CHAPTER 1
THE BASICS
Running is simple. You just put on your shoes, step outside and go. Right?
Well, if you’ve ever tried it, you know it’s not that simple. Or quite that easy.
“I had the drive,” says Oliver, 31, a banker from Columbia, Mississippi, “but never got to the point where I was successful.”
Figuring that running was the simplest and most convenient way to start, he bought some minimalist shoes “that looked cool,” put on a cotton sweatshirt, and headed for the track. He made it 200 meters huffing, puffing, and nearly fainting from the stabbing pains in his shins. “I thought my legs would explode,” says Oliver. “I just figured I was the type of person who had no business running.”
Like Oliver, most people have their fair share of false starts. But running doesn’t have to be painful. Or embarrassing. Or leave you so discouraged that you want to throw your running shoes out of the window.
In this chapter, you’ll find all the basic training tools you need to get started, from what to wear and where to run to how to get perfect running form and how to handle your first group run.
Check with the Doctor
Before you start any exercise program, it’s best to get a checkup, especially if you’re contending with injuries or you have a family history of heart attack, diabetes, or other chronic illnesses. If you’re over 40 or your doctor recommends it, get a stress test. Answer the following questions from the American College of Sports Medicine to decide if you should make an appointment.3
• Has your doctor ever said that you have a heart condition and that you should only do physical activity recommended by a doctor?
• Do you feel pain in your chest when you do physical activity?
• In the past month, have you had chest pain when you were not doing physical activity?
• Do you lose your balance because of dizziness or do you ever lose consciousness?
• Do you have a bone or joint problem (for example, back, knee, or hip) that could be made worse by a change in your physical activity?
• Is your doctor currently prescribing drugs (for example, water pills) for your blood pressure or heart condition?
• Do you know of any other reason why you should not do physical activity?
If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, see your doctor before you start becoming much more physically active or before you have a fitness appraisal.
HOW REGULAR EXERCISE DOES A BODY GOOD
If you’ve been working out regularly, you’ve already discovered it: No matter how good or bad you feel at any given moment, exercise will make you feel better. But what you may not realize is exactly how working out improves your quality of life. Here’s a guide.
1 IT WILL MAKE YOU HAPPIER. It goes beyond just the “runner’s high”—that biochemical rush of feel-good hormones known as endocannabinoids. Researchers have found that even a single bout of exercise—30 minutes of walking on a treadmill—can instantly lift the mood of someone suffering from a major depressive disorder.4 And even on those days when you have to force yourself out the door, exercise still protects you against anxiety and depression, researchers have found.5 Other studies suggest that exercise helps you cope with anxiety and stress even after you’re done working out.6 Yet more research has shown that just 30 minutes of running for 3 weeks boosted sleep quality, mood, and concentration during the day.7
2 IT WILL MAKE YOU THINNER. So you know that exercise burns calories while you’re working out, but the sounds-too-good-to-be-true news is that the burn continues even after you stop. Studies have shown that regular exercise boosts “afterburn”—that is, the number of calories you burn after exercise.8 (Scientists call this EPOC, which stands for excess post-exercise oxygen consumption.) That’s kind of like getting a paycheck even after you retire. And you don’t have to be sprinting at lightning speed to get this benefit. This happens when you’re exercising at an intensity that’s about 70 percent of max VO2. (That’s a little faster than your easy pace.)
3 IT WILL STRENGTHEN YOUR KNEES (AND YOUR OTHER JOINTS AND BONES, TOO). It’s long been known that running increases bone mass and even helps stem age-related bone loss.9 But chances are, you’ve had family, friends, and strangers warn you that “running is bad for your knees.” Well, science has proven that it’s not. In fact, studies show that running actually improves knee health.10
4 IT WILL KEEP YOU SHARPER AS YOU AGE. Worried about “losing it” as you get older? Working out regularly will help you stay “with it.” A 2013 study published in Psychonomic Bulletin & Review concluded that the evidence is “insurmountable” that regular exercise helps defeat age-related mental decline.11 Studies consistently found that fitter older adults scored better in mental tests than their unfit peers.
5 IT WILL HELP FEND OFF CANCER. Maybe exercise doesn’t cure cancer, but there’s plenty of proof that it helps prevent it. A vast review of 170 studies in the Journal of Nutrition showed that regular exercise is associated with a lower risk of certain cancers.12 To name a few:
• COLON CANCER: risk reduced by 40 to 70 percent
• BREAST CANCER: risk reduced by 30 to 40 percent
• PROSTATE CANCER: risk reduced by 10 to 30 percent
• ENDOMETRIAL CANCER: risk reduced by 30 to 40 percent
• LUNG CANCER: risk reduced by 30 to 40 percent
6 IT ADDS YEARS TO YOUR LIFE. Even if you just meet the minimum amount of physical activity—(30 minutes of exercise per day, 5 days a week), you’ll live longer. Studies show that when different types of people started exercising, they lived longer. It even helped smokers and people suffering from conditions like heart disease.13
How Running Changed My Life
Brian Robertson became a runner, lost half his body weight, and gained control over multiple sclerosis
In 2012, Brian Robertson hit rock bottom. A decade earlier, at the age of 25, just 2 months before the birth of his first child, he’d been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a chronic, often disabling disease that attacks the central nervous system. By 2012, he weighed 330 pounds. He had high blood pressure and high cholesterol, and his doctors told him that he was way too young to be taking medication to treat these conditions. There’s a better way to solve these issues, one doctor said. Push back from the table and get some exercise, another said.
So Robertson started walking. A lot. He’d rack up 15 to 20 miles a day, walking for 2 to 3 hours in the morning after dropping his daughters off at the bus stop, and 2 to 3 more hours after lunch.
It’s unknown how the MS will progress and impact him in the future. For now, his vision is impaired—most of the time he has blurred vision; sometimes he has double vision. So on the road, he uses his other senses to listen for oncoming cars and barking dogs and does his best to stay out of the way of both. He gets periodic muscle spasms in his hands and feet. He gets flulike symptoms from the injections he takes to slow the progression of the disease.
But Robertson hasn’t let the symptoms—or questions about how the disease will progress—stop him. If anything, he says, having the disease has motivated him to work out harder and get healthier.
“I feel like the MS is something I have to overcome,” he says. “When I was first diagnosed, I felt broken and sorry for myself. I have left all that behind me, and running helped me do that.”
AGE: 35
HOMETOWN: Union Mills, North Carolina
What’s your regular workout routine? I run 5 days a week.
What was the biggest hurdle, and how did you get over it? Getting past the mental wall that I created myself. I had myself believing that I couldn’t do this because of my disease. A few years ago, I took my daughters to an amusement park. My older daughter wanted to ride a ride. We stood in line for almost an hour. Our time came to get on the ride, and the bar that holds us in would not fit over my belly. We had to leave, and she didn’t get to ride. I felt so bad. On all those days I thought about not running, I thought of my girls and that day at the amusement park. That gets me out the door.
What kinds of changes did you make to your diet? I had a horrible diet before. I ate fast food, fried food, mostly processed foods, and very few vegetables and fruits. I never paid attention to portion sizes or nutritional information. Then in May of 2012, I started juicing and changed everything. I still drink a gallon of green juice a day. We do not have sodas in our home. When I do eat meat, it is turkey, chicken, or shrimp. I eat Greek yogurt a few times a week.
What is the biggest reward of your running life? Running has given me a sense of confidence. I am not the fastest, but it is fun and I am improving, and that is great. The biggest reward came at a 5-K. Someone said to my older daughter, “Look at him go; he sure is fast!” She turned and said, “Yeah, he is my Daddy.” I can’t express how it made me feel to make her proud of me. Running did this for us, and I plan to run as long as I can.
What advice would you give to a beginner? It is better to run smart than run fast. Read about running. Seek advice from other runners. Take your time in training and don’t log too many miles.
Favorite motivational quote: “There will be haters. There will be doubters. There will be nonbelievers, and there will be you proving them wrong.”
What’s your long-term goal? One day, I want to run the Asheville City Marathon and the Outer Banks Marathon. I want to become a certified personal trainer to help others reach their weight-loss goals.
What advice would you have for others who have MS? Just get out and do what you can. Don’t be afraid to push yourself. You only fail by not trying. Don’t listen to those who try to define you by your illness. After you start an exercise program, listen to your body and rest as needed.
What Should I Wear?
When you first start, it’s tempting to dust off whatever sports gear is already in your closet. But it’s not a good idea, regardless of what kind of fashion statement you do or do not care about making. A few pieces of running apparel and some good-quality shoes can make a huge difference in the quality of your exercise life and how enjoyable your workout is. After all, it’s hard to have any sort of fun when you’re wearing a sweat-soaked cotton T-shirt that chafes your skin into a bloody-raw state. Major advances in apparel and shoe technology have created a wide array of products that will help keep you cool, cozy, and unscathed. You don’t have to splurge on an extensive running wardrobe, but you won’t regret investing in a few well-made basics. Some high-quality items will ensure that you’re comfortable, no matter how far or fast you go. Here are the bare essentials that you need to get going.
TECHNICAL SHIRTS AND SHORTS: Avoid cotton apparel. Instead choose socks, shirts, pants, and shorts made of “technical” materials, which pull sweat and moisture away from your skin. They’re lightweight, and they prevent irritating and painful chafing that nontechnical fabrics may cause. In the summer, they help you stay cooler. In the winter, you’ll be warmer. Look for materials like nylon, wool, Lycra, Coolmax, and Merino wool.
HAT: For the summer, get a cap or visor that will keep the sun out of your eyes. For the winter, get a warm hat that covers your ears.
UNDERWEAR: Here, too, stay away from cotton; it absorbs sweat, which can keep you cold and lead to chafing. If you’re wearing shorts, it’s okay to rely on the liner and go underwear free—it’s a personal choice. If your shorts or pants don’t have a liner, wool or synthetic underwear will offer the insulation and support you need.
SPORTS BRA: Every female runner needs the right sports bra—one that fits well, offers adequate support, and wicks away sweat. Try on a variety of brands and styles to find the perfect bra for you. To get the perfect fit, grab three sizes to try on—the cup size you normally wear, one that’s smaller, and one that’s larger. Straps shouldn’t gape, dig into skin, or move around. You should be able to slide two fingers under each strap. The base band should feel snug and lie flat. If the bra’s material wrinkles or gathers anywhere, it’s too big. If your skin bulges out in spots or if the bra’s edges cut into you, it’s too small. Once you’ve found a bra that fits well, run in place for 15 seconds. The bra shouldn’t twist or ride up when you move.14
REFLECTIVE GEAR: If you run before sunrise or after sunset, it’s critical to wear gear that helps you see and be seen. Your best bet is a handheld light or a headlamp. Drivers will see the light, but they’ll also see the movement and figure out that you’re a runner. At the very least, wear a reflective vest or a blinking red light.
A WATCH: At first, all you’ll need to know is how long you’ve been running. Any watch will do. As you progress, you might invest in a heart rate monitor or a GPS watch, which can tell you how fast and how far you’re going, as well as your pace and heart rate. There are dozens of gadgets out there, from the simple to the elaborate. Some runners swear by these devices; others do fine without them. There certainly are some benefits: These devices provide feedback on how hard you’re working, which can help you keep from working out too hard (which can lead to injury) or too easy (which may cause your fitness to plateau).
Get Good Running Shoes
Spending more than $100 on a pair of running shoes might seem indulgent. But shoes that offer the support and fit your feet need are actually the cheapest form of health insurance you’ll find. Worn-out or ill-fitting shoes are a leading cause of injury. “There’s no magical shoe that makes running easier, but a bad shoe will ruin your running,” says Bruce Wilk, a Miami-based physical therapist, coach, and owner of The Runner’s High specialty shop. Follow these tips to make sure you get the pair that you need.
Don’t skimp. Making a beeline for the On Sale rack is not a good idea. Don’t shop by price. Get the pair that fits you best. Consider this: Whatever your new shoes cost, it is likely less than the money and time you’d spend seeing the doctor because you got hurt.
