval training:
**Intervals that are 1:2 (sometimes even 1:3 or 1:4)
What that means is 1 minute of hard running to 2 minutes of
what 50% of your pace would be - a slow jog or walk even.
What this kind of interval training does is gets your
breathing really fast, and then allows it to recover to normal breathing. And then you do it over and over. It helps your body to practice recovering from fast breathing.
If you’re someone that bores easily when running, interval
training is great for that. You’re
constantly changing speeds and having to watch your clock. I love it – interval training makes me feel
powerful. I love it.
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I may do a few more posts on running within the next few days. There are so many things I didn’t even touch on – motivation, nutrition, injuries, strength training with running, cross-training with running, weight-loss, races (whoohooo!!). I will work on it within the next few days and see what all I can come up with for you.
Hope this all made sense (message me if it didn’t!) and
helped a bit.
Run like the wind! Hehe.... I'll post up more info soon!
Naomi.
