How To Get Started Running
Want to learn how to get started running? This is a common question I get asked on a regular basis.
Usually, this is accompanied by one or more of the following statements: “I am not a runner. I hate running. I couldn’t even run a mile in grade school. I only run if a wild animal is chasing me.”
Sound familiar?
You are not alone. And I was there once.
To get started on your running journey, download your free training plan below.
If you are just getting started with running, here are some helpful strategies to get going on the right foot.
1. Find Your Why
Before we even lace up our sneakers, let’s look into our motivation to run. Whatever our reasons, the motivating factor is important. It is what we can look to when training gets tough, so that we can continue to move forward toward our goals. Grab your journal and a pen, and ask yourself:
Why do I want to run?
What is my running goal?
Why did I make this my goal?
2. Start Low & Go Slow
When I started running, you would have thought I was trying to win an Olympic medal, huffing and puffing my way home with a beet red face a few times a week. It hurt; it wasn’t that fun; I wasn’t really getting any faster even after sticking with it for a few weeks.
Had I known then what I know now, I would have told myself that while I appreciate the eagerness to run farther and faster at each workout, that there is a better way to approach this whole thing to ensure success, so that we stay in it for the long term, which is the goal, after all.
Set yourself up for success with easily attainable goals regarding time commitment to this new routine. For example, “This morning I will run for 10 minutes.” You can go longer, depending on how you feel. But set your initial goal as something reachable given your busy schedule and given that this might be new for you.
The best way to get started running is to go slowly! And by slowly, I mean that this might be a walk. Or a jog/walk. Or a very slow jog. You might say, “Well Coach Michelle, that’s nice, but it’s barely even running!” And that is OKAY.
3. Find Your Conversation Pace
Instead of trying to run at the pace you ran for your elementary school 100 meter dash all those years ago, let’s find a pace that we can comfortably sustain.
Many runners and coaches call this pace, conversation pace. By going at this speed, you want to be able to have a conversation with your running buddy if you have one (person, pet, or imaginary friend), without becoming short of breath. Alternately, if you’d rather not converse, you want to be able to sing a song without getting out of breath. (If you desire to belt out Springsteen’s, “Born To Run,” I completely encourage it.)
I want to help you achieve your running goals! Schedule a call with me using the link above.
The beauty of this sport, is that all of us have to start somewhere. That somewhere may be at mile 0 and time 0!
Want more? Check out these 20 tips!
PS: For some bonus tips on how to get started running, check out this video on finding the right pair of running sneakers for you!