See the experts. It’s best to go to a specialty running shop (not a big-box or department store) where a salesperson can watch you run and help you select the right pair for you. Our store finder at runnersworld.com/store-finder can help you find a specialty running store near you.
Size yourself up. You may think you know your size, but it’s best to get your feet measured each time you buy new shoes. Your feet change over time, and one model’s fit can be different from another’s.
Bring what you’ve been wearing. When you go shopping, take along the shoes, socks, and any inserts that you’ve been using. That way you can make a realistic evaluation of how well the new shoe will fit your feet.
Make some space. Many people end up getting a running shoe that’s a half size larger than their street shoes. The extra room allows your foot to flex and your toes to move forward with each stride. When you’re standing with both shoes on, make sure you have at least a thumbnail’s space between the tip of the shoe and the end of your longest toe. Try shoes on both feet and take them for a test run around the shop, on a treadmill, or on the sidewalk.
Don’t be a trendsetter. There is a dizzying array of shoes to choose from, and many people are wooed by shoes that “look fast” or a promise to cure an injury. But there is no one best shoe for everyone. Only one shoe offers your feet the unique support and fit you need. Try on as many different models and pairs as possible. And what about those minimalist shoes designed to mimic barefoot running? There’s no scientific evidence that forgoing shoes decreases injury risk for everyone. When you’re just starting out, stick with traditional running shoes.
Keep up the rotation. Shoes should be replaced every 300 to 500 miles. Keep track of the date that you bought them in your training log, and record your mileage daily so you know when it’s time for a new pair.
Where to Work Out
Running builds bone and muscle strength. To prevent injury—and burnout—it’s a good idea to map out a few safe, scenic, and traffic-free routes that you feel comfortable on in various weather conditions and at different times of day. But what’s best—the road? Treadmill? The trails? Or the track? Here’s a guide to the trade-offs you’ll need to make with any kind of surface.15
Asphalt Roads
Sidewalks are your best option. But in many areas, they just don’t exist. If you have to hit the asphalt, be sure to pick safe, flat, low-traffic stretches that have plenty of space on the shoulder so that you can step to the side to avoid oncoming vehicles. Always run facing traffic—it’s easier to see oncoming cars, and cars will see you; wear bright or reflective attire (especially at night or at dusk); and avoid using iPods or wearing headphones (better to hear approaching vehicles). If you are going to run with headphones, run with only one earbud in; you want to make sure that you can still hear outside noises, such as the sound of an approaching vehicle. Assume that drivers do not see you; be sure to wave to them as they come toward you, and give a wave of thanks if they let you pass. Allow at least 3 feet between you and the passing vehicle. If you’re running with someone else on the road, go single file when cars need to pass. Run with proper ID and carry a cell phone with emergency contacts taped to its back.
Trails
This softer surface can be great if you’ve struggled with overuse injuries like runner’s knee, iliotibial band syndrome (also called IT band syndrome), or shin splints. Just be wary of “technical” trails with lots of roots, rocks, and uneven ground that cause your feet to land at an angle. Avoid trails if you’ve ever had an ankle sprain. It increases your risk of a repeat sprain, which is more likely to occur on soft, uneven surfaces. For more tips for going off road, see “Your First Trail Run.”
Sand
It’s best to stay away from sand unless it’s hard-packed. It’s unstable and can twist the knee, ankle, and hip. If you do run on sand, keep it short. Avoid sand altogether if you have a history of ankle sprains or Achilles tendinitis.
Grass
Grass is a great alternative if you’re just getting back into walking or running following an injury. On grass, the bulk of the energy from your footfall goes into the ground instead of reverberating back up your leg. If you’re prone to plantar fasciitis, tread carefully. You’re more likely to overpronate on this soft, uneven surface.
Track
While tracks may bring up bad memories of grade-school gym class, they can be an ideal place to start running outside. They’re flat and traffic free, and the distance is measured. You don’t have to worry about dodging roots, curbs, or aggressive motorists. Many schools open their tracks to the public when they’re not in use. Call ahead to ask. (For more, see “Track 101.”)
YOUR FIRST TRAIL RUN
Trails offer a change of scenery that can refresh your routine, give your bones and joints a break from the impact of pounding on pavement, and even give your fitness a boost. Here are some tips to help.
LOOK FOR THE RIGHT TRAIL. Before you get started, it’s best to start with trails that are flat, dirt-packed, asphalt, bridle path or fitness trails, macadam, or even paved Rails-to-Trails routes. Avoid technical terrain, stay away from doubletrack trails, which often have gravel, and singletrack trails, which are often narrow dirt paths and strewn with rocks and roots that can make footing challenging.
FORGET ABOUT PACE. It’s best to focus on level of effort—not how fast you’re going—when you hit the trails. With uneven footing and an unfamiliar route, it’s only natural that your pace will slow. Take it as easy as you need to avoid falling. You’ll still get a great workout.
EXPECT SOME SORENESS. With the uneven surface, your muscles, joints, and ligaments will be worked in ways that they aren’t when you’re pounding pavement. So you may feel a little soreness in the 2 days after the workout, particularly in your ankles, calf muscles, or shins.
MIND YOUR MANNERS. If someone is coming toward you, stay to the right. If you see another runner or a hiker or cyclist ahead of you, call out “On your left” before you pass.
The Pool
Aqua jogging is a great low-impact workout that can boost your fitness A flotation belt allows you to “run” in deep water, so you can use the same stride as you do on solid ground. And if you’re injured, aqua jogging can help you stay fit while you rehab. Here are some tips from Jeff Galloway, Runner’s World’s “Starting Line” columnist, on how to make the most of your time in the water.17
• EASE INTO IT. Using a flotation belt, start running at a depth at which your feet lightly touch the bottom; this helps you establish an upright body alignment. Then move into deeper water, maintaining your stride. Run 5 minutes, then rest 5 minutes. Repeat two to four times. Each session, increase the length of the run segment and decrease the rest until you can run for 30 minutes continuously.
• TURN UP THE INTENSITY. At first, keep your effort level easy. No huffing and puffing. Once you get comfortable in the pool, gradually speed up the turnover of your legs so you’re breathing at a rate that’s the same as you would during a moderately paced run.
• SWIM SOME LAPS. Swim a lap or two during your rest periods or alternate pool runs with a lap workout: Swim one lap easy, rest for 20 to 30 seconds, then swim a slightly faster lap. Rest 1 minute, then swim two easy laps. Rest 1 minute, then swim two to four fast laps, resting as much as you wish after each.
• MIMIC ROAD WORKOUTS. For a long run, simply run in water for the same duration of time you would run on land. For speed workouts, shorten your stride and quicken your turnover, moving your legs faster, and keep the duration of your effort and recovery the same. During rest periods, move your legs slowly and gently.
TRACK 101
The track isn’t just for speedsters. In fact it can be the perfect place for new runners. Here are the basics you need to know the first time you hit the oval.18
FOLLOW THE RULES. Many schools open their tracks to the public during times when school isn’t in session. Plan your workout around open hours, and make sure you don’t interfere with special events.
GO COUNTERCLOCKWISE. Most runners travel counterclockwise on the track. To avoid collisions, you should, too.
LEAVE THE HEADPHONES AT HOME. When you are close to fatigued runners in a confined space trying to hit top speed, you’ll want to tune in to what’s going on around you.
CLEAR LANE ONE. The innermost lane of the track is typically the place for the fastest runners. If you’re warming up, cooling down, or running slower, move to an outer lane. (Note: Schools sometimes bar the public from using multiple inside lanes—for example, lanes one through three—to preserve them for their athletes.)
KNOW THE NUMBERS. Most tracks are 400 meters around, as measured in lane one; that’s just a bit less than ¼ mile. Here are some other helpful measurements.
• 200 METERS: the length of the straightaways
• 800 METERS: roughly ½ mile or two laps around the track
• 1600 METERS: roughly 1 mile or four laps around the track
TRACK TERMS
Here are some key terms that you might hear at the track. For a complete dictionary of running terms, see “A Guide to Common Running Terms.”
INTERVALS: Technically, intervals refers to the time you spend recovering between speed segments. But people generally use it to refer to track workouts in general, or workouts where you alternate between fast and easy bouts of running.
RECOVERY: Walking or easy jogging between faster-paced segments. Recovery lets your heart rate return to the point where you’re ready to run fast again and helps you regain the energy you’ll need for the next burst of speed.
REPEATS: The fast segments of running that are repeated during a workout, with recovery in between. If you’re training for a marathon, you might run 800-meter (or ½-mile) “repeats” four times, resting for 400 meters (or ¼ mile) in between.
SPLIT: The time it takes to complete any defined distance. If you’re running 1 mile, or four laps around the track, you might check your “split” after you have covered four laps.
Treadmill
Not ready to step outside? Treadmills offer a safe, convenient way to get your workouts even when it’s dark, snowy, or dangerously hot. And the music, the TVs, and the company of other people can make the miles roll by much easier. The belt’s cushioned surface reduces stress to your back, hips, knees, and feet. And it’s clear of obstacles, like uneven terrain, rocks, and traffic. It’s also warm and dry, no matter what the weather. Find a gym nearby with treadmills and hours that fit your schedule. Before you sign up, find out when the prime times are so you can steer clear and be sure to get an open treadmill.
TREADMILL TRAINING
The treadmill can be a lifesaver when the weather is bad, or you’re homebound caring for kids. And while studies have shown that the stress your body sees running on the treadmill is very similar to running outside,19 there are some unique injury risks you face when logging monster miles on the ’mill–even beyond the risk of falling off the back of the machine.
Jay Dicharry, director of REP Biomechanics Lab at Rebound Physical Therapy in Bend, Oregon, has conducted research showing that the torque of the ankle and hip joints is similar on the treadmill as it is running on the ground outside. “People might have that preconception (that there’s a difference between running on a treadmill versus outside) but it’s not actually been shown,” he says.
But factors like the uniformity of the treadmill surface, and the tendency to let form fall apart and to overstride, can set you up for injury if you’re not careful.
Plus, because the treadmill surface is so uniform, if you don’t vary your pace, change the treadmill grade, or do some of your runs outside, you risk turning smaller aches and pains into full-blown injuries, just as you would if you ran all of your miles on the exact same track or stretch of road.
“It’s important to remember that you run the treadmill,” says Dicharry, author of Anatomy for Runners. “Don’t let the treadmill run you.”
Here are some steps to make your time indoors as easy as possible.
PROBLEM: You can run faster on the treadmill than you can on the road. Because the treadmill keeps moving even as you tire, you overstride to keep up with the moving treadmill and ultimately strain a hamstring. “Some people allow themselves to cheat more on form when they’re running fast, whether they’re on a treadmill or running outside,” says Dicharry. “But if you’re on a track or on the road and you’re tired, you’ll slow down. A treadmill doesn’t let you do that. You have to press a button to slow down.”
Solution: Try to match the stride rate you have when you’re running on the road, says Dicharry. If your stride rate—the number of steps you take per minute—is much slower on the treadmill than it is outside, that’s a sign that you’re struggling to catch up with the treadmill belt and likely risking injury, and you need to slow down. To find your stride rate, count the number of steps one foot takes in 20 seconds. Multiply that times three. Then double it. That’s your stride rate.
PROBLEM: Treadmills bore you to tears, so you cut all your workouts short or skip them altogether.
Solution: A structured workout may help the miles roll by more easily than slogging through easy miles at the same pace. You might try this tempo workout which you can do as you watch a sitcom:20 After 10 minutes of easy running to warm up, ramp up to your tempo pace when your show begins. Jog for recovery during the commercials, then return to tempo pace during the show segments. Cool down with 5 minutes of easy running. (Find more boredom-busting workouts at runnersworld.com/treadmill-training.) And you don’t just have to slug it out solo on the treadmill. Hit the gym and run alongside a friend you wouldn’t ordinarily get to outside because you run different paces. Or reserve your favorite books, podcasts, or movies for your treadmill time. After all, on the treadmill, you don’t have to worry about the danger of being plugged in and not hearing traffic, as you would when running outside. Or make a new playlist. Studies have shown that music lowers perceived effort, so you feel less tired than you would without music, and fast-tempo music in particular can pump you up before a hard effort. (Check out runnersworld.com/running-playlists for ideas.)
