My Top 10 for New Runners





My Top 10 For New Runners

For those of you who aren’t to enthusiastic about the idea of running, this blog post is for you! I first started out really concentrating on running back in the fall of 2003. At that time I was considerably obese for my age at the time (19 years old weighing in at 250+ pounds).  But I wanted to do something with my life, and at that time I decided I wanted to join the military (Air National Guard) and I need to get my butt in shape. With that said, these few steps helped be reach my goal and to maintain good discipline. Hopefully by the time you’re done reading this, you’ll actually have changed your mind on the topic of running and will be elated to get out and try it.

1.  Go out and buy yourself a good pair of running shoes by visiting a local store that sells decent shoes for this specific activity. Don’t use an old pair of shoes just laying around the house that you use for outside chores. Your feet will thank you later on down the road, trust me!

2.  Do some light stretching before you take off for the trails. This doesn’t have to be a high publicized stretching routine by some famous athlete. I always do ten minutes to fifteen minutes of stretching before a run or race. I always do the calf stretch, hamstring stretch, hurdler’s stretch, and groin stretch, rotating through each of these for the time period. After my stretching routine is done, I walk around my neighborhood block (just once and its only quarter of a mile) just to get my joints and feet moving.

3.  Start of slow! If it’s been quite some time or you have never ran a mile in years, take it slow your first few weeks out. I would recommend running at an outdoor track before setting of on a bike trail or trail that you will be running on. On the outdoor track, first start out by walking the straightaway and jogging the corners of the track. Repeat this until you feel comfortable to move onto jogging the straightaway and walking the corners. Then continue to progress yourself where you can run/jog a entire lap with out walking.

4.  There is absolutely no humiliation in walking! If this is the route you have to keep to for several weeks, do it! Do not over exhaust yourself if you can’t start out with step #3. If you over do yourself, 1) you will injure yourself self and 2) you will loose self-confidence.

5.  Control your breathing. A lot of people have a tendency to have “labored breathing” while they are out running/jogging. My rule of thumb to get control your breathing is to inhale for five seconds and then exhale for five seconds. Repeat these five second inhales and five second exhales throughout your running routine.

6.  Always make sure to add rest into your schedule. If you don’t you will be prone to injury and frustration as you might convince yourself that you have to go out and run everyday to become an excellent runner. Start out by running/jogging one day and resting the other. As you progress through your routine you can adjust to your rest schedule as you deem fit to your body.

7.  If your having problems with self motivation, get a friend involved with your running routine to help reach your goals. A little motivation from an outside source is always a good thing. 

8.  Hydration is very, very important for our bodies. This allows us to avoid any type of heat-rated illness or muscle cramping. Try and avoid drinking caffeinated products, as these are the number one cause for dehydration. Instead of having that mid-after noon soda to give you a little “perk”, make sure you drink water regularly throughout the day. I always try to carry a water bottle with me everywhere I go so I’m constantly imputing water into my system.  If you don’t know if you’re keeping yourself properly hydrated, this process is pretty simple to check. Next time you go to the bathroom, check the color of your urine. The lighter the color of urine, better you are hydrated.

9.  I know that our lives are complicated and it might be hard to fit in a time to go running. Try to manage your running routine either in the mornings or late evenings, as these are the two coolest parts of the day to keep from exposing yourself to high temperatures outside. This will also keep you from any unwanted heat related injuries/illness.

10.  Once your down with your running routine/exercise, conduct a cool down routine to prevent yourself from any type of injury (ex: torn muscles, ligaments, muscle cramping etc…). I recommend once you have finished your run/jog routine, walk for five to ten minutes to bring your heart rate down and allow you to regulate your breathing once again. Once you have down a “cool down” walk, stretch! This will allow for any unnecessary injuries as stated above.  On another note, I have found that if your body temperature seems to be elevated, running cold water over your wrists or submerging your wrists into cold water for a brief time period rapidly cools your body temperature. The cold water upon contact with your wrists is actually cooling the blood that is being pumped through the veins. The cooling of the blood in the veins allows for rapid cooling of the body temperature as the blood travels through your body (a trick I learned during the hot summer days of high school football).

　

Happy Trails!