Due to the success of the first article I did on ‘how to start running’ and the questions I received, I have decided to flesh out my ideas for you here in this post.
The person I am writing this for could be relatively young or quite old, you could be overweight, or just out of condition, it makes no difference. If you think there might be a problem with your health that could be made worse by running then go to your doctor first to see what he thinks.
Choosing your workout clothes.
The good thing about this approach is that is doesn’t require you to spend a week getting your kit together before you can start. In theory you could get up from the computer after reading this article and begin now! In fact I would recommend it.
If you have a pair of comfortable shoes that you can walk a mile in without feeling pain, that’s good enough. A pair of comfortable trousers and a loose shirt is all that you will probably need to wear. If it is cold in your part of the world by all means put on a coat. Later, as you start to do more demanding things you can start thinking about moving to a pair of trainers (better from the start if you have them) and maybe jogging bottoms and a T-shirt.
What you can realistically expect.
You can expect, if you follow the plan, that after 3 months you will be able to jog or run for half an hour without stopping. Seem impossible? It isn’t. You just have to tell your body what you expect of it and give it some time to come up with the goods. If you follow this advice it should oblige. You just need to overcome the inertia and get some momentum!
Your first week
The ‘secret’ as I explained in my first article is to start really slow. Decide where you are going to go. It should be a distance that will not take you more than ten minutes to walk. Start by doing just that, walking, then pick up the pace a little and walk briskly. If at this point you start to get out of breath then don’t do any more. Just continue to walk briskly until it starts to get uncomfortable then ease down again. When you have recovered pick up the pace again. Repeat the process for the duration of your walk. If after picking up the pace you are able to break into a very slow jog then do that. Jog for about 50 meters or until you start to get out of breath then go back to a brisk walk. When you have recovered jog again. When you get back home take a shower and put on some fresh clothes. This last part might seem a bit unnecessary but what we are trying to do here is build an association between a feeling of well-being and physical effort. Try it.
On your second day you might even feel a bit stiff. If you do you should still go out for your walk/jog but listen to your body. If the stiffness goes away carry on as before. If it doesn’t then satisfy yourself with what you can do and congratulate yourself on going out for a second day. Muscle stiffness is usually at it’s worst a couple of days after the exertion that caused it so just take it easy but still go out. It will pass, and once it has it will rarely return at the same level as it did the first time.
After the first couple of days you can start to increase the distance. You will do this even if you haven’t started to jog yet. Also,at this point you should only be taking a watch to make sure that you stay out for as long as you planned. Don’t start to compete against yourself at this point. It will be counter productive in the end. Your goal is to do half an hour of continuous running at whatever speed. How much distance you cover and how quickly you run is not really relevant. At the end of week one you may be doing as much as fifteen minutes of walking/jogging. Well done!
When I started this plan I got a bit carried away with the sports nutrition side of things and looked for products that would allow me to ‘endure’ my runs. I took glucose tablets and energy drinks etc. The result of taking the glucose in tablet form was that it made me feel sick and if I drank too much liquid I got the same result. I have also witnessed this effect in other beginners. If you really want to take something just sip a little water or a very weak electrolyte drink. Don’t eat for at least an hour and a half before your run. If you eat a really heavy meal you might have to wait up to four hours before you feel comfortable jogging. After a run (within an hour) it’s good to eat something like a banana, which contains nutrients that will restore and enhance muscle function as well as restoring energy levels.
Weeks 2 – 4
By now you should be thinking of keeping a log. It doesn’t have to be anything really detailed at the beginning. You could just note in your diary or notebook things like: How long you ran for, the weather, how you felt, your level of effort and any changes in your fitness level, weight etc. If you want to do a really professional job I would recommend taking a look at SportTracks (http://www.zonefivesoftware.com/SportTracks/). It’s free and allows you to record just about everything that you might want to, including the shoes you were wearing, and GPS tracks (in case you eventually buy a GPS training device). It is definitely worth recording your progress because you will quickly forget how far you have come. You will look back in years to come at those first weeks in awe of the progress that you have made.
