Thread: Helpless runner
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Old May 12th, 2008, 11:43 PM   #5 (permalink)
Runner Guy
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The first thing you need to do is get off the treadmill. Treadmills are horrible. They're boring and hot and I find it more difficult to run at a given pace on the treadmill than outside on the roads, track, or trails.

So get outside. Start with 10 minutes easy. Run from your house 5 minutes in one direction then turn around and come back. No problem. Better yet, find some dirt trails. Running in nature makes it more interesting and the time flies.

The next thing you're probably doing wrong is running too hard. Running isn't the type of sport where you improve by going as hard as you can each time. If I were training a beginning runner such as yourself I wouldn't have them run hard for the first 3 or 4 months.

Run comfortably. That means find a friend and run at a pace where you can still hold a conversation. If you can't talk and run, you're going too hard. The majority of elite runners' daily pace is easy, and yours should be too. Finish your runs pleasantly tired, like you could have kept going if you wanted to, but you're stopping because you reached your goal for that day. No need to push it yet.

Start with 10 or 15 minutes easy. EASY is the key. Slowly increase the distance of your runs, but not the pace. Increase the frequency as well - you should run more than twice per week. I've run 11 times in one week before (some were double days). As long as you're running easy and comfortable it will be manageable.

Once you reach a point where you can comfortably run 30 minutes per day 4 or 5 times per week, with no pain in your shins or any where else, and the daily runs are not a struggle but are easy, only then should you think about incorporating some faster training runs.
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