getting started with running

PollyOnAMission

Here's what I did when I started out:

1. Bought proper running shoes after gait analysis (I used Sweatshop) and decent running socks.
2. Started Couch to 5K.
3. Started regular Parkrun when I could do 5k.
4. Found music that matched my desired pace to help me keep progressing. This website is great http://jog.fm/

Over time I've also added custom insoles, a second pair of trainers (again bought from a running shop with gait analysis, but in the January sales) and have settled on what works for me to run with my dogs (they have been running with me, on lead, all along. I recommend a lead around your waist attached to a harness if you run with dogs. I also recommend building up the dog's running time as you do your own!).

I've found that it really helps to have something to aim towards. Couch to 5k is great for this, as is timed Parkrun and working to improve your pace. I gradually stopped using music and stopped timing myself, which has left me floundering a bit. I am going to go back to tracking all my runs (I use mapmyrun.com) and setting myself targets to improve. I also started to get a bit bored of doing the same route over and over again, so mixing that up a bit helps.

This is the second time I've started running; the first time I didn't have proper shoes and ended up with a lot of shin pain. I also didn't follow any particular program so found myself failing and that led to a decrease in motivation. Avoiding injury and setting yourself achievable targets (such as C25K) are the best things you can do to keep at it, in my opinion.

jacks993

If you've got a Sweatshop near you their Running Community is great, free and you get rewards the more you run with them. Our store has a 5k on Monday nights and endurance on Thursdays which is either hills and sprints or a longer distance. Both runs are for all abilities and a member of staff always stays with the last runner. You get a free bottle of lucozade after your first run, a tshirt after 5 runs then some other freebies up to a free £300 Garmin watch if you run 50 times out of 52 weeks! The group from our store is very sociable and supportive and I've won a free entry into the Plymouth Half Marathon and also taken part in loads of trail runs, obstacle races etc that I never would have considered entering if I hadn't joined the group.

With reference to shoes I would say get a gait analysis carried out and see what shoes they recommend in store. Then go home and search online to see what the cheapest price for that shoe is - or for last season's version of the same shoe as they're normally about £30-£40 cheaper. I've also haggled in store and you'll usually get a substantial amount knocked off as shoes are marked up massively.

Have fun!

Lagoon

jacks993 wrote: »

If you've got a Sweatshop near you their Running Community is great, free and you get rewards the more you run with them. Our store has a 5k on Monday nights and endurance on Thursdays which is either hills and sprints or a longer distance. Both runs are for all abilities and a member of staff always stays with the last runner. You get a free bottle of lucozade after your first run, a tshirt after 5 runs then some other freebies up to a free £300 Garmin watch if you run 50 times out of 52 weeks! The group from our store is very sociable and supportive and I've won a free entry into the Plymouth Half Marathon and also taken part in loads of trail runs, obstacle races etc that I never would have considered entering if I hadn't joined the group.

Have fun!

A warning, though. Not all Sweatshop running groups are that supportive for beginners.

I'm a very slow runner, and went to one in the hope that they could teach me techniques to improve my speed. Nobody spoke to me at the start, or made me feel welcome. Once the run started, I was the slowest person and despite them promising a group for all abilities and someone at the back to keep pace with the slowest runner, I soon found that I couldn't keep up and that nobody was paying any attention. They ran off without me, I was left in the middle of a strange estate and I had to make my way back myself.

I ended up calling OH in tears once I was back at my car. I'd been a runner for 8 months at the time, and felt absolutely terrible that night. It put me off running groups forever.

I don't mean to out anyone off, but I do want to say that if a running group doesn't work for you then please don't let it damage your self-confidence like it did to me. I stuck to running alone after that. I've never managed to become any quicker, but at least I kept doing it.

jacks993

That sounds awful Lagoon and from what I know goes completely against Sweatshop ethics.

Well done for sticking at it though - and remember - however fast or slow you are you're still in front of everyone who sits in front of the TV every night! x

Summer69

I took up running last January and used a Couch to 5K app which was great, alongside the Nike app. I've had a few knock backs ( member of the family was terminally ill ) and so I am only just about to start my 10k training app shortly (as opposed to last summer!)