PROBLEM: You do all your training on the treadmill, but your race is outside. The whole purpose of training is to prepare your body for the rigors you will face on race day. If you’re constantly running on a flat belt, without having to contend with factors like wind resistance or weather, the challenge will be greater on race day.
In addition, because running on a treadmill is so redundant, doing all your runs inside can worsen issues, like it would if you did all your running on the exact same stretch of track or road every day. “Because your foot is striking every single time the same way, if you’ve got little niggling issues, they can become magnified on a treadmill because there’s no variability,” says Dicharry. “Anything that’s more variable is going to work your body more evenly.”
Solution: Do some workouts, like long runs, outside so you get experience dealing with headwinds, elevation changes, and running in rain, snow, heat, or any other weather you might face. And on the treadmill, vary your pace and your incline as much as possible to mimic—or just resemble—the changes you’ll encounter outside. Technology can assist with that: Most treadmills have preset programs that provide variation in elevation and speed. “You want to train your body for unexpected events. The more you can vary the conditions, the better,” says Reed Ferber, director of the Running Injury Clinic at the University of Calgary. And as you’re transitioning to outside running, start off running by effort, not pace, as you get accustomed to contending with wind resistance, warns Adam St. Pierre, coach and exercise physiologist from the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine. “At first, you may have to slow your pace significantly outdoors.”
EASE INTO IT
Logging all your miles on the treadmill? Step outside gradually with this 6-week plan suggested by Adam St. Pierre, coach and exercise physiologist from the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine. If you’re doing some outside running year-round, you can make a quicker transition. As always, listen to your body, and stay particularly alert for aches and pains in your hamstrings, calves, and hip flexors.
WEEKS 1–2: 75 percent of miles on treadmill; 25 percent outside
WEEKS 3–4: 50 percent of miles on treadmill; 50 percent outside
WEEKS 5–6: 25 percent of miles on treadmill; 75 percent outside
MAINTAINING GOOD FORM ON THE TREADMILL
To avoid injury, aim to run as relaxed on the treadmill as you do outside, experts say. Here’s how.
• JUST LET GO. Holding on to the handrails causes excess rotation in the lower body. “Your arms are critical in terms of maintaining forward velocity,” says Reed Ferber, director of the Running Injury Clinic at the University of Calgary. If you’re holding the handrails—just as when you’re pushing a jogging stroller—the upper body rotates less, which means the lower body has to rotate extra to compensate. That can lead to pain in the knees, shins, Achilles, and IT band, says Adam St. Pierre, coach and exercise physiologist from the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine.
• LOOK STRAIGHT AHEAD. Keep your gaze forward and level. If you’re staring at a TV screen that’s slightly to the side, you’re going to end up craning—and straining—your neck, says Jay Dicharry, director of REP Biomechanics Lab at Rebound Physical Therapy. And by the same token, be careful not to stare down at a number on the treadmill display that might be below you, causing you to hunch over. “Whatever you’re looking at should be in front of you.”
• KEEP YOUR TOES UNDER YOUR NOSE. Have a leg swing as close to your body as possible, says Dicharry. Avoid overstriding, which can lead to hamstring strain.
• DON’T RUN WITH A NARROW STANCE. St. Pierre says he sees people who run with too narrow a stance on the treadmill, possibly because they’re worried about stepping off the moving belt. So pick a belt that’s as wide as possible. Your feet should not completely cross over the center line of your body. As you run, imagine a line dropping straight down from your belly button. The inside edge of each shoe should just barely touch the edge of the line, or at most one-third of the shoe should cross over. Excessive crossover puts more stress on the inner ankle, shin, IT band, and hip, says St. Pierre.
• DO THE BODY SCAN. Periodically check in with yourself, St. Pierre suggests. Ask yourself, How does this pace feel? What’s my heart rate? What’s my stride rate? If your treadmill is in front of a mirror, focus on running symmetrically, he says. Your hands should approach, but not cross, the center line of the body. You should see your hands coming up to your nipples with each stride. Make sure your feet aren’t crossing over the center line. If you notice your knees collapsing in, you may add some glute-strengthening work with exercises like hockey kicks. Pay attention to whether your trunk shifts side to side. It’s normal to lean a little to the right when you are landing on your right leg and a little to the left when landing on your left leg, but if you’re leaning excessively, you may have some weakness in the glutes, he says.
RUNS OF THE MILL
Training on a treadmill doesn’t have to be torture. Doing a structured workout can help the time pass faster. And it can help you get fitter. Try one of these workouts assembled by Runner’s World contributing editor Lisa Jhung, next time you have to take your workout inside.
IF YOUR GOAL IS TO: Introduce your legs to the treadmill.21
Try this: Start at an easy pace. After 5 minutes, crank up the speed by 0.5 mph for 1 minute, then back down to your easy pace for 2 minutes. Crank up the incline by 0.5 percent for 1 minute, then back down for 2 minutes. Continue alternating, experimenting with pace and incline.
IF YOUR GOAL IS TO: Return from injury or illness.
Try this: Alternate jogging and walking—2 minutes jogging, 2 minutes walking—for a total of 20 to 30 minutes. If your injury or illness doesn’t flare up, increase the run interval during subsequent workouts to 3 minutes, then 4, then 5 (and so on), and bring the walking segment down to 1 minute in between.
IF YOUR GOAL IS TO: Make the most of 15 minutes.
Try this: This workout is recommended by Starting Line columnist Jeff Galloway. Warm up with 3 minutes of easy running. Gradually increase to a faster pace for 2 minutes. Then walk for 30 seconds. Repeat that cycle. Then run for 3 minutes fast and walk for 30 seconds. Repeat that cycle. Cool down by walking for the remaining time.22
IF YOUR GOAL IS TO: Make the most of 20 minutes.
Try this: Warm up at a slow to moderate pace for 5 minutes, then increase the speed to your fastest sustainable pace and hold it for 10 minutes for a hard tempo. Cool down for 5 minutes.
IF YOUR GOAL IS TO: Beat boredom.
Try this: Watch TV. During the show, run at an easy-moderate pace, then punch up the speed to run hard for the duration of the commercial. Return to your moderate pace when the show resumes. If no TV is available, listen to music, varying your pace or effort by song.
IF YOUR GOAL IS TO: Improve speed at any distance.
Try this: Set the treadmill to a 2 percent incline. After warming up, match speedy segments with equal recovery (e.g., 1 minute hard, 1 minute recovery) for 1-2-3-2-1-2-3-2-1 minutes, then cool down.
IF YOUR GOAL IS TO: Get a long workout in with a run/walk pattern.
Try this: This long workout, from “Starting Line” columnist Jeff Galloway, will allow you to build endurance. Start with 3 minutes of easy jogging. Then do a 2:1 run/walk ratio and repeat that three times. Then do a 3:1 run/walk ratio and repeat that three times. Finish the workout with a 2:1 run/walk, followed by a 1:1 run/walk.23
Know Your Pace
How fast or slow are you going? Many treadmills show pace as miles per hour (mph). Here’s a cheat sheet so you can find your minutes-per-mile pace, more commonly used by runners.
| MILES PER HOUR |
PACE
(MINUTES PER MILE) |
| 4.0 |
15:00 |
| 4.1 |
14:38 |
| 4.2 |
14:17 |
| 4.3 |
13:57 |
| 4.4 |
13:38 |
| 4.5 |
13:20 |
| 4.6 |
13:03 |
| 4.7 |
12:46 |
| 4.8 |
12:30 |
| 4.9 |
12:15 |
| 5.0 |
12:00 |
| 5.1 |
11:46 |
| 5.2 |
11:32 |
| 5.3 |
11:19 |
| 5.4 |
11:07 |
| 5.5 |
10:55 |
| 5.6 |
10:43 |
| 5.7 |
10:32 |
| 5.8 |
10:21 |
| 5.9 |
10:10 |
| 6.0 |
10:00 |
| 6.1 |
9:50 |
| 6.2 |
9:41 |
| 6.3 |
9:31 |
| 6.4 |
9.23 |
| 6.5 |
9:14 |
| 6.6 |
9:05 |
| 6.7 |
8:57 |
| 6.8 |
8:49 |
| 6.9 |
8:42 |
| 7.0 |
8:34 |
Warming Up
Once you get revved up to run, it’s tempting to shoot out the door as fast as you can. But heading out of the gates—without a proper warmup—is a recipe for disaster.
If you start out too fast, you run the risk of pulling a muscle; tweaking a tendon, bone, or joint; or getting into a pace that you can’t sustain. The result? You end up slowing down and burning out before you’re done with your workout. The worst part is that you’re likely to end your run feeling exhausted and discouraged and dreading your next workout.
A smart warmup gives your muscles, bones, and joints a chance to loosen up. It gradually and gently brings up your heart rate and makes it easier to get into the rhythm you want to sustain so you can run—and finish—feeling exhilarated and energized enough to go longer and excited to set out for your next workout.
Bart Says . . .
You’re going to have good days and bad days. Some days it’s going to feel like you have Velcro on your shoes; sometimes it’s going to feel like they have wings.
Follow this three-step method to warm up wisely.
1 Walk. Walk gently for 3 to 5 minutes. Walking is the ideal low-intensity activity to ease your body out of sitting mode and into workout mode. The motion of walking takes the muscles, tendons, and joints through a range of motion that’s similar to what it will go through in running, explains exercise physiologist and running coach Janet Hamilton, MA, RCEP, CSCS, and founder of Running Strong in Atlanta. This not only brings up the temperature of the muscles and the core, but it enhances the bloodflow to all the muscles you’ll need for running and sends your brain the message that it’s time to go.
2 Add strides. After 3 to 5 minutes of walking, do five to six 100-meter strides. Strides (also called pickups) flood the muscles with blood, recruit your fast-twitch muscle fibers, and help your body transition from walking to running mode. Strides should not be timed, and the exact distance of each stride is not critical. Here’s how to do them.
• Jog easy for at least 2 minutes—preferably more.
• Gradually accelerate over the course of 60 to 100 meters, then gradually decelerate.
• After each stride, walk around and shake out your legs for 90 seconds.
• Stride back in the opposite direction.
Do not confuse “strides” with “overstriding,” warns Hamilton. Overstriding—extending your foot and leg far out in front of your knee—is a common cause of injury. Be sure to keep your steps short and quick as you’re doing the strides. Keep your feet and legs underneath your torso.
3 Do dynamic stretches. Static stretching, where you hold a muscle in an elongated, fixed position for 30 seconds or more, is now discouraged prerun, as it’s been linked to injury. But dynamic stretching, which uses controlled leg movements to improve range of motion, loosens up muscles and increases heart rate, body temperature, and bloodflow to help you run more efficiently.
Hamilton suggests this prerun dynamic stretching routine, which targets the muscles used for running. Start slowly, focusing on form; as the moves get easier, pick up speed. Use small movements for the first few reps and increase the range of motion as you go.
SKIPPING: Skip for 25 to 50 meters, gradually increasing the height and range of each skip as you go.
SIDE STEP/SHUFFLE: Step to the side, 10 to 20 meters to the right, then 10 to 20 meters to the left. You can do it by walking and gradually progressing to a jog. As your muscles start to warm up, you can build the intensity so that you’re trying to cover as much ground as possible with as few steps as possible.
WEAVE STEPS (also known as “the grapevine”): Step your right foot to the right, then step your left foot behind your right foot. Keep repeating this for 10 to 20 meters to the right, then repeat the cycle to the left. Keep alternating between right and left. Like the side step/shuffle, you can start by walking, then ramp up the intensity to a jog, trying to move as quickly as possible.
BACKWARD JOGGING: Start with 50-meter segments.
BUTT KICKS: While standing tall, walk forward with an exaggerated backswing so that your heels come up to your glutes. When this is easy, try it while jogging. Do 10 reps on each side. Too easy? Alternate butt kicks with high knees. Do five butt kicks, then do five high-knee steps. The butt kicks stretch the quads, and the high knees stretch the glutes.
