Wanting to start running

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  • allison1027
    allison1027 Posts: 2
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    What i do is start off walking for like 3 minutes and then jog for 3 minutes and do that for about 15 minutes everyday and running will get easier
  • bearwith
    bearwith Posts: 525 Member
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    Have just started and love it,weight is falling off.

    SO HARD to leave the house - once you can get out of the house it is plain sailing. Try interval running as it works your heart in a more healthy way and puts less strain on your joints.
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
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    I was a complete non-runner this time last year. I did the C25k programme, and loved it. There are lots of different programmes out there though, so look around. I liked it because it started off really gently, and at the beginning, running for even a minute or two was almost impossible for me. I progressed though, and only repeated a couple of the days. I wouldn't say I run "all the time" now; I've had about 6 weeks slacking (not totally off, but running a lot less) because of weather, dark nights, work commitments, Christmas and other excuses. :wink: I'm just getting back into it now. My fitness has dropped off a bit, but I've got some races planned this year to keep me motivated to progress further.

    Top tips?
    -Get fitted for decent running shoes, and get a sports bra if you don't already have one
    -Getting out of the door is sometimes the hardest part, especially in bad weather. I'd say 99.5% of the time, I'm glad I did.
    -Go sloooowwwww... especially at the beginning, go slower than you think you should. A lot of people struggle early on because they're trying to go to fast. Build up your endurance to run for a decent length of time first, and speed will follow.
  • Jax_30
    Jax_30 Posts: 22 Member
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    I smoked for over 20 yrs, quit then started walking/running 3 years ago, a little bit at a time. There will be good d ya's and bad days.... Just be your own guide, beat your own times, nobody else's....at the start just every other day, or 3 times a week, iAds more running than walking,,,, in a month you will be amazed at how long you are running for..... I ran 6 races last year and and set for 7 this year, 2 of them half's and a warrior dash!!! You can do it!!!
  • Andrea419
    Andrea419 Posts: 83 Member
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    I used to run, but hadn't done it in a few years - I started C25K last week and really love it!
  • melancholyjen
    melancholyjen Posts: 28 Member
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    1. Buy good shoes.
    2. Start slow.
    3. Mix in some strength training.
    4. Do intervals.


    Go to a good running store & get some help buying the right shoes. It might turn out that the shoes you have are fine but, if not, you'll save yourself a lot of pain. :)

    Don't worry about how fast you're going. What worked for me was finding the speed that I couldn't maintain a fast-paced walk... at that point, it felt more natural to jog (although it took a while before it felt natural to jog for any length of time).

    If you're not already lifting some weights, I really think it's a help. Building the muscles that support the joints makes a big difference. Some pretty basic resistance dumbbell exercises work wonders.

    Go with intervals... C25k seems to be pretty popular, and how I started out, although I switched over to my own intervals pretty quickly. C25k just wasn't working for me, although I'm still not sure why.

    In the end, I didn't have an exact routine, but I basically did something like 5m walking, 2m jogging for starters. Then every week I'd jog a bit more until I was doing 5m of each, then I'd go longer, starting 10m walking, 5m jogging and week to week reduced the walking minutes while increasing the jogging minutes. Pretty much just pushed myself to jog a bit more, but I always kept 2-3 minutes of walking mixed in between the jogging intervals.

    I ran my first 5k on a treadmill about 10 weeks after I switched from C25k to my own interval mix, and I've done a few treadmill & road 5ks since. Even now, I really only go for 30-60 minute runs, and I'm still slow as molasses -- but it's quite a stretch from where I was a few months ago. ;-)

    pretty much this. before last year, the furthest i had ever ran was 5 miles. i'd always considered myself a runner, but now i'm a serious runner. the only other bit of advice that i can give is have fun with it and take your time.

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