Running for Beginners

To start running is no small thing. You’d think it’s enough to “just get out and run”? Think again.

Running is a harsh business. The impact forces trigger physiological changes at all levels of your body – and those changes start with destruction of what’s already there.

Inflammation is triggered when running – your body will clear it, and in the process build stronger structures. But it’s an incremental process, and if you run again before you have recovered, the damage will accumulate. That’s how I got my first injury – “overtraining”.

So, you’ve got to start small. And easy. And slow. It’ll get better, and you’ll be stronger and faster. But if you overtrain, you’ll get injured and that means couch potato again. It’s no fun.

How should you start? There’s plenty of plans out there, but here’s my advice: only run three days per week for now, and always add walking breaks (1 minute or 2); look only at times, not distances; add duration slowly, week over week.

The first few weeks are just this: incrementally longer running intervals, and smaller walking intervals. Incrementally longer runs overall. When you are able to run (slowly!) for about 30 minutes without stopping for all three weekly runs, things start to get fun.

A few things to remember:

• You need good shoes, running shoes. No excuses. Go to a running shop and get advice.
• You will benefit, eventually, from a running watch. I love Garmin watches. If you want to spend as little as possible, go for a Vivosport or a Forerunner 45. My advice is to go for the Garmin Forerunner 245. I will write a post comparing the Garmin watches to date, with more details.
• Whether you buy a watch or not, register to Strava. It provides analysis of your runs, challenges, social features. It’s very useful to keep motivated and to improve your performance.
• Eat a balanced diet, and drink a lot! Your body will need help to adapt to these exercise levels.

After you are a safe with the level of effort described above, you’ll be ready to start building base and get some serious running going. The 1-2-3 Program is there to help you.

One thing to note: true beginners have found great success in one program called “Couch to 5K”. It’s great to gently introduce you to running, and it follows what I described above. You’ll arrive at the end of the program either able to run 5 km continuously, or 30 minutes continuously. Afterwards, you can start the 1-2-3 Program 🙂