Advice for a newbie please

I am just starting to run. I have nice shoes to go with my pronate stride, nike+ to track my progress, and plenty of road to run on.

I understand there is a "newer" technique of landing mid-arch to the ball of the foot that helps eliminate future knee and back pains. Do any of you subscribe to this? Any suggestions on technique, gear, workout schedule, etc... would be appreciated.
In advance, thanks for your time.

EDIT: maybe this could be another thread but what music do you run to? (just looking for more music to consider really)

thread on shoes/stride to reduce knee pain

thread on running music

My best advice, if you're a new runner, is to allow yourself to walk, slow down, stop and smell the roses, as needed, in the beginning. Many people go out and try to run 3 miles, or whatever, have a really hard time, and say "forget it, this is too hard, this sucks", etc. and give it up. Ease into it, build your mileage slowly and enjoy. Dont worry about time or distance to start - find a route that you enjoy and just get out there. Start with 3x per week.

Strengthen your core, calves, and your hips. Stretch - most importantly, after your run.

Great advice from TreeHugger. Just enjoy the experience, speed and distance will come. I don't analyze my running style too much, just make sure I don't land heel first, swing my arms to much or too little, and feel in the groove. I can tell when I am in the zone, everything feels good and my feet aren't making a lot of slapping noises as they hit the ground. When I grow up I want to run like this guy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SUZ5xB_Skk

I generally only listen to music during races. During training the songs get boring and old and no longer have that pick me up feel during a race. Most of the time I listen to books. My brother and I share a subscription to www.audible.com. We get about 2 books per month, and it has been fantastic. I have listened to some great books and it keeps me motivated and my mind occupied while I run. In fact some mornings I get out of bed more to listen to the book than to run.

My only advice is to skip the road once in awhile and find some great single track dirt trails :slobber:, much more fun.

Welcome to running and good luck.

Thomas and TreeHugger have got you covered and I will still reemphasize: start slow, build weekly mileage slow, and, if anything feels funny or hurt, stop until you figure out what it is.

Also a roller of sorts is nice to keep you loose after running. Be sure to hit your IT bands, quads, glutes and piniformas (sp).

Attachment 41493
Okay, maybe not this one but the one in the link above the pic works well and doesn't oval out from too much use. If you are on a budget you can save about 10-15 bucks by just getting a foam one.

Thanks guys. I kept in mind the starting slow and thought I was doing that. Apparently even a mile is a bit aggressive when you're coming off of the couch. I ran/walked 1.6miles last night and now I am a little sore. Through additional looking around it looks like about .6 miles for the first 3 workouts is a good start. I did however run my mile in 12'7". I thought it wasn't too bad for just starting.
I'll have to check out the books. I can see how the music can become monotonous.

Redpb good job on the running. :clap: I started running about 5 years ago and couldn't even run a mile. Running for me has been a great life style change. I lost 40 pounds and run 3-5 times a week. I have really enjoyed the experience, just continue to improve and don't worry about how fast or how often others run. If your motivated by races, sign up they are a lot of run. Just don't get discouraged when little girls, or big fat guys pass you :angryfire: (has happened to me several time) run your own race and have a good time.

Last bit of advice (not that you really asked, but I just can't help myself) some days you feel like your flying and a week later you can barely run a mile. There are ups and downs just part of the process don't get too caught by slow improvement. Done with the lecture. Good Luck

Thanks Thomas! I'm open to any advice.
The hardest thing right now is slowing down and walking for as long as the program suggests. It was a good quick run/walk today though.

Welcome to the tribe, Redpb! :-)

You've gotten some great advice here! Have fun!

Tree.

It's been almost 2 weeks since I first started this thread and I had to come back and give a report.
I've ran everyday except my rest day and when we had the blizzard and the power went out.
I have shaved 3mins off of my mile down to 9'36"/mi. (avg pace according to nike+)
In the beginning I couldn't run .6 miles without walking some. I can now run a mile without a break (it's tough to do however).
Though I haven't lost a single pound I'm feeling great.

