Just starting running

I started, about two years ago, walking a half mile, which became a mile, which went to two miles which got to three miles. While on vacation that three mile walk became three miles jog a quarter walk three quarters, and the running segments got longer and the walking gat shorter and the total distance went to five miles.

Then I entered a 5 K and entered another did a four miler today while training for a Half Marathon September 25.

Enough about me. For you: start, continue, increase distance and then intensity enter a race, see how it feels and go on. Life is a journey of small steps, just like a run. Start, continue and improve. That's it.

Enjoy.

I've been reading online that if I'm not running for half an hour or more it's not worth it.

Don't believe everything you read online. Running for 5 minutes is worthwhile in my book, but I guess it depends on your goals. Start where you are and work up from there.

Going up 0.5 miles a week is actually pretty quick, from where you are. If you also have body pain doing it - listen to your body!

Pull out a couch to 5k program - doesn't matter which one, they're all basically the same - and start from a place that doesn't bring you any pain at all. If that's Week 1, then so be it, start there.

Increase *slowly*. Your body will thank you for it!

I've been doing a walking program for over a year n just started jogging in place for a mile. The humidity is awful out there but I'm hoping to get out there. I know it'll be more difficult.

pbandz wrote: »

My half marathon trainer is like an extended c25k. It's just a little more than double the length week wise. I may just restart that from the beginning. I walk at least 5 miles every day, usually more so that's why I think I can work my way up a little faster. I'm thinking some of the pain may be from lack of stretching since I have never had knee or ankle issues in the past. I agree the trainer is probably the best way to go rather than do a long run initially I just pace it out with walking in between

Sorry, it doesn't work that way. When walking you always have one foot on the ground creating very little stress on your legs and feet. When you run, 2-3 times your body weight gets transferred through your legs and feet. You have to build up slowly. If you don't, your minor aches and pains will become injuries that will sideline you for weeks.

Stretching after you run can be good, but there's little evidence it helps with performance or prevents injury. There's a theory (also with very little evidence) that stretching before will hurt your performance. Either way, don't expect miracles.

Good luck.

I am about to start my 4th week of running. This is the longest I have EVER been able to maintain a running program (minus when I was in grade school!). I have always gotten really bad shin splints in very short order and have given up. This time I did A LOT of research and talked with a lot of runner friends, and by being careful and going slow, I have only gotten one mild case of shin splints (because I ran two days in a row), and was able to work through them for once.

Here's a few things I have learned that are working for me:
- start slow, progress slow! Even the very simple C25K program was too fast for me, and not because I'm unfit (I'm actually a fairly fit person just from daily life), but because my muscles and tendons and ligaments need it to strengthen and get used to the pounding. I started with 30 second runs/1 minute walk intervals. Now at the end of week 3, I am up to 90 seconds of running. With the app I'm using, I think I'll hit 2 minutes by the end of this coming week. I go out anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour, though a lot of that time on the longer outings is just walking. It's painfully slow, and I'm looking forward to the day I hit my first continuous mile, but I know if I rush it, I won't be able to maintain.
- I googled and learned a few stretches especially for prevention and treatment of shin splints and I do them religiously before and after each run. I also do them if I think I'm feeling them coming on.
- If I do get shin splints, I ice like crazy, but I don't skip the run. I shorten it, slow down, maybe try different shoes or a different surface, and just keep going. When I did this for the case of shin splints I had, they were gone within 36 hours.
- I don't run every day. Even though I'm getting to the point that I actually want to run, I'm protecting my body from my over eagerness and doing other things on my non-run days. This allows all those little tendons and ligaments that can start complaining in a hot second to recover.
- I am SUPER mindful of my length of stride and foot placement. I realized, between my research and my chatting with people, that I typically run too big and too heel first, which exasperates the issues I tend to have.

I say if you have 15 minutes, go out and do your intervals for 15 minutes. It's better than nothing and while it may not be hugely beneficial to weight loss or cardio fitness, it's got to help strengthen your body and help prepare you for when you'll have more time in the future. I wouldn't go out and immediately push for a mile, unless you just KNOW you can do that (and I certainly know plenty of people who can....they are the running equivalent of me on a bike...I can not ride for months, and go out and immediately pound out 20 miles). Sometimes we have to protect ourselves from ourselves, and, speaking from experience, the #1 way to get discouraged is to go too hard, too fast and make yourself hurt.

Today I jogged outside n did .75 miles. I'm thrilled w my first day but am taking it very slow!