Things you should have known at that start

When you started running what advice would have helped you in the early stages of your running

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Comments

  • To go get a gait analysis!
  • I was advised to start out more slowly than I would have believed possible, to go until I needed a break, walk till I got my breath back, and then run (slowly) again. I still think that was pretty helpful.

  • DT19DT19 ✭✭✭

    I wish I had known sooner that running everything at race pace was not the best way to train!

  • I wish I knew about it earlier in life. Who knows where I would be now image

  • DT19 wrote (see)

    I wish I had known sooner that running everything at race pace was not the best way to train!

    I agree... i trained for London at race pace, and wondered why my smaller runs never got any quicker

  •  
    literatin wrote (see)

    I was advised to start out more slowly than I would have believed possible, to go until I needed a break, walk till I got my breath back, and then run (slowly) again. I still think that was pretty helpful.

    I wish I'd known that. As a consequence of not knowing, having been a sprinter at school, it was about 12 years between my first run and my second one image 

  • Mrs Noel. When you say gait analysis, do you mean a proper gait analysis or the marketing thing they do in a treadmill at some running shops? 

    My advice would to read the Runners Handbook and don't listen to idiotic advice from people

  • I know a good thread about gait analysis image

  • TeknikTeknik ✭✭✭

    Buy a Garmin, wear a heart rate monitor, and log your stuff on www.fetcheveryone.com image

    ...and slow down.

  • Me too Jason but from now on it's not enough to say just gait analysis. Does she mean a day at Loughborough or 10 minutes in Sweatshopimage

  • agree with not going out at race pace, and like wise not running as far as you can every time, 

    made a huge difference to my running once i slowed down and did smaller faster runs combined with longer slow ones

  • My advice would be 'listen to your body' when I first started training I kept to my program and kept ending up injured.....

    know I use it as a guide....... Some times I run more, slower, less or faster. once the 1st mile is done its easy to see how well rested your body is and if you need to alter your session.

  • Do I think a full gait analysis would have been a need to know at the very start, as the OP asked? Undoubtedly worthwhile but surely not at the very start. In the same way as I'd not recommend a new triathlete buying a ??5k TT or tri bike, OW and pool goggles and a full set of swimming aids, I'd say stick simple to start. When I started running, it was because I needed to pass fitness tests and survive Coy PT. I bought trainers based on colour and price...I experienced knee, ankle and lower back/hip problems for my trouble.



    My first analysis lasted over an hour (you've been short changed at Sweat Shop Grinchimage ), started me off thinking about form and made me want to know more about running. It contributed towards me being the runner and triathlete I am today. So I stand by my answer! Saying that, Grinch, if you're offering to fork out - I'll meet you at Loughborough any time that suits.
  • Dont get him started.......Ben will be here any minute 

  • Things I didn't know about at the start:

    • parkrun
    • running clubs usually have members with a wide range of abilities
    • shorter events can be more enjoyable than long events
    • Bodyglide

     

  • That running in bad weather is more fun than it looks! A bit of rain is no reason to give up.

  • Run your hard days hard and easy days easy

  • Running is, in essence, a very simple thing. I wish I'd kept sight of that years ago!!!

    Sometimes it does your soul good to just leave the technology behind and head for the hills.

  • If you are running on an 'out and back course'. Run into the wind initially then have it at your back after halfway.

  • Make your easy days just that, easy days.

  • That hills are great training and shouldn't be avoided.

    Also, the importance of rest days....more isn't always better!

  • You will be slow

    It will hurt

    It is worth it

    Your easy run isn't easy enough, and your hard run is nowhere near hard enough.

    Third rep always feels hardest

     

  • In terms of footwear...wear what feels comfortable for you whilst running, not something that you necessarily *think* should suit you according to a rough and ready gait analysis or that is techy/a high end model. May not be the same for everyone but the 2 priciest and techniest shoes I bought both got be injured and blistered, whereas the most comfortable have been some ancient nikes and £15 ones from Lidl. Not saying that's true for everyone but something to bear in mind, don't be fazed by the gear others have got - just wear what's right for you.

    When you start doing them...mind games are the key to getting through interval/reps sessions.

    Don't go off too fast esp when doing steady/easy runs. Run in accordance with your fitness level for these, not where you wish it was!

  •  

    Join Parkrun.

    Use some type of tracking tool (Garmin, map my run or pen /Diary.

    Go slow and set realistic targets.

    Take all advice with a pinch of salt.

  • I wish I knew:

    To get properly fitted trainers

    To walk/jog for the first few weeks or follow a couch-to-5k - and not just start running, get out of breath and give up after quarter of a mile!

    Parkrun

    Running club (although joined a tri club in the end!)

    That you did not have to do the same run every single time and expect a PB or an extra 0.2 mi added on at the end but could vary the week's training with long slow runs, recovery, hills, interval etc.

    That races were really fun and weren't just a waste of money for paying to do somethign you could normally do for free, and it was fine to enter a 5k/10k even if you could run 8 miles.  Plus - the bling!

    Technical tee-shirts and running tights.

  • When I started I ran in Dunlop Green Flash tennis shoes or my football trainers. Never had a single injury in them. Didn't train all year since there was only one race locally. A half marathon in August. AND we slept in a cardboard box in t'motorway!!

  • MadbeeMadbee ✭✭✭

    Not all people in running clubs are flash, speedy and intimidating - and running with company is much more fun than struggling on alone!

    Hills are your friend, just don't try to run up at the same speed as down...

    Variation in runs is good training, not being 'lazy' one day, and if you only ever run 3 miles you will only ever be able to run 3 miles comfortably!

  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭
    The Grinch wrote (see)

    Me too Jason but from now on it's not enough to say just gait analysis. Does she mean a day at Loughborough or 10 minutes in Sweatshopimage

    Don't trust running shop staff who get you to run 50metres up and down the road outside their shop, so they can judge your style.

    One time I ever did that the supposed senior manager, not only insisted I go down a size in shoe, but also gave me shoes that would apparently have caused knee problems down the line. Helpful woman.

    Running on a treadmill in a shop is equally useless I find. Chances are nothing in the shop in your size is going to feel too bad running for a min or 2 on the spot!

  • That a roller could do so much to loosen things off

    That a foam roller could hurt so much whilst doing good.

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