HACKY SACK: Lift up your left leg, bending your knee so it points out. Tap the inside of your left foot with your right hand without bending forward. Repeat 10 times on each side. This stimulates the balance you’re going to need when you start running.
TOY SOLDIER: Keeping your back and knees straight, walk forward, lifting your legs straight out in front and flexing your toes. Advance this by adding a skipping motion. Do 10 reps on each side.
Bart Says . . .
A lot of people mistakenly think you have to do a half-marathon or a marathon to be a runner. It’s not all about distance. Gravitate toward what’s comfortable based on the time you can invest in the sport. No matter how fast you’re going or how far, you’re still getting out there and getting the benefits of stress relief and weight loss and feeling good about yourself. It makes each day—and your entire life—better. And it helps us in ways that we may not even be able to pinpoint.
How Fast or Slow Should You Go?
When Andrea “Andi” Ball first started working out, at 257 pounds, her workouts were almost always dissatisfying. “I’d get frustrated because I’d get out of breath so quickly,” she says.
Indeed, Ball discovered what runners of all levels of experience end up learning the hard way: When you’re trying to boost calorie burn, it can be easy to overdo it and burn out instead.
“Once I slowed the pace,” says Ball, “I found that I could run farther, and longer, and I was much more satisfied with how much I was accomplishing.” Here are some tips to help you determine how fast or slow to go.
Start slow. No matter how far or how long you plan to go, start out slowly to warm up and gradually raise your heart rate. That will make the workout feel easier sooner. You want to go into the workout with the idea that you’ll finish strong. If you finish feeling gassed, you’re going to be demoralized and it’s going to be that much more difficult to get out for your next workout. One of the most common mistakes newer runners make is going out too fast.
Walk briskly. If you’re walking, your cadence should feel quick. You should be able to hold a conversation. If you can sing, you’re likely going too slow, but if you are huffing and puffing, you’re going too fast.
Run relaxed. When you first start out, it’s common to clench up muscles that aren’t involved in running. And that can sap the strength you need for a good workout. So when the going gets tough, do a body scan: Unknit your brow, unclench your jaw, keep your hands relaxed (imagine holding a piece of paper between your thumb and pointer finger), and breathe. You’ll be amazed at how much easier the workout feels!
Measure minutes, not miles. Don’t worry about your pace or miles covered when you’re just starting out. The first step is to focus on building overall fitness—and to make exercise a habit. The biggest health improvements (lower risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and hypertension) result from the time you consistently spend elevating your heart rate. It doesn’t matter how many miles you cover while you’re out.
Tune in to your body. Once you hit a pace that feels comfortable, tune in to how your body feels. How hard are you breathing? How quickly are your legs turning over? How do your leg muscles feel? Getting a sense of how your comfortable pace feels will help you lock in to it on every run.
How to Gauge Your Fitness
From the high-tech to no-tech, there are a variety of ways to gauge your effort and your fitness gains. Here’s a guide.
THE TALK TEST: This is one of the most widely used methods of determining whether you’re working out at the appropriate level of effort. Informal as it sounds, research has shown that the talk test is an accurate predictor of intensity. For most of your easy runs, you want to be able to talk in complete sentences. For faster runs, you’ll want to be able to talk in short sentances, or to say a few words at a time. You never want to be running so fast that you’re huffing and puffing or unable to speak.
RESTING HEART RATE: Tracking your fitness doesn’t get cheaper, easier, or more convenient than the method recommended by exercise physiologist and coach Susan Paul of the Track Shack Foundation in Orlando, author of Runner’s World’s “For Beginners Only” column. Take your heart rate for 1 minute first thing in the morning before you get out of bed. Put two fingers on your pulse and time the number of beats per minute. Write the number down in your training log. As you get fitter, your resting heart rate will get lower. That’s because your heart is getting stronger, so it doesn’t have to make as many beats to pump the blood that your body needs. “When your heart rate gets lower,” Paul says, “you know that your body is responding to the training and getting more fit.”
PACE: This term refers to the number of minutes it takes to cover 1 mile. So if it takes you 15 minutes to walk 1 mile, you would be walking a “15-minute” pace, which might be expressed as 15:00⁄mile. Most training watches—made by companies like Garmin, Polar, Timex, and Nike—calculate pace for you by tracking how far you’ve gone and how long you’ve been working out. You can also track your pace on your own. Track it yourself by simply timing your workout and figuring out how far you’ve gone.
Again, when you’re first starting out, it’s best to focus on the time you spend exercising rather than pace, or it’s the time that you consistently spend working out that is going to determine how much fitness you develop and the overall health benefits you gain. As you get more comfortable running and walking, you can start to track your pace on each workout to gauge your fitness gains.
HEART RATE: Tracking your heart rate with a monitor (which reads your pulse via a sensor built into a chest strap) tells you precisely how hard—or easy—you’re working. A heart rate monitor will track how many beats per minute your heart is taking so that you can make sure you’re working within a particular percentage of your maximum heart rate during every workout. For instance, you’ll want to make sure that you’re running within 60 to 70 percent of your maximum heart rate on most of your workouts. But how do you find out your maximum heart rate? See “Know Your Zones.”
That said, even with an accurate max heart rate, there are still going to be limitations when you’re using a heart rate monitor to determine how hard you’re working. If you’re working out in a gym, other machines might interfere with the signals. If you’re dehydrated, if it’s a very hot day, or if you’re in pain, your heart rate might skyrocket, even if you’re running at a slower pace. (To read more about this, see the following section “Is Heart Rate Training Right for You?” on left.)
PERCEIVED EXERTION: Monitor your intensity based on how you feel. This method uses a numbered scale from 6 to 20 for rating exercise intensity. You assign a number based on how hard you feel you’re working. You can use the Borg relative perceived exertion scale for reference.
• 20—Maximum exertion
• 19—Extremely hard exertion
• 17—Very hard exertion
• 15—Hard exertion
• 13—Somewhat hard exertion
• 11—Light exertion
• 9—Very light exertion
• 7—Extremely light exertion
• 6—No exertion at all
AMBY’S ADVICE
Few people understand the degree to which running is very hard work. According to the way that physiologists measure exercise, even the slowest jog by the slowest runner represents “vigorous” exercise. So no one can run hard very often; it’s too destructive to muscles, joints, hormones, and the entire system. Indeed, even Olympians run “easy” about 80 percent of the time. Another good alternative: Run every other day and do cross-training type activities on your nonrunning days: biking, swimming, weight lifting, etc. An easy run is one that allows you to talk comfortably with your running partner (or with yourself; just don’t let anyone see you). Runners don’t like to use the word “jog,” but your easy runs should feel like a jog.
Is Heart Rate Training Right for You?
A heart-rate monitor can be a helpful tool.
Measuring your heart rate can help you avoid making one of the most common mistakes that runners of all abilities make: going out too fast and burning out before you’ve reached the goal distance and duration of the workout. Staying in your ideal zone—60 to 80 percent of your max heart rate for most of your runs—will allow you to find that relaxed, comfortable pace that you want to hit for most of your runs.
But heart-rate training isn’t always appropriate for new runners. When you’re just starting to work out, it’s best to work by feel at first. Spend time getting into a rhythm of walking or running that feels relaxed and natural; comfortable enough to hold a conversation. For most people it takes quite a few workouts (it’s different for each individual) to find that feel-good pace. Once you do, heart rate training can help you target the right level of effort for each workout so that you avoid injury and burnout. “You can use it as one tool—along with your talk test, pace, and perceived effort—to gauge how hard you’re working,” says exercise physiologist and running coach Janet Hamilton, founder of Running Strong in Atlanta. Here’s how to effectively use a heart-rate monitor in your exercise life.
KNOW YOUR ZONES. When you work out using a heart-rate monitor, you’ll aim to work out within a specific zone. Hitting a “zone” means falling within a particular percentage of your heart rate during every workout—for example, 65 to 80 percent for most runs and 90 percent or more as you blaze to a fast race finish. For most of your workouts, your heart rate should fall into zone 1 or 2. Here is a general guideline used by exercise physiologist and running coach Janet Hamilton, founder of Running Strong, in Atlanta:
• ZONE 1: 60 to 70 percent; very comfortable effort; use this for warmup and cooldown
• ZONE 2: 70 to 80 percent; comfortable enough to hold a conversation; most training is done here
• ZONE 3: 81 to 93 percent; “comfortably hard” effort; you may be able to say short, broken sentences.
• ZONE 4: 94 to 100 percent; hard effort; the pace is sustainable, but conversation is a few words at a time. For most people this is around 5-K pace.
FIND YOUR MAX HEART RATE. If you’d like to find out precisely what max heart rate and heart rate reserve are, go to an exercise physiologist and do a treadmill test. This test typically involves running on a treadmill on which the pace and incline are gradually increased while you’re hooked up to machines that monitor your heart rate and blood pressure, as well as how much oxygen you’re consuming.
For years, runners have been told to monitor their heart rate based on their maximum heart rate (or “max” heart rate), using a formula of 220 minus your age. Now most experts agree that this formula may be inaccurate for most people. It’s better to use heart rate reserve, says Hamilton. Here’s how to find your heart-rate reserve:
• Run hard and record your peak heart rate. You can find an estimate of your max heart rate by doing a time trial or a 5-K race at an all-out effort. “5-K races are ideal,” says Hamilton. “The competitive environment brings out a greater effort in most people.” If you don’t want to race, you can do a two-mile time trial. Here’s how: On a track or any flat stretch of road, run one mile easy to warm up, then run two miles (eight laps around the track) at the fastest pace that you can sustain, trying to run each mile or each lap at roughly the same pace. Look at the heart-rate monitor, and note the highest number that was hit. That is a good estimate of your max heart rate and is likely more accurate than just subtracting your age from 220.
• Get your resting heart rate. Take your pulse at your neck or on your wrist as soon as you wake up, before you get out of bed. Find out how many beats per minute by counting your pulse for a full 60 seconds. Do this every day for one week. Average the numbers.
• Calculate your heart rate reserve. Your heart rate reserve (HRR) is your max heart rate minus your resting heart rate.
• Map out your zones. To find out which numbers to target on which runs, multiply your heart rate reserve by the zone you’re running in (see zones), then add back your resting heart rate.
Here’s an example: Let’s say you have a max heart rate of 190 and a resting heart rate of 60. Your heart rate reserve would be 190 – 60 = 130.
To find out which number you should target for your warmup, when you want to be working at 65 percent, you’d use this formula:
Heart Rate Reserve x 65 percent + Resting Heart Rate
130 x 0.65 (65 percent of heart rate for an easy run) = 84.5 + 60 (Resting heart rate) = 144.5
So you’d target about 144 for your warmup. If the number is higher, you’re working too hard. If it’s lower, there’s no need to be concerned. It’s just a warmup!
EXPECT SOME MARGIN FOR ERROR. Using a heart-rate monitor to gauge how hard you’re working does have its limitations. If you’re wearing your heart-rate monitor in a gym, the signals from the machines might interfere with an accurate reading. If you’re doing a run/walk workout, there will be a natural lag between when you hit a certain zone and when that number registers on the heart-rate monitor, says Hamilton. Also, if you’re dehydrated, if it’s a superhot day, or if you’re in pain, your heart rate might skyrocket, even if you have slowed down. Certain medications, such as beta-blockers and some migraine medicines, may also affect the numbers you see on your heart-rate monitor.
See the experts. Before you invest in a heart-rate monitor, talk with your doctor, a pharmacist, or an exercise physiologist to discuss how any of your individual health issues, or any medications or supplements you’re taking may impact your heart rate during exercise.
