Tips for starting to jog

There is a pretty cool running program for beginners called Couch to 5K. There is also a zombie version of that program called Zombies 5K.

I agree with the comment on the Couch to 5K app. I used it recently (not a fan of running before) and stayed with the program and now look forward to running and 3 miles is a fairly easy run. What I learned about myself while using it was that I had to get out of my own head. It did not matter how fast I was going, did not matter how far. What I wanted to focus on was staying moving (or jogging) the amount of time it was telling me I should. However, I allowed myself not to get frustrated if I had to stop and walk.

C25K app is great. Go very SLOW....some people run slower than a fast walk, take small strides and breath deeply.

Its going to be difficult at first but after a little while I'm sure you'll catch the running bug!!

laurenread79 wrote: »

I don't know what's wrong with me. I like walking and want to jog. I can imagine it feeling really free. But slightly apprehensive....

It's silly I know can you be to heavy to jog?

I want to enjoy it. Advice pls re: slow steps I'm very aware I'm being irrational

@laurenread79 - It is possible to be too heavy to run safely for your joints. Quantifying how heavy is too heavy is a very individual thing, and needs to take into account your specific physical condition and whatever you have going on in your running chain. I don't remember the number, but I remember my sister mentioning that she didn't give herself permission to start running until she got her weight down to some level that was still quite a bit heavier than her goal weight. She was concerned about the effect on knees more than the cardio impact at that stage.

Assuming that you aren't in the rare category of being so heavy that the risk to joints outweighs the cardio benefit, the C25K app is a good program. The most important thing about using C25K or any similar program is, don't do more than the program tells you to do. Injuries come from doing too much, too soon, before your body has adapted to handle the distance/speed/volume of running. The program sets deliberate limits to avoid this. You never run as much as you physically can on any given day, because pushing it to the limit requires a lot of recovery time and delays the progress you could make.

Other than that, I'll tell you something you will hear again and again from experienced runners: If running is too hard, run slower. Run so slowly that it feels like you aren't even running. It's okay if your running speed is just barely faster than your walking speed; running is a gait, and it's different from walking.

Oh, yeah. A lot of runners don't want to be called joggers and get upset if someone says they're jogging. Technically, there is no universally accepted definition of the difference between running and jogging; but if you hang around runners, be careful how you use the term "jogging."

Kenda2427 wrote: »

simply start slow, jog a few steps then walk, just keep alternating and extending slowly the length of time you jog. When I started I did 1 min of walking 1 min of jogging, if that is difficult do 30 sec of jogging. The other thing I did was use light poles as markers run 1 walk 1, then move to run 2 walk 1.

So just go easy and alternate between walking and jogging, you can do it!

This is the way to go. I've been running for a decade and I still fartlek.