How to start a running routine

jxspxr

Hi,

I want to start exercising, not just temporarily, but for life - my short term goal is to run 3 times per week for the next 5 week. Last 3 weeks I ran once per week (each time about 5-6 km), and this week I ran twice already (7 km and 18 km), planning to run another time tomorrow or the day after tomorrow depending how I feel.

Well, so I said I want this thing to be for life. This means that I need to keep myself motivated and that I should prevent injuries. I am going to discuss each of these.

But first my question: do you have any advice about how to stay motivated to run every week for years and about how to prevent injury on the long term?

Motivation: my motivation for new things is always strong, but after a few weeks it washes away quickly. This time however, I plan to keep this motivation high by:
- not talking about my running with friends (it seems counter intuitive, but I've learned that once I start talking about my goals I lose interest in them)
- buying better equipment not straight away, but to reward myself for running for 2 months or so (shoes, water bottle, clothes, gps etc). By the time I have most summer/autumn equipment, I'll need winter clothes, so if I buy it one by one I can do this for more than a year.
- running in new places (there is a lot of forest around this place which I am exploring, I think it will take some months before I've been everywhere in the forest, and then I can take my bicycle and first cycle a while and start running from another point, so I can explore new parts).
- And of course I get motivated by remembering what I do it for: losing weight and getting fit - so I keep my statistics on those things. I will choose different routes that I will run regularly as quick as possible to test my stamina and speed.
- I won't schedule my running on a certain day, but allow myself to skip a day if for example my muscles are painful or if I am busy. I do aim to run 3 times per week, but I am flexible in when to do that.

Preventing injuries: I want running to be something that's healthy, that makes my body stronger, not something that wears my body. I hope to achieve that by:
- starting slow. I ran 18 km this week, but I won't do that again, because even if I can do it, it's too much. I will limit myself to 10 kilometre, and to running 3 times per week - so, 30 km per week. I may increase that by a few kilometers every month.
- I will run on trails in the forest as much as possible
- I will use good technique, that I will keep improving at the athletics club that I'll join using feedback from trainers
- I may use fitness to train my muscles. Have no idea how though, but that's something to figure out.
- And of course I'll use good shoes. My current shoes are old, I'll keep using until I've proven that I will stick with this. When I've proven this in 5 weeks, I'll buy new shoes.

So, what do you think? Do you think this would work for you?

SJLS2013

Bump

pattypittman

I am totally in love with Zombie's Run. It is an app that while you are running, it has a story, you gather supplies during the Apocalypse. When you get home, you get on the computer to place those supplies in your town. You can have it set for zombie hordes too, which means that randomly you will encounter a zom that you will have to outrun (sprint) or you drop some of your supplies to distract them. There is also a C5K which is wicked awesome

jxspxr

Thanks that's a cool idea. Don't have a smartphone, unfortunately.

_Zardoz_

Sounds like a good plan running in nice places is always good. Maybe find some local race or something and use that as a goal to train for.

SJVZEE

I am totally in love with Zombie's Run. It is an app that while you are running, it has a story, you gather supplies during the Apocalypse. When you get home, you get on the computer to place those supplies in your town. You can have it set for zombie hordes too, which means that randomly you will encounter a zom that you will have to outrun (sprint) or you drop some of your supplies to distract them. There is also a C5K which is wicked awesome

I'm a huge zombie fan-this sounds freakin awesome! Going to find the app now

Op-I'm a new runner and training for my first 5k right now. I'm enjoying it, but I don't plan on continuing with it after the race (a fundraiser for my kid's school). There's so many different forms of exercise, so don't limit yourself to one thing. If you're having trouble sticking with running maybe try something else. Or do running with a twist, like trail running etc.

msmithevv

Color runs are really fun and as someone said above Couch to 5k is an awesome program to get you going. To prevent injuries, make sure you have good shoes. Good luck!