When you’re just starting to work out, you have to carefully weigh whether this is the most appropriate way for you to measure your effort. It’s best to work by feel at first. Spend time getting into a rhythm of walking or running that feels comfortable enough to hold a conversation. It takes a while to get to a point where the running feels relaxed and natural. Once it does, you should target that feeling during each run. If you’re doing a run/walk workout, be aware that there will be a natural lag between when you hit a certain pace or heart rate zone and when that number registers on the heart rate monitor, says Hamilton. So if you’re doing a run/walk interval by time, there’s a good chance that you may have returned to a walk before seeing your target heart rate for the run register on the heart rate monitor. On the other hand, having a heart rate monitor will keep you from going out too fast and burning out before you’ve reached the goal distance and duration of the workout. Staying in your ideal zone of 60 to 80 percent will help you practice running in that relaxed, comfortable pace that you want to hit for most of your runs, Hamilton adds.
Cross-Training
Cross-training—with cycling, swimming, the elliptical trainer, or the rowing machine—can play an important role in your overall fitness routine. It gives the muscles you use in walking and running a chance to recover while strengthening other parts of the body that running doesn’t use, boosting all-around fitness and preventing injuries. Plus, it helps prevent burnout and keeps your exercise routine fresh.
Here’s how to get the most effective—and safe—workout when you’re doing other activities.
Make it regular, not just your fallback plan. It can take a while to develop the strength and the know-how on any given machine to get a good workout. So make it a regular part of your routine from the beginning. If you wait until you’re forced to cross-train because of poor weather or injury, you might not feel like you got the benefits.
Choose one. Try different kinds of cross-training activities until you find the one that works best for you. Once you find it, stick with it. Once you develop some proficiency with it, you can boost your heart rate and get a high-quality workout. Sticking with one activity also makes it easier for you to track your progress and prevent you from reaching a fitness plateau. Each time you can compare one workout to the next.
Enjoy yourself! If you dread a particular activity, you’re not going to do it. So find the activity that you like and find a way to enjoy it. It’s okay to listen to music or books while you work out, or even watch TV. And it’s okay to schedule your workout so you can catch up on your favorite TV show.
Let effort be your guide. Pace and heart rate don’t really translate from running to gym machines. So it’s best to do any given activity—cycling, swimming, elliptical, or rowing machine—for the same amount of time that you’d spend running at the same level of effort. So if you’d normally run for 30 minutes at an easy effort, substitute 30 minutes on the elliptical at an easy effort.
Don’t get hurt. Though many people cross-train to prevent injuries, it is possible to hurt yourself in the process. If you’re injured, ask your doctor which activities are safe before you hit the gym. Cross-training can help you stay fit when you can’t run, but some activities can make injuries worse. See “Popular Ways to Cross-Train” on the next page for a guide on which activities are safe to do—and which are off-limits—when you’re injured.
Avoid the terrible toos. The fitness you’ve developed with walking and running might not translate to other activities that use your muscles and joints in different ways. In other words, with cross-training—just as with walking and running—the key is to use your head and not do “too much too soon.”
Ask for help. Cross-training is often praised because it provides an excellent cardio workout with zero impact and it strengthens muscles that running neglects. But if you do the activity wrong without realizing it, you could get hurt. Before you hit the machines on your own, meet with a trainer to get tips on proper form and appropriate weight levels to start with. Many gyms offer a few free sessions to new members.
Try a class. Don’t be shy about trying some group classes at a gym to complement your running. Classes like Bosu can help you develop balance, coordination, and agility and build core strength. Plus, they work the small muscles, ligaments, and tendons around your joints to help you stay injury free. Other classes, like Body Pump, can develop upper-body power, which will help you maintain good posture while running even when you get fatigued. And don’t underestimate the importance of the fun factor. Mixing up your routine, exercising with others, and having a workout that’s set to energizing music can keep you from falling into an exercise rut so you can keep building your fitness. It’s best to begin any of these classes at a time when your running mileage is low. Once you’re familiar with the class, try to fit it in on your recovery day or the day after an easy run. Don’t feel pressure to keep up with the class; if you’re feeling sore or worn-out from your runs, it’s fine to modify the moves to suit yourself.
Ease into it. If you’re going to a class, start with a beginners’ class, or find an instructor who offers modified poses or exercises. Tell your instructor that you’re new, and whether you have any chronic injuries, so that he or she can show you how to ease into the exercises without getting hurt.
Listen to your body. If something starts to hurt, back off or take a break; if it keeps hurting, stop and seek help from a trainer. It may take time for your muscles to adapt to something new, so be patient.
Get the balance right. Cross-training, while very beneficial, can fatigue athletes, warns running coach and exercise physiologist Susan Paul. Remember that the purpose of cross-training is to improve your running. So limit cross-training sessions to two times a week, 1 hour or less, and at a moderate intensity level. This means it’s okay to skip some of the jumps in a spin class, or lighten the tension on the bike, or cut the kick segment short in your swim class. Cross-training should enhance your running, not detract from it.
How Running Changed My Life
Andrea Ball lost 100 pounds and became a triathlete
Andrea Ball was always envious of people who were runners. “They always seemed so healthy, happy, and well adjusted, and achieved their goals,” she says.
In January 2011, she hit her highest weight—257 pounds—and was frustrated. “I was constantly tired and knew that some things in my life needed to change.”
She started taking a few classes at the gym and tweaking her diet slightly. But it wasn’t until she was hospitalized with an illness that spiraled into acute renal failure that her weight-loss efforts really got going. While recovering, she got winded walking up a flight of stairs.
“I took another look at what I was doing with my life and what I needed to do to be the best me I could be,” she says.
In August, she started a 5-K training program. Though she had the motivation, getting out wasn’t easy.
“I was so overweight when I started that I hated to get out and do things,” she says. “I was embarrassed by my size and my lack of fitness.”
She talked herself into keeping going, “reminding myself how I was changing my life for the better and becoming stronger with every run or workout.”
Now Ball is 100 pounds lighter. She’s finished three marathons, a 50-K race, and six triathlons and has set her sights on another marathon and an Ironman triathlon. But most important, she has improved the quality of her everyday life.
“Running helps me feel focused, centered, and ready to take on the other things on my plate. I always feel better after running than I did before I started. My best mood is only a few miles away!”
AGE: 32
HOMETOWN: Elkridge, Maryland
OCCUPATION: Nurse
What was the secret to your success? What really helped to keep me on track were making my goals very public and joining a training group. When you tell people that you’re training for something and they ask how training is going or what your next race is, it really helps to get you out the door on the days where your internal motivation may be lacking. It is a giant boost to have people “like” your status when you’ve completed a new distance or a tough workout. The training group also helped to keep me accountable and on track. It’s refreshing to know that people miss you when you skip a workout. As individual as running is, it provides a real “team”-like atmosphere in a group.
What was the biggest hurdle, and how did you get over it? I was so afraid that if I didn’t run every day, I’d fall off the wagon and never start again. This led to me feeling drained and burned out pretty quickly. After talking to some seasoned runners, I added in other kinds of workouts like biking and swimming. That allowed me to keep challenging myself physically without burnout and fatigue. I also started taking rest days. They are essential to recovery and gaining strength over time.
What advice would you give to a beginner? Everyone has a bad day, a bad workout, and it is discouraging and frustrating.
Beating yourself up after a tough day or when a workout didn’t go as planned is counterproductive. It’s about progress over the long haul. No matter what, you’re challenging yourself physically and mentally every time you lace up your shoes. It helps to talk to friends about why you feel discouraged and to have reassurance that they, too, have felt that way. Don’t let your frustration today keep you from getting out there tomorrow, because tomorrow you may just break through that time or distance barrier. But you’d never know that if you quit when things are hard.
Popular Ways to Cross-Train
There are an unlimited number of ways to keep up your fitness when you’re not running. Below you’ll find a guide to some popular options at the gym.24
ELLIPTICAL: It’s easy to adjust these machines to mimic the range of motion you use while running. The activity will stimulate your neuromuscular system to maintain the adaptations your muscles have made to training, while giving the bones and tendons a break from the pounding of running.
ROWING MACHINE (ERGOMETER): Rowing can offer a great cardiovascular workout and strengthen your core, upper body, and glutes. Because it requires a lot of upper-body strength, which most people lack, even a short workout is going to feel tough. So be prepared for a hard workout. Start with 15 minutes of rowing and build gradually from there. It’s especially important to consult a trainer before getting on an ergo to get pointers on proper technique, as it’s easy to hurt your back if you don’t.
CYCLING: Whether you’re riding your bike on the road, boarding a stationary bike at the gym, or heading into a spin class, it’s critical to work with an expert before you start so that you adjust the seat and the handlebars to the position that fits your body best. If, say, the seat is too low, you could end up putting excessive stress on the joints and putting yourself at risk of injury. Focus on cycling at a high cadence—at least 85 revolutions per minute—and in a low gear. This will develop the quick leg turnover that will help you when you’re running.
Cross-Training Workouts
The following routines, recommended by Runner’s World expert Jeff Galloway, allow you to mimic the running workouts that you’d do on the road.
• EASY—Do the following on a single machine or on a combination of machines: Warm up, then “run” on the elliptical, spin, or row at a very easy pace or resistance for 2 minutes. Increase the intensity or resistance for 2 minutes. Repeat the sequence three or four times, then cool down.
• MODERATE—Complete one sequence of the easy workout (above) and also walk for 10 minutes. Then do this: “Run,” spin, or row easy for 3 minutes, followed by 3 minutes of increased intensity or resistance. Repeat the sequence three or four times, then cool down.
• HARD—Complete one easy workout, walk for 5 minutes, complete one moderate workout, walk for 5 minutes. Then do the following: “Run,” spin, or row easy for 1 minute, then do 2 minutes at a moderate pace, then 1 minute hard. Repeat four times, then cool down.
Hills
Hills build leg and lung power and help you build stamina and muscle you’ll need to run faster down the road. You won’t feel fast going up hills, but you’ll feel strong. Hills do put extra stress on your muscles, tendons, and bones, especially the knees and Achilles tendons, so if you have an injury, talk to your doctor before you do any audacious climbs.
Get some variety. It’s easy to fall into a rut of doing the same route, day after day. If you do, after a while, the hills won’t feel as challenging. So incorporate a variety of short, steep climbs and long, gradual inclines. Running the shorter climbs at higher intensity will give you a quick cardiovascular boost and help improve your aerobic capacity. Running the longer climbs at an easier effort will help build your endurance as well as strength.
Exercise some cruise control. When you’re going downhill, it’s easy to fly and enjoy feeling gravity’s pull. But steep descents can tax your muscles even more than big climbs: They pound your muscles more. Running downhill requires the muscles to lengthen and make eccentric contractions, which can generate more force (and soreness) than running up hill or on level ground. It’s easy to go fast and let the feet slap the pavement or try to “brake” with your legs. See this page for tips on good running form. To reduce risk of injury, start by running on a gentler surface, such as grass, before moving to the road. Sometimes it helps to think “go with the flow” or “don’t ride the brakes.”
First, forget about pace. When you first run uphill, it’s going to take more time and effort. Don’t worry about your pace. Just try to maintain an even effort, says coach and exercise physiologist Janet Hamilton, founder of Running Strong in Atlanta. You don’t want to feel completely spent by the time you get to the top. Your goal is to have enough energy at the top to carry your momentum forward. If you fade and need to “recover” at the top, then you need to work on running with an even effort! Focus on letting the road rise to meet you. Push up and off the hill. Once you master that, then try to work on maintaining the same pace on the way up the hill as you do on flat ground. Obviously, this is going to feel harder. But the same rules apply: Try to carry your momentum up and over the top of the hill.
HILL REPEATS
Learning to run well both uphill and downhill builds muscle, tendon, and bone strength, says coach and exercise physiologist Janet Hamilton, founder of Running Strong in Atlanta. Uphill climbs build strength the hips, hamstrings, quads, and calves, while downhill running builds quad strength. And a hill repeat workout is a great way to get those benefits. Start by incorporating hills that take 60 seconds to climb. Run down the hill to recover, with the same level of effort you had going up, then climb it again. Repeat this cycle four or five times. Learn to take advantage of the free gift of gravity without losing control or braking with your feet. Find the fine line between those two extremes and you’ll get enough recovery for the next hill repeat. And you’ll be much better off in the long run!
