Beginner’s Guide to Running

1. uncomfortable. Walk for 5 minutes to cool down.

2. Week 4: Walk for 10 minutes. Jog slowly for 5 minutes, and then walk for 2
minutes. Repeat these 5/2 intervals for 20 minutes, or until you become
uncomfortable. Walk for 5 minutes to cool down.
You get the picture. The idea is to gradually increase your running time until you can
do 10 minutes straight. Then increase the 10 minutes to 12, and so on, each week,
until you can eventually run for 30 minutes. Now you’re a runner!

be knowledgeable people who can watch you run and tell you what kind of shoe you
need (overpronator, supinator, neutral, etc.). If they don’t watch you
day at the same time. Habits are easiest to form if you do them consistently. This may
sound contradictory to some of the advice above about starting slowly, but the key is
to go very easy in the beginning — nothing that will stress your body out or make you
sore the next day. Also, instead of running every day, you could swim or bike or do
strength training, so that your
n’t worry about the other runners. There’s usually so many people at a 5K that you
won’t be noticed. And don’t be afraid to walk or run/walk. Many, Reflectors and
flashing lights if you run when it’s still dark.

 Fuel belt or Camelback: A way to keep yourself hydrated while you run. Not
necessary for short runs. Also, for longer runs (60 mins or more), I just place water
bottles along my route.
Mechanics
I can’t advise you here, as I’m not a trainer. But most of the time, you don’t have to
worry about this. Just try not to fall down. One thing to watch out for is how tense
your upper body is — try to relax your shoulders, relax your hands, relax everything
but the muscles needed to propel your body forward. The reason is that you may be
using extra energy (and tire yourself out faster) if you’re running with your fists
clenched, for example.
Later, after you get past the beginning stage, you can worry about stride length or
turnover rate. But for now, just worry about getting out there.
 Pain
I also can’t advise you on injuries. Unless you have sharp pains, or pain in the joints,
you should be able to run through minor aches. But if you have anything sharp, or
your joints feel injured, stop running. You could make it worse.
The runner’s best friend is ice, and rest. In fact, it’s good to ice your muscles and
joints down after every run, if you can. It helps with the healing process. Aspirin or
Ibuprofen are also good tools, also to help stop inflammation.
Going beyond beginner
Once you’ve gotten a few 5Ks under your belt, and have been running for a few
months, you’ll want to start a real training plan and progress to the next level.
Training plans are available online for free (see some of the sites below).
Good articles and sites
 Runner’s World
 Cool Running
 About.com Running
 Beginning Runner