Great progress! I would suggest that you consciously try to run slower on some of your runs. You know what a 12 min mile and a 10 min mile feel like, so try to do an 11, for example. But, try to keep that going for 1.5 or 2 miles. This is the secret of longer distances; you settle into a pace which is comfortable and sustainable. Kinda like hiking; you don't have to stop every mile to rest when hiking, right? You definitely don't want to be doing all your runs at your current max pace. That will cause problems over time. You had no choice but to run at "max pace" at the very beginning (it was your *only* pace!) but now you can vary it.

As you are getting more reps under your belt it's good to start being aware of your form. Don't hunch. Head up. Shoulders relaxed. There's some more finer points about form, but just that's probably enough to think about for now.

Good luck!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ststephen

Great progress! I would suggest that you consciously try to run slower on some of your runs. You know what a 12 min mile and a 10 min mile feel like, so try to do an 11, for example. But, try to keep that going for 1.5 or 2 miles. This is the secret of longer distances; you settle into a pace which is comfortable and sustainable. Kinda like hiking; you don't have to stop every mile to rest when hiking, right? You definitely don't want to be doing all your runs at your current max pace. That will cause problems over time. You had no choice but to run at "max pace" at the very beginning (it was your *only* pace!) but now you can vary it.

As you are getting more reps under your belt it's good to start being aware of your form. Don't hunch. Head up. Shoulders relaxed. There's some more finer points about form, but just that's probably enough to think about for now.

Good luck!

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Gotcha.... I'll try that this next week. Thank you!

Another question for you guys...
The training program says for 1.39 miles I am to (walk for 3 mins and then run for 2min) repeat 5 times. If I stick to this regimen I hit 1.39miles long before I repeat it 5 times.
So here's my question... Am I done when I hit 1.39miles or after I finish the reps? Which is better?

Finish your reps. :-)

You mentioned not losing a single pound.... I trained for my first marathon, and ran it and didnt lose a single pound - are you kidding? Upon reflection, I found myself falling into the "I'm running all the time, I can eat whatever I want" trap. If your goal is to lose weight - watch out for that!

(Calories In)-(Calories Burned). My wise little brother the fanatical power lifter once told me, "You can't workout alone and expect to make weight, it is all about diet and portion control".

Oh man I can testify to portion control. One thing I've done that may help some of you is I've traded out my dinner plate for a salad plate. The dinner plate was too easy to add 'just another half-a-scoop' of food. I've paid very close attention to my diet as that is the main thing I'm working on, running is second. I am down 33lbs since just before Thanksgiving.
Again, thanks for all of your advice everyone. I'm taking it all in.

ststephen,
I had to give you an update. I slowed my pace for a while there to get the longer distance, but the speed has caught up. Tonight I ran 2.81mi in 25mins. That's roughly 8'55"/mi.
The biggest hurdle for me now is the mind set.
What do you guys use for post-run nourishment? Gatorade has their new recovery drink, but I don't know how much I buy into that.

Sounds like you're doing good and starting to be able to do longer distances. It's hard to know what pace is best for you. You will be the best judge of that once you feel OK about going longer. At the end of the 3 miles did you feel like you could keep going or were you struggling to continue? Most training programs have a mix of "easy" runs and "tempo" runs. In the easy runs you should be able to have a conversation while running. Also at the end it should seem like you could either just keep going or "kick it" for a final segment, i.e. you're not near your max ability.

Post-run nourishment? I usually go with food. :cool2: Maybe I'm atypical but I don't think too hard about that stuff, except when it comes to leading right up to a race or a very long distance. Maybe someone else will have opinions on that part...

After the 3 miles I probably could have struggled through another quarter-mile. Maybe.
I had set to do a 25min run so for the last 2mins I tried to pick up the tempo. As always, I felt great after the run.
According to the training program I don't start tempo runs or fartleks for a few more weeks.