| "Now if you are going to win any battle you have to do one thing. You have to make the mind run the body. Never let the body tell the mind what to do. The body will always give up. It is always tired morning, noon, and night. But the body is never tired if the mind is not tired. When you were younger the mind could make you dance all night, and the body was never tired...You've always got to make the mind take over and keep going." - George S. Patton, U.S. Army General and 1912 Olympian |
Getting Started:
Links for new runners
Links for new runners
General running advice: Make sure you have your doctor's blessing before attempting
running!!
Listen to your body. Every week increase your distance by 10%. Some days it will be easy to run 5
miles and some days you can barely crank out 3. It's OK but know the difference between something
you can should push past and where you should stop.
Eat an hour before you exercise (high in protein and carbs, think "fuel") and drink Gatorade or a
sports drink, not just water.
Get a good pair of shoes. They are your only real piece of equipment (unless you are a woman and
then you need to invest in a good jog bra as well). Invest in a good pair of shoes. Examine how you
run and focus on the support you need when shopping for shoes. It often takes a few times to get it
right. Look at the wear of the tread on your first shoes to help you determine where you need support
the most.
Your posture when running should be straight, swing your arms lightly with your legs to help in
propulsion. Don't swing your arms in a criss cross as this is a waste of energy. Land on the balls of
your feet, not your heel. Landing on your heel jars your hips and knees. Picture how you run barefoot
in the grass and mimic that. You will feel it in your calves, then you know you are doing it right. Stretch
lightly before running and thoroughly after running. Make sure you work each muscle group. Stretch
your arms and back, too. I always precede my runs with a quick 5 minute walk and end with a slow
down walk.
running!!
Listen to your body. Every week increase your distance by 10%. Some days it will be easy to run 5
miles and some days you can barely crank out 3. It's OK but know the difference between something
you can should push past and where you should stop.
Eat an hour before you exercise (high in protein and carbs, think "fuel") and drink Gatorade or a
sports drink, not just water.
Get a good pair of shoes. They are your only real piece of equipment (unless you are a woman and
then you need to invest in a good jog bra as well). Invest in a good pair of shoes. Examine how you
run and focus on the support you need when shopping for shoes. It often takes a few times to get it
right. Look at the wear of the tread on your first shoes to help you determine where you need support
the most.
Your posture when running should be straight, swing your arms lightly with your legs to help in
propulsion. Don't swing your arms in a criss cross as this is a waste of energy. Land on the balls of
your feet, not your heel. Landing on your heel jars your hips and knees. Picture how you run barefoot
in the grass and mimic that. You will feel it in your calves, then you know you are doing it right. Stretch
lightly before running and thoroughly after running. Make sure you work each muscle group. Stretch
your arms and back, too. I always precede my runs with a quick 5 minute walk and end with a slow
down walk.
Training Schedules:
The 5K
The 10K
Half Marathon
Marathon
The 5K
The 10K
Half Marathon
Marathon
"A lot of people run a race to see
who's the fastest. I run to see who
has the most guts."
- Steve Prefontaine
who's the fastest. I run to see who
has the most guts."
- Steve Prefontaine
 |  |  |
| The Running Page |
This is the schedule I followed when I first started:
Week 1: walk for 21 minutes
Week 2: walk for 6 minutes, run for 1 (repeat x 2 for a total of 21 minutes)
Week 3: walk for 5 minutes, run for 2 (repeat x 2 for a total of 21 minutes)
Week 4: walk for 4 minutes, run for 3 (repeat x 2 for a total of 21 minutes)
Week 5: walk for 3 minutes, run for 4 (repeat x 2 for a total of 21 minutes)
Week 6: walk for 2 minutes, run for 5 (repeat x 2 for a total of 21 minutes)
Week 7: walk for 1 minute, run for 6 (repeat x 2 for a total of 21 minutes)
Week 8: run for 21 minutes