AMBY’S ADVICE
Find an exercise partner or a group of them. For most runners, the biggest challenge we face is motivation. And the best way to stay motivated is to have a training partner or training group who is waiting for you at a specified time and place. It’s important to make sure your training partners run at about the same level as you, and that they are socially compatible with you. Fortunately, there are so many runners today, and so many ways of being in touch with them with tools like Facebook, that anyone who wants a training partner should be able to find one or many. Even if you run with a partner just once a week, it will keep you motivated on other days, because you’ll want to keep in shape for the workout you do together.
Running with Others
At first, Jeremy Oliver never even ran with his “training partners.” He and some buddies from work each started training for a local 5-K and would just report back to one another about how their workouts were going, new gear that they were trying out, and other ideas on how they could get better. He admits he was a little nervous about it at first.
“I hesitated a little bit because I was concerned how they would perceive me,” he says.
But over time, he felt the benefits. “It keeps you accountable and motivated,” he says. “If I do not meet my goal, they’re the first guys who will tell me I’ll get it next time,” he says. “Sharing my running with others has become one of my largest longterm assets.”
Sports psychologists have long known that athletes perform better in groups than alone. You can definitely benefit from buddying up. The miles roll by quicker when you’re chitchatting away. It’s harder to hit snooze on the 5 a.m. alarm when you know that you’ve got someone waiting for you. And having company with whom you can commiserate about your setbacks and celebrate your successes can help you stay on track.
“I wanted partners, so that those 5:30 a.m. wake-up calls weren’t as scary when I was starting, and it was still dark,” says new runner Tara Cuslidge-Staiano (see her story). “When I’m accountable to other people, I usually have more incentive to get up and get going. Plus, it’s nice to have someone there to talk you into ‘just a few more minutes’ when you want to stop.” Here are a few key principles to keep in mind when working out with others.
Be choosy. Though it seems like runners are everywhere, finding someone you want to work out with again and again can be tricky. Be prepared to ask direct questions about schedules, needs, and goals.
Find matching paces. It’s important to find a person or group of others with a compatible pace. Even if you’re just running for fitness and your partner has a marathon on a bucket list, that’s okay, as long as you can and want to comfortably run the same pace for your workouts. If you’re running faster than you feel ready to, you’ll eventually get injured. And if you’re slowing down uncomfortably—and unhappily—to run with the other person, it will be difficult to sustain the running relationship.
Check your calendars. Next to pace, possibly the most important factor is being able to meet at a mutually convenient time and place, even if that’s side-by-side treadmills at the gym. If you have to shoehorn the workout into a packed schedule that’s not really convenient for you, and you’re stressing and speeding to meet up with your buddy or rushing home afterward to pick up the kids, the partnership isn’t likely to last. Before your first run, discuss your schedules. Your answers don’t have to match perfectly, but this information will help you plan workouts to benefit you both.
Encourage, don’t compete. Keep your eyes on the prize. Your goal is to improve your fitness and your health and become a runner. If it gets to the point where you’re just focused on getting faster than the other person, at the cost of listening to your own body and progressing at a pace that works for you, you risk injury. Only run with someone who can genuinely cheer on your success and help you improve. And you want to be that same cheerleader for that other person. If you sense the vibe getting too competitive, then it might be time to go your separate ways.
Determine compatibility. Ask potential partners (and yourself): On a scale of 1 to 5, how competitive are you? It’s also wise to discuss how each of you will react if the other has to cancel a workout or arrives late. “I believe it’s chemistry,” says Cuslidge-Staiano. “You want to enjoy yourself on a run, even when you’re pushing. So you want to be able to relate and laugh.”
Go for some test runs. In the euphoria of meeting someone who might be a good running mate, it’s easy to, in your excitement, commit to a long-term relationship. But it’s a good idea to go for a few test runs before you commit to more. “You can go on a ‘first date’ with a person without committing to a marriage with it,” says Cuslidge-Staiano. “Some people just don’t make good running teams. You’ll know if something is working for you. You’ll also know if it’s not.”
Keep it honest. If schedule conflicts, injuries, or differing rates of improvement add stress to the relationship, be honest and move on. You don’t want to let personality conflicts throw you off track and get in the way of accomplishing your big-picture personal goals for health and fitness. If the other person is gunning for a pace that is too fast or slow for you, let that person go ahead and leave the hard feelings behind.
Maintain your independence. If your partner gets derailed because of injury, scheduling conflicts, or something else, don’t shut down your own running goals. “Just because your running buddy gets sick doesn’t mean you’re free to veg out on the couch,” says Cuslidge-Staiano. “As much as you depend on another person or people, you still need to maintain your own goals.” She’s seen many groups on a training program, and when the training ends, the people who were once so active stop being active altogether without the support of the structured workouts.
Group Dynamics
When Christine Casady went to her first group run, she had the same fears that most people do: being the last person in the group, holding others back, and being someone that everyone else has to wait for. In addition, the class called for a distance on the outer limits of her ability, on trails that were new to her.
“Going to a new place and a new class and not knowing anyone was nerve-wracking enough,” she says. “But going to a class that I didn’t have the training or endurance for, I felt even more nervous.”
Nevertheless, she got up the courage to go, figuring “the fear of feeling the disappointment of not trying was greater than the fear of trying,” she says.
Even though she was unfamiliar with the trails, took a wrong turn, got lost, and they had to send out someone to find her, it wasn’t as horrifying as she feared. “There was so much support and camaraderie that those fears never had a chance to materialize,” she says. “The moment I rejoined the group, it was like it never happened.”
Not only that, but she found everyone superfriendly and welcoming. “There were all levels, ages, and genders,” she says. “The first person I introduced myself to turned out to be one of the fastest runners of the group and also one of the most welcoming.”
She completed the class and now calls that small step of going to the first one the “turning point” of her life.
“I drew strength from the encouragement and camaraderie I got from others; I found happiness completing the class successfully, and I felt invigorated by the intensity of the workout,” she says. “It was a stepping-stone for future increased miles, races, relationships, and friendships. I found hope, love, recovery, and life in running. In so many ways, it changed my life forever.”
Indeed, for many people, group runs can be a great way to mix social life and fitness. Most running shops have regular workouts, and you can find groups near you through local chapters of the Road Runners Club of America (RRCA.org) or sites like dailymile.com. But there’s no doubt about it; it’s downright scary to walk up to a group of runners you don’t know and start running.
These tips can make your first outing a little easier.
Reach out ahead of time. Before you go out for your first run, contact someone in the group to find out about the typical pace, distance, and types of runners for each event. Try to find people who run at your pace or slower.
Introduce yourself. Remember: Most people join group runs so they can relax and socialize. So go ahead and introduce yourself just as you would at any other gathering where you are new. Chances are, when regulars spot an unfamiliar face, they’ll reach out to welcome you. Everyone has been the new guy at one point.
Get familiar with the route. To avoid getting lost, find out about the course the group will take when you join them. Drive it beforehand if possible, so you don’t get lost.
Decide on the vibe. Some groups are serious about speed; others are more social and welcome runners with a wide range of abilities. Chances are, you’ll tune in to it right away when you show up for a run. If it’s not for you, keep shopping around for another group.
Remember, everyone was the new guy once. Every runner started out going solo and remembers vividly how nerve-wracking that can be. “Give the group at least one chance,” says Casady. “If it’s not for you, you haven’t harmed anything in trying. If you don’t try, you’ll never know what you might be missing.”
RUNNING WITH YOUR DOG
Incorporating your canine companion into your exercise regime can be a great way to stay consistent and get some quality together time. In fact, a 2013 study in the Journal of Physical Activity and Health showed that dog owners were more likely to meet recommended physical activity requirements than people without dogs.25 Here are some tips from Maui-based dog trainer and runner Jt Clough to keep in mind to ensure health and happiness for you and your pup.
START SLOW. If you’re just starting to run, chances are your dog is, too. Keep in mind that the dog’s muscles, bones, and joints may need just as much time to adapt to your new routine as you do. Start with short distances and build gradually, just as you do to avoid injuries of your own.
WATCH THE HEAT. If it’s hot, particularly if it’s humid, the dog isn’t going to be able to go as far as you can. Dogs have sweat glands only in their paw pads, noses, and tongues, so they’re more prone to heat exhaustion than humans. Check the heat index before you go out, and leave the dog in if it’s above 55.
DON’T OVERDO THE DRINKING. If you’re going for 30 minutes or less, your dog likely won’t need water during the run; just be sure to offer it before you go and after you return. “If you have them drink a whole bunch, the dog will get an upset stomach, just like you would,” Clough says.
BE PATIENT. It can take time to teach a dog that you’re going to run, not just walk. Don’t be surprised if the first few times, the dog wants to spend the entire time stopping, going to the bathroom, and exploring every smell. Remember, this is the dog’s normal walking routine. It’s going to take time for him to get used to running. Slowing up when the dog stops gives the dog the cue that it’s okay to slow down. So when the dog wants to slow down, keep moving. “The dog isn’t aware that you’re training for the 5-K,” says Clough. “It’s your job to lead the dog.” She adds, “It’s not that your dog doesn’t like running. He [or she] just doesn’t know the new protocol.”
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT TRAINING
Every day, letters come into Runner’s World’s “For Beginners Only” column from beginners of all levels of fitness and experience, all over the world. Exercise physiologist and coach Susan Paul, of Orlando Track Shack Foundation, answers many of them. Here are a few of the most common questions we get, and Paul’s expert answers.
I’m just starting to run. Do I have to take walk breaks?
For most folks, it can be a good idea. The idea behind walk breaks is that they stave off muscle fatigue and delay exhaustion of glycogen stores, therefore allowing a runner to go longer and finish stronger. They can be a great technique to use when increasing the distance of a long run. Walk breaks also break up the distance mentally. For example, instead of thinking, “I’m running 30 minutes today,” which can be very intimidating, you can think in terms of running for 1 or 10 minutes and then walking. When a large goal is broken down into smaller increments, it suddenly becomes very doable! While initially walk breaks may feel like a disruption to your normal rhythm, the body adapts fairly quickly and soon they become your new rhythm.
That does not mean you have to use walk breaks on every workout. It’s okay to mix up your training and do some runs with them and some runs without them. Think of walk breaks as simply another tool in your toolbox; they can come in quite handy on some runs, and on other runs you won’t need them. Routine can be very grounding, but it can be easy to become set in your ways, so using different run routes, running at different times of the day, running continuously, and also running with walk breaks and running with groups are great ways to change things.26
Is it okay to run every day?
Creating a solid base can take up to 6 months for a brand-new runner. At first, it’s a good idea to work out for 3 to 5 days a week. Adding more run days primarily depends upon your goals, so define your goals first before increasing mileage unnecessarily. We tend to think that if a little is good, then more is better, but that’s not always the case.
If you’re new, and especially if you’re over 40, it’s very important to give your body plenty of time to recover so it can adapt to the training. The body responds in different ways and in different time frames to the applied stress of running. Running stimulates the body to expand its aerobic capacity by building new blood capillaries, which is somewhat similar to building new highways, so more oxygen and nutrients can be delivered quickly and efficiently to working muscles. Slow-twitch oxidative muscle fibers are developed, blood volume increases, and glycogen stores expand. More mitochondria and enzymes, necessary for greater energy production, are created. Bone cells are stimulated and make stronger bones; connective tissue, muscles, tendons, and ligaments are strengthened, and on and on. We don’t realize all of this internal work is going on because we can’t see it; however, it becomes evident when overuse injuries, like tendinitis, stress fractures, muscle strains, or shin splints appear.
Overuse injuries are the result of demanding too much too soon. This is even more important for masters runners, because research has shown us that the body’s processes slow with age. Adaptation time and recovery between workouts simply take longer for those who are over 40 than they do for younger runners.
That said, there are some options if you feel like you are ready to ramp it up a bit. Three-days-a-week training schedules usually have a speed day, a strength day, and a long run day. For a speed workout, after a warmup, push the pace for 2 minutes, then back off and recover for 3. Repeat this for the rest of the run. On your strength day, strive to gradually increase the distance of this run by 10 percent each week. After increasing mileage for 2 or 3 weeks, drop your mileage back down for 1 week to give yourself more recovery time.
