Getting into Running for Beginners

A common question I tend to get is related to how to get into running if you are new to it. First, keep in mind that I am not a coach or professional. As someone who fell in love with the sport of running almost four years ago and never looked back, I would love to help others do the same at any point in their lives! I will be continuing to run on on a cross country/track team in college and hopefully I can keep running as long as I can for the rest of my life. I would say I've picked up quite some knowledge over the past few years, and I know there is still so much to learn in the future. Whether you are going for a sub 18 5k or looking to run more consistently as a recreational runner, the passion and benefits you can reap from this simple activity/sport in all stages of life are endless! Here are some of my tips to getting into running as a beginner...Hope this helps!

The Shoes

The type or style of shoe that is going to work best for each individual will vary immensly. If shoes specific to running are an affordable option for you, I will drop a little bit of knowledge in this section right here. I also work at a running shoe store so that helps lol. If you are really just starting out and you aren't quite sure what shoe would best suit you, I'd recommend checking out your local running shoe store. My go-tos are Runner's Alley and Fleet Feet. A good running shoe store will often be prepared to assess your gait/running mechanics, pronation, running environment, and foot arch to make educated suggestions as to which shoe will most likely work best for you! From there you can narrow down your options to a specific brand that you like and there are often stores specifically for that brand (hello Saucony where I work lol). Further, I would definitely confirm that you can return the shoes if they bother you after testing them out on a run. If they don't work for you, in my opinion it's not worth the money or discomfort. Don't be afraid to try something else!

The key for what you are looking for is a cushioned shoe that is not too clunky, with enough support for the impact of running. Good shoes will make all the difference and can even decrease risk of injury!

Stretching

I'm gonna keep it super simple here lol. Just make sure you stretch, roll, and recover enough...I am not always the best with this one. But ideally just a bit each day is helpful to warm up and improve the range of motion in your muscles before a workout. The nice thing is I even find myself being less sore after a workout if I do some light stretching afterwards. No need to go crazy with it, but it's yet another way to prevent injury! My favorite stretches are seated hamstring stretches, lunges, toe touches, the standing quad stretch, standing calf pulls (I call them checkmarks). Hopefully I got the names right but moral of the story is stretching is GREAT!

Rest

I cannot stress this enough--Rest is KEY! Nobody lasts long in this sport without getting enough rest. If you want to feel your best on those harder days and not burn out, rest days are so so important. Rest, like the many other aspects of running, looks different for each individual. Some might thrive off of one day totally off exercise per week, while others need more days off. For me personally, I like to take one day off each week. During this day I allow myself to do whatever forms of movement is convenient. Whether that is a walk around the neighborhood or nothing at all, it's all about letting my body recover and reset. It is also a super nice mental break to not have to think about running or time my plans around running that day! In between seasons, I generally take 1-2 weeks off. In that time frame I incorporate some more cross training and give myself the option to stay active with lighter movement. I honestly owe much of the fact that I have stayed major injury free to the adequate rest I take! Also you may have heard this before, but take your easy days EASY to take your hard days HARD.

Mileage

The amount of mileage you do will overall depend on your goals/specific events you want to train for, how your body handles the mileage, and what stage of running you are in. It really is super super individual. From a racing perspective, the longer the race you are training for, the more mileage you should run in order to prepare. Distance runners like to have a 'peak mileage' in which they are running their highest weekly mileage in a training cycle. However before getting there, it takes a gradual build-up of mileage each week. It is almost asking for burnout or injury if you run high mileage every week--so patience is key! If you are super new to running, in the very beginning stages I would recommend aiming for a few days a week running comfortable distances; Maybe 2-4 miles at a time on those runs to build a base. This might be 2, 3, 4 days a week at first, based on what works for you. After assessing how you are feeling, try to add another day of running and see how it goes. Stay consistent with the same amount of mileage for a few weeks before you adjust. No matter what, keeping at least one if not more rest days per week to recover is key! This can be hard for enthusiastic runners, but it allows for the slow and steady buildup of strength and fitness with less risk for an overuse injury! It's all about suddle changes and consistency over time.

Strength

Strength work is something I could definitely improve upon, as I am very inconsistent with it to say the least. But including it even just 1-2 times per week can be very helpful to becoming a more durable athlete! When we think of strength, it is easy to think of just hitting the gym and lifting heavy weights. While that is what it looks like for some people, you don't need a gym membership to incorporate strength work into your routine! Especially during the start of Covid when gyms were not available, it was empowering for me to be able to get a solid body weight workout in from home. Whether you have equipment at home or not, there are always so many options on youtube for bodyweight strength workouts to get you started. MadFit is one that I really loved and I have taken alot of her movements to create my own workout circuits. If you go the route of using equipment, resistance bands are something I highly recommend as well as a couple dumbells to keep at home. I am definitely not qualified to give much advice for gym workouts but there are lots of things you can do there that will benefit you as a runner.

Fueling!

Y'all...fuel the FIRE. I cannot stress this enough. Running (and life for that matter) takes alot of energy so the best thing we can do to keep our bodies optimally performing is to give it the fuel it needs to keep going. Diet culture has pushed us to believe that eating less is better and it has caused us to label foods as "good" or "bad". But the reality is, health is NOT a "one size/diet fits all" concept like that. What matters is that we are eating enough of what makes US feel and function our best. That looks different for everybody. For me personally, I eat lots of whole foods from day to day. At the same time, that doesn't mean I don't enjoy ice cream almost daily in addition to other processed sugary treats in moderation because they make me happy! Life is about balance. Just like it wouldn't be ideal to eat a salad for every meal, we wouldn't eat cupcakes for every single meal either. Doesn't mean we can't have both of those things!! Like I said, balance is key.

It is also important to listen to our mental hunger. Fueling after a workout to recover is just as crucial as fueling before a workout for energy, hungry or not. I used to think the only times I should be eating were when my stomach was growling. But now 90 percent of the time I eat, it's when I mentally know I need food even more than physically. Something else I want to add is that it is common to feel even hungrier than rest days, which makes us often question the logic to feeling the need to eat even more even with being less active. When you experience that, it is more than okay to honor that hunger because our bodies still need energy and the fuel to recover/repair muscles! Listen to your body because it knows best. Diet culture does not know best :)

That said, there are alot of other tips that people more qualified than me can give. Becoming a better runner has to do with many many things and luckily there are alot of great resources out there to help. There are great athletic trainers and physical therapists for dealing with injuries/injury prevention, registered dietitians for dealing with nutrition, psychologists to deal with mental health, and of course lots of amazing coaches out there to guide us as well!