The Advice

Yesterday, in my plea for help, I informed everyone that I want to become a runner and requested any and all advice. Though the post was viewed several times, I got nothing. Well at least not on here. Luckily, two runners that I admire, did give some input. It's all about quality not quantity, right?

I'm assuming the lack of comments could be one of two reasons:
1) you have no interest in running and therefore have no advice, or
2) you are in the same boat as me - wanting advice.

For all of you in category 2, I have good news. I am going to share the advice I did receive. Both women happen to be those mom's I referred two in the last post.  They are in great shape even after having kids  and I believe that is proof enough for me.

The first bit of advice came from GiNelle. She's a family friend and used to babysit me when I was younger. She now has 4 boys of her now ( well, 5 if you count her husband) which I'm sure keeps her running. Literally.  Her dad has run a handful of marathons and she has been running in races too. She suggested Born to Run by Christopher McDougall.  Ginelle says, "I read it and went from couch to 4+ miles in less than a month."  I will definitely be picking this book up next time I'm out.

The rest of the advice came from a friend Rachael.  She is a physical therapist, a runner, a wife, and a mom of an adorable little boy. I met her at church when I was a teenager. She took me under her wing and gave me my first taste of running as a sport. She would show up at my house and take me running around the neighborhood or at a park. She taught me how to breathe to a beat (my steps) and I still think about that every time I run.  She has run a few marathons her self and completed some triathlons. Here's her advice (a lot of it is direct quotes straight from her):

Resources
Hal Higdon has a website with free tips and training schedules. It's broken down is several ways. Just the 5K training plan is divided up into walking, novice, intermediate, and advanced. It has half marathon, full marathon, post marathon and so much more. Even tips on eating, stretching, and such. Definitely worth your time to check it out.

Distance vs. time
Whatever is easier for you. If you don't have good mile makers, do time. "Experts" say don't increase more then 10% per week. I think that is very conservative. Listen to your body if something still hurts after being out there long enough to warm up then stop.
Stretching will prevent a lot of the injuries that I see runners for. Especially pay attention to your iliopsoas and iliotibial band but don't forget about your hams, quads and calves. A strong core will help you with your endurance.

Hitting the wall
As far as hitting the wall, that is all mental. I sometimes just keep telling myself that every step I take is a step closer to being done and if I run rather then walk I will be done faster. Or if I am really hurting I will pick something in the distance and say I can't walk until I hit that point.


The shoe
The most important thing with running is make sure you are in the right shoe. Go to a place that watches you run on a treadmill and they can tell you what your foot is doing and what shoe you need to prevent injury. A $50 shoe will not be good enough for the majority of the population. Nike does not make a good running shoe period! If the shoe you are in now is older then a year get a new one. You probably need a sneaker about 1/2 size bigger then your normal size. When we run our toes tend to get jammed into the toe box causing dead toenails.  
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What have I learned?

My frugal self needs to take the leap and splurge on a good pair of shoes and do so more often. I did go to Luke's Locker back when I first said I was going to train for a tri. They were great. They watched me run on a treadmill and on a track. They looked at the wearing on my old pair of shoes too. Taking all of that into account, they found a shoe perfect for me. However, running in those for several years, isn't smart.

Rest days. I have been running every morning and even thought its not far, it's not good. According to Hal Higond's website, your muscles need to rest and actually become stronger from rest days. In my mind, I feel like I'm loosing a day of training, a day of burning calories that aren't being burned quick enough! :)   I remember when I tried this whole training/running thing the first time, I would force myself to run 3 miles every day in my worn out shoes (that's when I ended up going to Luke's). I ended up really hurting my foot. I would have to rest for about a week or so to recover and then I'd repeat the cycle. I see my mistakes now and hopefully can avoid doing it again.

I hope some of you found this helpful as I did. Maybe I'll have time to go get that book tomorrow and read a little on my rest day. That's if I don't get too distracted with sewing. I can't wait to show y'all what I'm working on.

I'll leave you with some inspiration:

Happy running!