I never thought I was a runner but now I totally am Not that I am especially fast but I do it and I enjoy it and that's the main thing.

I have done a couple of ParkRuns but found that I struggle more as I try and keep up with people a lot faster than me. Too competitive lol

Ken68

Good for you Summer, great feeling... "taste the endorphins" as some of my fellow runners would say.
When I started , different groups would go out at 4 minute intervals, the slowest first, and the coach will progress you, as and when.
Good system, we mostly came in together. Keep it up.

Summer69

Ken68 wrote: »

Good for you Summer, great feeling... "taste the endorphins" as some of my fellow runners would say.
When I started , different groups would go out at 4 minute intervals, the slowest first, and the coach will progress you, as and when.
Good system, we mostly came in together. Keep it up.

Yeah I went at the back with the slower runners but the competitive side of me wanted to catch up and not be at the back lol.

I will def do it again though

Wilma33

Lagoon wrote: »

A warning, though. Not all Sweatshop running groups are that supportive for beginners.

I'm a very slow runner, and went to one in the hope that they could teach me techniques to improve my speed. Nobody spoke to me at the start, or made me feel welcome. Once the run started, I was the slowest person and despite them promising a group for all abilities and someone at the back to keep pace with the slowest runner, I soon found that I couldn't keep up and that nobody was paying any attention. They ran off without me, I was left in the middle of a strange estate and I had to make my way back myself.

I ended up calling OH in tears once I was back at my car. I'd been a runner for 8 months at the time, and felt absolutely terrible that night. It put me off running groups forever.

I don't mean to out anyone off, but I do want to say that if a running group doesn't work for you then please don't let it damage your self-confidence like it did to me. I stuck to running alone after that. I've never managed to become any quicker, but at least I kept doing it.

You should try parkrun. They are really supportive and have lots of slower runners. You can check out last weeks results on your local parkrun website to see the variation in times. They usually vary from about 16 minutes to an hour And to get the loudest cheer if you come first or last

YORKSHIRELASS

Hi

I started out trying to do one of those couch to 5k plans but I found it just didnt work for me. It was too rigid and there was too much pressure to be able to do a certain distance after a set time.

On the advice of a friend I mapped out a 3 mile route using mapmyrun and started doing it at my own pace. I would jog a bit and walk a bit, based on how I felt that day. Gradually I jogged more until I could do the whole route without stopping but I did it at my own pace.

I wasnt intending to train for a marathon or anything, just wanted to get a bit fitter and I wanted to enjoy it and not give up after a few weeks. I have been running for about 5 years now.

My friends advice though still sticks with me. Listen to your body and do what feels right. If you feel like you need to walk a bit thats fine, and in fact brisk walking is very good exercise anyway. Some days you have more energy than others and so long as you are out there doing something you are going to get fitter and lose weight.

Oh and as for running shoes I do think you need a decent pair. I got my gait analysed at a proper running shop then just bought the same pair online cheaply when they needed replacing. So far I have never had any joint problems and I am in my mid 40s.

Indie_Kid

Wilma33 wrote: »

You should try parkrun. They are really supportive and have lots of slower runners. You can check out last weeks results on your local parkrun website to see the variation in times. They usually vary from about 16 minutes to an hour And to get the loudest cheer if you come first or last

It's free too. So if you don't finish it for whatever reason, you've not wasted money on entering. You do however, need to register and bring your barcode.

If you've got a Sweatshop near you their Running Community is great, free and you get rewards the more you run with them. Our store has a 5k on Monday nights and endurance on Thursdays which is either hills and sprints or a longer distance. Both runs are for all abilities and a member of staff always stays with the last runner. You get a free bottle of lucozade after your first run, a tshirt after 5 runs then some other freebies up to a free £300 Garmin watch if you run 50 times out of 52 weeks! The group from our store is very sociable and supportive and I've won a free entry into the Plymouth Half Marathon and also taken part in loads of trail runs, obstacle races etc that I never would have considered entering if I hadn't joined the group.

I've run with Sweatshop (Plymouth) and have really bad experiences. I've been left behind a few times.:mad: This is despite me telling them I need someone with me due to my disabilities.