Want to run? DO IT! Some crappy advice from a newbie.

Hello MFP community! As I sit here, watching a Megadeth concert on netflix and feeling high-as-a-kite off my latest run, I'd like to take a minute to offer some advice to those of you who have always wanted to start running but haven't or have and hated it or used to and now don't. If you really wanted to like it or would like to like it, give it another try. Maybe the best advice I can give you is simply to tell you what I did and some of the things I learned along the way.

A little over 3 months ago I weighed 304 pounds and had been sedentary... very sedentary... for about 10 years prior. My wife was about to have our fourth child and I had hit rock bottom. Finding MFP was one of the most important moments of my life but I knew I needed to exercise. I had heard of c25k so I decided that I would try my hand at running.

At first, it seemed impossible. I made up my mind however, that I would follow the plan exactly as it was laid out on coolrunnings.com. I am proud to say that despite moments when I thought I would die, or pass out, or have an out-of-body near-death experience, I managed to run every part of the program, as laid out without any walking when I was supposed to run or vice-versa. On the flipside, I never did any more than I was supposed to, even if I felt like I could. Just as with MFP, I trusted the program and it worked. Don't run more than the three days a week that you're supposed to until you're done with the program. I feel as though that was a key component of my success but this leads me to my first piece of advice... don't let a failure discourage you. If you find a c25k workout to be too difficult, repeat it until you can complete it and then move on. It is worth it. Also, buy a watch with a stopwatch feature and time yourself as indicated in the workout. I got one for like 12 dollars at kmart and it served me well throughout the c25k program. Probably the best piece of advice I can give is to NOT WORRY ABOUT SPEED. Start SLOW and if you have to, stay slow. The important thing is to complete your run intervals, don't worry about how fast you do so, it's not important. Speed will come by itself.

Check out these web pages that I used when trying to create a great posture:

http://www.runnersworld.com/running-tips/perfect-form

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WibWjSEw-F4 <--- This video is excellent, it's cheap and has no sound but it really shows what I think is an excellent running form and it helped me a lot.

Go to a running store and get someone who knows something to check out your feet. All I did was go to a local running shop and stand on a mat that left an impression of my feet. The clerk, who was very knowledgeable, told me I probably overpronate a bit and recommended shoes with support. He didn't have any wide sizes so I did research on my own and found that the Asics website has an excellent chart to use to pick a shoe. I settled on the 1170s and bought them on amazon for $80. I love them.

I'm no elite runner but today I run 5 days a week and last week I put in over 20 miles. I have lost 64 pounds and running has been more or less my only exercise. I had my longest run 2 days ago at 7 miles and I ran 5 today and it wasn't at all difficult. In fact, it was very pleasurable. The entire run felt great. This will not be the case for you if you are just starting out. In fact, until about 3 weeks ago, I still experienced misery in all of my runs. Once you reach a certain level of fitness, you will experience "the runner's high". Endorphins will flood your brain and make you feel great. Sometimes it's pretty intense and it's something that will definitely hook you on running.

I hope this information helps some of you! There are a lot of experienced runners out there who have better advice than I do! Find them and friend them and then ask as many questions as you can; I did and it really helped. Good luck and I hope I see some of you on the road!