Colbyandsage

I run alot more than you want to. I average about 30 miles a week and I seem to always be training for a half marathon or something similar. I really don't have a ton of advice except to make it a habit. Habits are hard to break. Set your running days for a month and once you are in the routine, lace up your shoes and just do it, don't over think, just go..sounds simple but works for me on the days I don't wanna go, I tell myself how crappy I will feel if I don't do it and how good it will feel to say I did it.

KEAPT

Join a running group in your area, there are loads around now from the big Running Clubs to lttle locally organised groups. That way you make friends, have a group of people to go on runs with, learn new routes, enter events together etc etc :-))

caitlinlws

How to stay motivated:
Sign up for a race, or set a time/distance goal for yourself over a long period of time! Working towards a goal of a race or a personal goal will give you something to move towards. Once you have your goal set, I recommend a training plan. I print my plan out and cross off the days that I have completed. There are plenty of plans that only run 3x a week, or you can take one that you sort of like and modify to work for you.
Good luck!

As for preventing injury...
Stretch, wear correct shoes, REST if you do have a slight injury (don't try to keep running though it), cross train on the elliptical, bike, ect, and strength training!

I LOVE running and it has changed my whole outlook on fitness, feel free to friend me or ask any more questions!!

SoulEater7

I am totally in love with Zombie's Run. It is an app that while you are running, it has a story, you gather supplies during the Apocalypse. When you get home, you get on the computer to place those supplies in your town. You can have it set for zombie hordes too, which means that randomly you will encounter a zom that you will have to outrun (sprint) or you drop some of your supplies to distract them. There is also a C5K which is wicked awesome

Also been using this for a while, great app Highly recommended, just don't get too in the zone when your running outside, be aware of your surroundings haha. You don't wanna end up under a car because your were escaping a horde.

prjoy98

The hardest part is the first step.
I began by walking more than 3 miles...then slowly moved up to jogging for a couple of months....then run. I hate the clunkyness of a smart phone so ipod and cool music.

RisOnTheRun

Your ideas all sound like good ones. For motivation, you might also want to think about (1) signing up for a race, (2) setting goals for yourself (try to increase your distance or run faster), and (3) finding people to run with (www.meetup.com is a good site for finding running groups).

On injury prevention, if it's not already on your list (which I can't see right now), make sure to stretch after each run (it's a pain, but it helps) and back off of running for a little while if you have any funny pains. I'm prone to knee issues, shin splints, and hip issues and I find that stretching out my quads, calves, and hips are crucial to keeping those injuries away.

Good luck! I've been running regularly for 7 years or so and can't imagine my life without it!

mfclingan

Register for races. It is exhilerating to run in them. It is motivating to train for them....or at least run regularly each week because you know you have a race coming up. And it's great because they are usually fund raisers for some great non-profit organizations that do a lot of good. :-)

That said...just go out and have fun. :-)

jxspxr

For motivation, I noted:
1) signing up for a race: Good idea, will do.
2) setting goals for myself: Planning to, just plotted a route near my house that's exactly 2 km long, so that's a nice distance to do regularly so I can see my time improving. Will run it tomorrow or the day after tomorrow (when I've recovered from the 18 km run - because, ouch man that hurts! )
3) finding people to run with - good idea, but will postpone that one till I made this a solid habit by myself and when I've built some good stamina. Often ran with another person, but never with a group. Since new things are good, I will do this somewhere in the coming months.
4) making it a game - like the zombie game, or something else. I will keep thinking about this, I can see this working. By the way, I just listened to a podcast about Nerd Fitness, a blog, and they have something like this too.

For prevention of injury:
1) Stretching afterwards - good idea, will do this
2) Don't run when funny pains appear - good idea, I hope to do this. My father is a physical therapist, so when they appear he can give me advice, which is nice
3) cross train on the elliptical, bike, ect, and strength training - Good ideas, will remember to put this in my exercise schedule somewhere this month.
4) Good shoes - will buy these somewhere this month. Right now I am running on my old Asics shoes - they have many holes but they still feel good. To take into account the worn state of my shoes, I run 90% of my distance on dirt or sand (in the forest).

Anyone want to elaborate on one of these or have any other ideas?