Three-days-a-week training programs also typically call for 2 additional days of aerobic cross-training, like swimming, spinning, or rowing. Preferably, cross-training is an aerobic activity that differs from running enough that it allows your running muscles a break but still stimulates your aerobic system for a training response. This allows you to increase your aerobic base while not fatiguing your running muscles. Cross-training is intended to enhance your running, not detract from it. It is best done at a moderate intensity level for 45 to 60 minutes, twice a week. (For more information, see “Cross-Training.”)
If cross-training does not fit into your weekly schedule, then you can add 1 additional run day per week. Think of it as a recovery run and keep the run short and the effort easy. Listen to your body as you train and you will learn what is best for you. All runners can benefit from weight training, so consider adding weights into your training plan twice a week, too. Increasing muscle strength can improve performance and may even reduce the risk of injury!27
I have been running for 6 months and have hit a plateau. I feel stuck, like I am not getting more fit. What do I do?
When we begin running, we experience dramatic physical improvements. Within a relatively short period of time, we are able to run faster and longer, lose weight, and feel great. Success comes easily. We follow a training plan, run several days a week, same pace, same time, same place. But then one day, all of a sudden, it doesn’t seem to work anymore. Improvements flatten out. We don’t get faster, we can’t run longer, a few pounds creep back on, and our enthusiasm dwindles. Welcome to the dreaded training plateau!
When fitness gains level out, it’s simply an indication that the existing routine is no longer challenging enough to stimulate further physical changes. Congratulations! Your body has met the bar that you set. But if you wish to continue improving, it means you need to change your routine and up the ante.
Understanding the training process helps one appreciate the plateau. The physical exertion of running triggers a cascade of physiological responses at the cellular level, affecting all of the body’s systems. Once stimulated, the adaptation process to meet the demands of this new stress begins and continues until the demand is met. Some of these adaptations take 4 to 6 weeks, while others may take 4 to 6 months. As adaptations occur, the body is better equipped to handle training, and running becomes easier.
Training increases are applied in gradual increments. As training physically stresses the body, it responds by becoming stronger. The amount of applied overload must be just right; too much and we break down, not enough and no physical response is elicited. It’s a bit like our feet developing calluses or blisters. Too much overload, and we develop blisters or an injury; the right amount of overload, and we develop calluses or strength.
Naturally, once the body has adapted to the training load, we reach a plateau. If improvement is still desired, a training plan designed to stimulate the body at this new fitness level is required, and we begin adapting again to achieve an even higher level of fitness.
If you have reached a plateau, review the three fitness components and begin by manipulating one variable at a time.
Increase frequency. Are you ready to add another day or two of running? Then consider increasing the frequency component by adding another run day. Don’t increase your mileage more than 10 to 20 percent of your weekly volume to avoid too much overload too quickly.
Increase intensity. This is a great option if you don’t have more time to invest in your training, if you enjoy racing, or if you tend to train at the same pace most of the time. Increase intensity by adding a speed day or a hill run into your weekly routine. Hills naturally increase the intensity of a run.
Increase duration. If you prefer longer runs, increase the duration component by adding some miles to your weekly long run; just how long depends upon your running goals. For example, when training for 5-Ks and 10-Ks, gradually build up to 10 miles for a long run.
Keep a log to track your training and the changes you make so you can continue adjusting and fine-tuning your training as needed.
Next time you hit a plateau, remember to congratulate yourself rather than berate yourself. Take stock of your training plan and redefine your goals. Figure out where you wish to go from here, and that will help you decide which components to change.28
How can I run farther without getting injured?
Consider alternating your run days rather than running consecutive days. In other words, try running 3 days a week rather than 5 days a week for 8 to 12 weeks. Why 3 days a week? Because recovery is an essential part of training, too. The body needs time to adapt to the new physical demands being placed upon it, and research has shown that it takes a minimum of 4 to 6 weeks for adaptation to occur from the training stimulus.
My difficulty in increasing your distance may come from a lack of recovery time.
After 12 weeks, assess your progress, and if you feel ready for more running days, add 1 day of running. Adapt to 4 days a week over the next 4- to 6-week period and then, if you feel ready, add another day of running. It’s always better to start conservatively and build gradually. Sometimes less is more!
Also, vary the distance you run every workout. Avoid running the same distance, or the same route, day after day. Keep it fun and interesting! Plan a different route and a different distance for each run. Next, designate 1 day of the week as your long run day. This is your longest run of the week. Use the long run day to increase your mileage to your desired distance. Your other 2 run days of the week will be of shorter distance than your long run day. For example: run one: 3.5 miles; run two: 3 miles; run three: 5 miles (long run day).
Increase total weekly mileage by 10 percent each week. That gives your body time to adapt to the new distance and get stronger and reduce your risk of injury or burnout. Running 3 days a week also gives you freedom to cross-train. You can swim, spin, lift weights, do yoga, or take Pilates two or three times a week to complement your running. Cross-training benefits your running by building muscle strength and flexibility.
Focus on the distance, not the pace, for now. Keep it comfortable and at a conversational intensity level, especially when increasing your mileage. If you need to take walk breaks, use them to catch your breath and recover. Breathe deeply, exhale forcefully, and relax your shoulders. If necessary, you can opt to walk more frequently to cover a given distance and, very often, knowing you have the next day off from running helps motivate you to do the distance that day!29
I’m training for my first 5-K. How much time off should I take to recover afterward?
The downtime of recovery is when the body heals, repairs, and strengthens from the rigors of training and racing, which results in improved fitness.
A 5-K recovery plan would include 3 easy days after the race. Give yourself 1 day completely off after the race to sleep in and enjoy your accomplishment as a nice reward. This also gives you time to see how you fared and notice any postrace aches or pains. Follow your day off with 2 easy days. Days 2 and 3 postrace can feature cross-training at an easy intensity level or short runs done at an easy pace. By day 4, you should feel able to resume your usual training routine. Most important, learn to listen to your body! If you feel you need additional days off or more easy days, take them.
One great training tool for monitoring your training and recovery is measuring your resting heart rate (RHR) daily. It’s easy to do, free, and provides you with valuable objective information on the status of your body. If you don’t feel like getting up to run one morning, do you ever wonder if you are really fatigued or if you are just being “lazy”? Sometimes, it’s hard to tell whether we are lacking motivation or if we really need a rest day. Monitoring your RHR can give you that objective data and let you know if you need to sleep in, change a hard run to an easy one, or if you just need to suck it up.
Measure your RHR first thing in the morning, after awaking but before hitting the caffeine, and record that number in your training log. Repeat this process at the same time each day. After recording it for several days, you will establish your baseline measurement for your normal RHR. Find your pulse by placing your first two fingers on the underside of your wrist, at the base of your thumb. Once you locate your pulse, count the number of beats for 1 minute, or count the beats for 30 seconds and multiply by 2. Your RHR stays much the same each day, give or take a few beats, so when your RHR is elevated, it’s a red flag. When your RHR is elevated by as much as 5 beats, take notice and go easy. If it is elevated by 10 beats or more, it’s a real warning, and it may be best to take the day off. Our RHR can be elevated for a variety of reasons—stress, lack of sleep, not recovered from a previous workout, an illness, overtraining, etc. While you may not be able to pinpoint the exact reason your heart rate is elevated, simply knowing that it is elevated provides you with valuable information. Armed with this knowledge, you can decide your next step and choose to sleep in, shorten a run, or skip the speedwork. And if you just don’t feel like getting up, but your RHR is normal, suck it up and hit the road! This information allows you to stop second-guessing your decisions. Keep your runs easy until your heart rate returns to its normal level and then resume your regular training.30
ESSAY
Starting to Run? Abandon All Reason
By Marc Parent, author of “The Newbie Chronicles” column, Runner’s World
Here is what I call the abandon-all-reason-and-do-it-now approach to your first run ever. Explained simply, what you have to do is this: Abandon all reason and do it now. Put down whatever you are holding, tell anyone in the immediate vicinity to hang on a second, walk calmly through the nearest exit, and when you hear the door close behind you, take off. Three rules: Go only about as fast as a 2-year-old at top speed; stop when you feel tired, no matter how short the distance; and then walk back.
It’s okay if you want to wave and point ahead like you need to catch a bus to disguise the rather personal fact that you are running for no other reason than to begin the long, slow journey to a healthier mind and a happier body. I know how embarrassing it is to suddenly care about your health when it looks as though you’ve ignored it for so long. I’ve been there. So put a few bills in one hand and, if anyone looks at you suspiciously, wave them over your head and shout, “Pizza guy–forgot your tip!”
The abandon-all-reason run is good not only for the first run ever but also for the first run in years or the first run after a potentially run-ending hiatus, or really any run when you just don’t feel like running. The point is to not think too deeply about it. You can either put this off until you get the perfect shoes/weather/outfit/opportunity, or you can start calling me names and head out the door now.
Okay, then!
Now that you’re a runner (and yes, you may call yourself a runner after just one brief, slow trot), how do you get out again tomorrow, next week, next month, next year? You know why you should stick with it, but if you don’t know how to stick to it, you might as well build a wall of happy ignorance around yourself and eat a whole bowl of cashews. There’s nothing worse than knowing why you should do something without knowing how. Any dope can tell you why you should stop eating the cashews, but try to find the genius who can tell you how.
Despite a litany of fits and starts, I somehow survived the long, excruciating run-hating period and made it to the other side with an ability to tolerate and even (on good days) enjoy successive sweat-soaked miles. Discipline played only a minor role in my transformation. I relied on a hodgepodge of tricks, cheap thrills, and occasional deep thoughts laid out here in no order of importance—they were all important. I made plenty of mistakes when I started running 5 years ago, but I’m still in, so I must have done something right. If only one of these points keeps you from quitting, then, as they say, this will all have been worth it.
Keep it comfortable. Easy may never be the first word that comes to mind when you think about running, but it should be in the beginning. If you suddenly realize your gut has reached the edge of your desk and you hit the road in a panic to try to erase the problem with a desperate, blistering run, you may go out a few more times, but at some point shortly thereafter, you’ll quit. On the other hand, if you go out and stop the moment you grow uncomfortable, you’ll think running is easy because it actually will be. Your long-term chances of continuing a brief, easy habit are much greater than they are for a desperate, punishing one.
Don’t worry about speed. Go as slow as your pride allows—as slow as the people you ridiculed before you tried this yourself. If you run alone on desolate country roads like I do, you’re at an advantage. And you can always speed up when the rare car passes. The person in the car doesn’t care how fast or slow you’re going, by the way.
Tell someone. Walk up to your most unsupportive acquaintance and inform him you’ve started running. This is preferably a person who is as lazy as you were just before the first run; someone who will chuckle or even make fun of you. Ridicule is a strong motivator.
Get new shoes. I had a hard time with this one because there were decent shoes lying all over the house. Not running shoes, but I didn’t want to spend $100 on something I wouldn’t use in a month. Which is exactly why you should buy them. Get the expensive ones that will shame you, from the closet floor all the way across the room, into a run.
Find a running partner. It doesn’t matter if he is faster, slower, or right on pace. You have to have one. I see my partner, Gerry, once a week or so. He’s an affable tyrant. I need an affable tyrant. Every new runner does.
Put on blinders. Believe you’re the only person in the world who runs this well. There is only one road: the one you’re on. There is only one body: yours.
Keep the cashews. If you give them up at the same time you start running, you’ll grow to resent the running. One battle at a time. If you do everything at once, you’ll do them all badly.
Put off thinking. Draw no sweeping conclusions about running while making your way up a large hill, if it’s hotter than 80 degrees, during or following a cramp, on the scale, or before the ibuprofen kicks in. While you’re at it, make no conclusions about spouses, children, friends, or pets at these times either.
Race. Don’t wait until you can actually “race.” What you need more than a race is to see people cheering for you. You need to run with a mob of strangers and then eat bananas and bagels with them—the best, you’ll swear, you’ve ever tasted.