Over this three week period you should work on building up the time that you stay out. There seems to be about a two week time lag for most people between the exercise and seeing the results. From two weeks onwards you may be tempted to increase you effort dramatically. Be careful not to overdo it. If you do and the next day you are tempted to miss a workout, because of stiffness or tiredness, you should instead go out for the same workout that you did on the first day. At the moment consistency is more important than anything else. Once you have recovered you can get back to your planned routine. Remember, if you have pains that go away when you go out for a run you can continue. If you have a pain that gets worse when you go out for a run you should rest (maybe by just walking).
By the end of the first month you should be getting close to half an hour but you will probably not be running the whole time (although you may surprise yourself). Concentrate on listening to your body. At some point you may decide to start your run with slow jogging instead of walking. If you do, beware! Once you start to do this the temptation will be to run/jog too quickly. You will get out of breath, the lactic acid will build up in your blood and then you will be playing catchup for the rest of the session. If you are running at the beginning of your session, start as slowly as you possibly can. Keep holding yourself back. After you have been jogging for a while you will find it easier. This brings us to the next point.
Second Wind
All runners know about this. When it first happens to you, and if you follow my advice it will happen quite soon, it seems like miracle. It’s like you suddenly have a second pair of lungs that have switched on. Personally it now happens to me after a couple of minutes and over a distance of a few strides. It’s fantastic. There has been a lot of rubbish written about this subject and I suspect that most of the writers have never experienced it or they wouldn’t write what they do. Some talk about the ability to carry on when you think your limits have been reached and compare it with the runners high which they say happens after the race. In my experience and in the experience of all of the serious runners I have asked, second wind can, and should, occur within the first few minutes and the ‘runners high’ occurs whilst you are running, not after. So what is it? When you start to exercise there is a lag between the beginning of the effort and the body’s reaction to it. Your heart will react straight away and your breathing will deepen and bcome more rapid but it takes a while for other systems to kick in that have the result of making the whole process of oxygen delivery more efficient. When they do you will feel it as ‘second wind’. Enjoy.
Month Two
By now you are seeing some real progress. You will have reached your target of half an hour and you will gradually be jogging/running more and more of it. If you are not already starting your runs at a slow jog give it a try. You will almost certainly be wearing trainers by now and at least jogging bottoms and a T-shirt. Your workouts will be making you sweat. If it’s hot take a little water with you and try to avoid running during the hottest part of the day. Try to run on grass rather than hard surfaces, as much as you can, to reduce your chances of injury. If you have a car you might plan a running trip for Sunday mornings. Take the car and drive out to a nice place in the country or if possible a forest. You will be amazed at how good it feels to run surrounded by nature. It’s like being a kid again. You should set yourself the goal of being out for the full half hour and jogging for at least half of it. If you don’t quite make it don’t worry. Improvement seems to be exponential. You still have a month.
Month Three
You are now a serious jogger. You have been exercising regularly for two months and it is becoming a habit, a part of your lifestyle. You have probably lost a few pounds, you feel a hundred times better about yourself and your body. You will be sleeping better and feeling more refreshed when you wake. Maybe you have spruced up your look, generally taking more care or your appearance, because you feel proud of the changes that you have made. You will have an expanded view of what’s possible for you. You should be experiencing second wind and maybe even ‘runners high’. If you haven’t felt these things yet, you soon will. For this month concentrate on filling in the gaps. If you are getting too out of breath to keep running but your legs feel okay then slow down and run for longer rather than faster. You will probably find that you reach your goal long before the end of the month.
Now What?
Now is the time to look for other people to run with. Take a look on the internet and find a group or club in your area. Give them a email or give them a call, or just turn up on club night. Most clubs have groups of all levels. Talk to anyone! Runners are a friendly bunch and you will soon find a group that will take you under their wing. This is really important because it will help make running part of your lifestyle. It will introduce you to more methods of training and be a source of advice. You will learn about nutrition and complementary exercise from your running mates. You will also be introduced to the world of racing and may even decide to enter one yourself. I went from the plan that you see above to running a marathon, after six months. You might want to try something less ambitious. Most races give a medallion just for completing the course and I can tell you, there is nothing like receiving that first medallion. Oh! I almost forgot. You will also make some great friends!
Filed under: Body, Personal Growth Tagged: | challenge, exercise, exercise plan, growth, happiness, individual acheivement, Jogging, lose weight, Running, sleep, start running, training
