February 14, 2009
Running Other Than When Chased
An interweb friend just asked me about getting started running. The question was:
I'd like to start running. Do I really need to do a walking plan first like i keep reading? I do yoga & spinning now and some walking 5/wk.
I thought I'd post my response here in case anyone else cared.
First off, I am by no means an expert. I'm still trying to figure a lot of this stuff out myself and rely heavily on google, pre-established *conservative* running programs, and listening to my body.
I did not start with a walking routine per se. I actually started with bicycling and gradually added in running, but my initial running - even just a mile - had a lot of walk breaks sprinkled in - pretty much out of necessity. The key, I think, is to NOT overdo it. It takes a while for the knees, ankles, feet, and even bones to get used to the impacts and motions of running even if your heart and lungs have a good base (mine didn't). It's vastly different from riding a bike. So if you overdo it, it'll suck, and you'll never want to do it again. That's what kept me from running before - the classic folly of waking up one morning, deciding I needed to get into shape, running 2 blocks all-out, dying, and crawling back to the couch.
So, yes, there will be, and should be, some walking involved I would say. But how much depends on the feedback from your body. Even now, there are some 'runs' where I just don't have it and end up walking a good third or more. But that gets into the mental side of running a bit, too. :)
I know you're not starting from 'the couch,' but if you google "couch to 5k," you'll find a lot of good beginner advice. Again, I suggest starting conservative. The forums at RunnersWorld.com are pretty good, too, though I haven't been over there in a while myself.
One thing I find invaluable in training is my heart rate monitor. Training by one properly takes a whole new set of google searches, and again I make no claims of being an expert, but once I got the basics down, it really helped keep me from over exerting and burning out.
I hope this helps in some way. If you've got more questions, shoot, but remember, I don't know what I'm talking about!
Good luck. Get going!