If you’re still sitting comfortably with your feet up, reread the dangerous third paragraph. The first run is the shortest, slowest, craziest one you’ll ever do. If you’ve been a bad runner for a long time, you can turn the train around in less than 5 minutes. It might feel like a silly little exercise that means nothing, but that’s only true if you never do it again.16
Running Etiquette 101
By Mark Remy, author of The Runner’s Rule Book
When I first starting running, I had no idea what “PR” meant. I was too embarrassed—or was it too proud?—to ask anybody. So I blundered my way through conversations with other runners, desperately hoping no one would ask about my “PR,” whatever that was.
Eventually I learned that PR stands for “personal record”—the fastest time you’ve ever clocked over a certain race distance (also known, mostly in the UK, as PB or personal best). I learned lots more stuff, too, of course. But it came in dribs and drabs, from a multitude of sources—or, worse, through trial and error. Which side of the road do I run on? Where do I line up during a race? Is it okay to spit? Looking back, I wish I’d had some sort of cheat sheet.
Well, beginners, guess what? Here is just such a cheat sheet. To compile it, I asked my running friends:
What are some of the “running etiquette”–type questions you remember having, back when you first started? Stuff so super-basic you may have been embarrassed to ask about it.
See below for their questions and my answers. No doubt this list is incomplete, so if you have a question not answered here, leave a comment or reach out to the Runner’s World experts at thestartingline@runnersworld.com and we’ll do our best to address it. And by the way, for a glossary of common running terms—like “PR”!—see this page.
Q: Sometimes when I’m running, I pass people wearing earbuds who clearly don’t hear my warning. How do you let a person who can’t hear you know that you’re there?
A: This is precisely why I encourage everyone not to run with earbuds or headphones—or, if you must, to leave one ear free and the volume low. Be aware of your surroundings! That said, it sounds like you’re already doing everything right. Whenever you’re about to overtake another runner (or walker), you should try to make your presence known. Often the other person will hear your footsteps, and glance back before you pass. If not, you can try coughing, shuffling your feet as you approach, or even saying “hello” or “passing on your left.” The idea is to avoid startling somebody.
If that somebody is wearing earbuds and can’t hear you? Well, what can I say? Swing as wide as you can and hope for the best.
Q: When overtaking a slower runner, do I pass on the right or left? Does it matter?
A: Doesn’t matter. Let circumstances, and common sense, be your guide. Above all, safety should be your prime consideration.
Q: How do I pass a group of walkers without seeming rude?
A: There’s nothing inherently rude about passing others, whether they’re jogging or walking or whatever. Simply alert them to your presence (see the answer on the opposite page) and give them some room as you pass. Also, a friendly “hello” or “good morning” never hurts.
Q: After I finish a race, is it okay to blow by someone in the chute?
A: First, some context for those who need it: At most larger races, runners cross a finish line and then find themselves in a “chute” that moves them along to keep the actual finish line clear. The chute is lined with volunteers who offer space blankets, bottles of water, finisher’s medals, and so on.
It’s fine to pass other runners in the chute. (Though I can’t imagine needing to “blow by” someone there—at that point, the race is over.) Just be courteous. In fact, try a pat on the back and a “nice job!” It’ll make you both feel good.
Q: Will anyone make fun of me if I run with water?
A: No. In fact, this question is really a larger one, being a variation on a theme, i.e., “Will anyone make fun of me if I _____?” (Carry water? Use a Fuel Belt? Take walk breaks? Run really slow?”) The answer is always no.
It’s natural, when you’re just starting anything new, to feel as if everyone is watching you and judging your every move. Runners are especially vulnerable to this, given how we put ourselves “out there” in plain view, whether we’re in a race or just running through our neighborhood. The truth is, no one is judging. In fact, most other runners are barely even watching! They’re too focused on their own runs to care about your water, or your clothing, or your pace. So try not to worry what others think. You’re out there, and you’re moving forward, and that’s all that matters.
Q: Race number: on front or back?
A: Bib numbers should be pinned on the front of your shirt. This makes it easier for race officials to see that you belong on the course. It also ensures that official photographers can identify you in their shots and later e-mail you a link to view your race photos online.
Note: Be careful not to fold, twist, or crumple your number. Increasingly, you’ll find an electronic timing strip glued to the back. (See B-Tag.)
Q: How do I put a timing chip on my shoe?
A: When it comes to race timing devices, actual chips are becoming rare. Today you’re more likely to find a thin strip on the back of your bib or a “D-Tag” meant to loop through your shoelaces. All of these use radio-frequency identification technology to record your crossing the starting and finish lines of a race and sometimes points in between. This is why we’re able to see such detailed race results so quickly after races.
Here’s an overview of the most common kinds of timing devices.
• CHIP: A small, usually round plastic disc usually worn on the shoe. Curved slots on each side can accommodate shoelaces or special Velcro straps to keep the chip in place. Chips are collected at the end of a race, usually by volunteers in the chute.
• B-TAG: A thin plastic strip attached to the back of a race bib. Do not remove it!
• D-TAG: A smaller plastic strip with an adhesive tab on one end. Thread it through your shoe’s laces, form a D-shaped loop, and stick the ends together.
Detailed instructions should be included with your chip or tag.
Q: What do I do at stoplights? Wait, jog in place, etc.?
A: In my book The Runner’s Rule Book, this is Rule 1.46: “For Pete’s Sake, Stand Still at Red Lights” (“Sharks die when they stop moving. Runners do not.”). That’s tongue in cheek, of course. But honestly, no, there’s no need to jog in place or otherwise bounce around while waiting for a light.
Q: In a race, should I just drop my empty cup, gel packet, banana peel, etc.? Or carry it until I find a trash can?
A: If you’re in or around an aid station, it’s always nice to chuck your cups, wrappers, etc., into a trash can. Or at least toward one. If it’s too crowded or chaotic to manage that, it’s fine to just toss them onto the road. Volunteers are there to clean up (often with rakes, to manage the volume of trash).
If you’re far from an aid station, however, I’d urge you to carry your trash until you see someplace suitable to throw it away. Not everyone follows this advice. But races would be more pleasant—and runners would enjoy a better reputation—if they did.
Q: Can I wear shorts over running tights?
A: Can you? Of course. Should you? That’s a matter of personal taste. (Personally, I think that if you find tights immodest, the solution isn’t to put shorts over them; the solution is not to wear tights. Opt for looser-fitting running pants instead.)
Q: Is it okay to run side by side with a buddy in a race?
A: Sure—but only if doing so doesn’t create hassles or hazards for other runners. If it’s very crowded, for instance, running two or more abreast can be very irritating for anyone trying to pass you. In that case, better to run single file until the pack thins out.
Again, there’s a larger (and therefore more useful) guideline here: When you’re running, and especially when you’re racing, be aware of your surroundings and be courteous to those around you.
Q: Are you supposed to make eye contact when you pass other runners? Smile? Or pretend to be superfocused and just look straight ahead?
A: Based on feedback I’ve gotten, and on my own experience, the running community is split on this. Which baffles me. When it comes to passing other runners, I’ve always been a wave-and/or-smile sort of guy—or at least a subtle-nod sort of guy. Acknowledging the existence of fellow runners just seems natural to me. And, well, nice.
Ultimately, how—or whether—you respond to other runners is up to you. I’d encourage you to do something, though. The world could use a little more “nice,” I think, and a little less “looking straight ahead.”
Q: How should I deal with people who heckle or make fun of me?
A: People like that are bullies, pure and simple. So you deal with them the same way you deal with any sort of bully: Ignore them.
Q: Is it okay to take walk breaks during a race?
A: Sure. Just follow some commonsense guidelines: Take your walk breaks on the side of the road, not in the middle. If you’re with a friend (or friends), don’t walk two (or more) abreast if there are runners behind you. And don’t slow or stop abruptly; glance around you first to be sure you won’t cause a collision. Or some swearing. Or both.
Q: May I use a high school track during school hours, assuming it’s empty?
A: The easiest way to find out is also the most logical: Call the school and ask. Rules vary, but most schools allow the public to use their track during off hours. Simply helping yourself, however, is never a great idea. (Even if you feel, as many folks understandably do, that as a taxpayer you have a “right” to use it.) Be courteous. Learn the rules for your local track, then follow them.
Q: Does it matter which direction I run on a track?
A: Almost always, you go counterclockwise on a running track.
Q: Is there a polite way to clear my nose while I’m running?
A: Yes! Even if the names for the technique in question—the “farmer’s blow” or “snot rocket”—don’t sound too polite.
Here’s how to do it:
1 Take a deep breath.
2 Press an index finger firmly against one nostril.
3 Purse your lips.
4 Cock your head in the direction of the open nostril, and exhale forcefully through your nose.
5 Repeat with the other nostril, if needed.
Note: As always, use common courtesy. Before you attempt this, glance around you to be sure the coast is clear.
Q: Should I run with traffic or against it?
A: Almost always, you should run against traffic.
Q: Is it okay to run in bike lanes?
A: I wouldn’t recommend it, unless there’s no safe alternative. Bike lanes are for bikes. Using them for walking, jogging, or running can be hazardous—for everyone.
Q: Undies or no undies?
A: This is a matter of personal choice. Some runners swear by “going commando,” pointing out that running shorts have built-in liners. Others can’t imagine going without underwear when they run. Try it both ways and see what works for you.
Q: Is stopping my watch at stoplights considered “cheating”?
A: I don’t think so. But if it feels like “cheating” to you, don’t do it!
Q: Where should I line up at the start of a race?
A: Where you belong.
Race starts work best when the very fastest runners are at the very front, the next-fastest are just behind them, and so on until we reach the slowest runners bringing up the rear. Most races—especially smaller ones—rely on the honor system for this. Runners are expected to line themselves up based on their goals and honest assessments of their fitness levels. That’s the ideal.
The reality, of course, is that everyone wants to start ahead of most everyone else—regardless of their fitness levels. So the race director counts down, the air horn blasts, and chaos ensues.
Especially as a newbie, try to avoid this. You’ll have a much happier experience if you err on the side of starting too far back.
Q: What do I do when I come to a water stop?
A: Water stops, or aid stations, can be tricky, especially for mid- to back-of-the-packers who have to deal with the worst crowds. But don’t freak out! Here are some tips to help you navigate them.
• Plan ahead. This means studying the course map and knowing when and where you’ll find aid stations and what they’ll offer (water, sports drink, gels, etc.).
• Skip the first table. Everyone around you will make a beeline for the very first table or group of volunteers, resulting in a huge, sweaty traffic jam. Bypass them and aim to grab a cup from a table or volunteer down the road, where it’s less crowded.
• Make eye contact. Single out a volunteer and look directly at him or her. Reach out toward the cup that he or she is extending.
• Look around. Before you make your move, be sure you have a clear path. Lots of collisions and near misses occur around aid stations as runners veer and dart, trying to grab a cup.
• Take your cup, pinch the top to form a spout, and drink up. If you want to walk or stop to drink, again: Move to the side, and look behind you first!
Q: What’s the etiquette on wearing (or not) the official race shirt in the race?
A: Many experienced runners consider this a faux pas, but an exceedingly minor one. I liken it to wearing a concert T-shirt at the concert.
Q: Who has the right-of-way on a trail—an uphill runner or a downhill runner?
A: Runners going uphill generally have the right-of-way over runners heading downhill.
Q: Can I run on any road I want?
A: Well, no. But most roads that are legally off-limits aren’t very attractive to runners anyway—interstates, for instance. Otherwise, most public streets and roads are perfectly fine to run on. For safety’s sake, of course, try to avoid roads with little or no shoulder and roads with especially heavy traffic.
Q: How tight do I tie my shoes?
A: Think Goldilocks: not too loose, not too tight. Rule of thumb: If you can remove your shoes without untying them, your laces are too loose; if the tops of your feet hurt, your laces are too tight.
Q: Are running clubs just for superfast runners?
A: No way! While it’s true that some clubs attract faster runners than others—especially in large metro areas that can support several clubs—I can’t imagine a running club anywhere that would make a newbie feel unwelcome. And joining a running club is a fantastic way to stay motivated, meet other runners (including other beginners), and learn the ropes. Ask around about the clubs in your area. I’m sure you’ll find one you love.