It all started when my daughter, Hannah, age 9, was required to run a mile three times a week while in gymnastics. I thought, “Oh, that’s terrible! I’ll do it with her so we can hate it together!” Well, what happened was I started feeling better from my running, even that little bit! I needed that. I was caregiver for my father with dementia while raising four children (at that time – ages 4, 9, 11, and 13). I started having more energy throughout the day. It actually felt good to sweat. As I marked off in my little book my accomplishment for the day, I felt a sense of gratification. I did it. It didn’t matter how fast I went. I did it. There were things I couldn’t control in my life, but I could do this.
Then I lost my father. That was hard. We moved soon after his death to a town where I didn’t know anyone. So I joined a gym, hired a trainer, and started increasing my running to 30 minutes at a time. It was very therapeutic and it gave me something positive to do while I was grieving and beginning a new life in a new town with my family.
A year later I ran my first 5K. At the time, I was so self-conscious I decided to fly across the country and run my first 5K in Florida where my aunt and uncle lived. I loved it! It was nothing like I imagined. People of all abilities and all ages were there! This was a female only race, which was kind of cool. But one thing I vividly remember happened as I approached the finish line. The announcer gives a big shout out to someone finishing her 10K at the same time I finished my 5K! Wow! That amazed me! The next goal-inspiring moment happened as I rode the elevator with an older woman (probably in her 70’s) who was also wearing a race bib. As we congratulated one another, I learned that she had just run the 10K! Again – Wow! My younger 44-year-old self now had a new vision of my future 70-year-old self!
I call my trainer when I return home and say, “I may be crazy, but I now want to train for a 10K.” I know that’s really not so crazy, but for me, a previous run-hater, this was a crazy notion. My trainer gives me a plan, I diligently train, and a couple of months later I ran that first 10K, and actually placed!
And then the next year, almost simultaneously, I decided to train for a half marathon and was encouraged to start coaching a beginner running class. Little did I expect the response. Thirty people took the class. This was 2009. What happened in that first class astounded me. The newbie runners became best friends. I kept asking, “Did you guys know each other before?” and they would assure me that this was where they met. Of the first 30 runners, 13 of them continued to sign up for races each month – running in a cave, or running in a zoo, or signing up for a relay. I couldn’t believe it! And those 13 trained for a half marathon and ran it that next year, 2010!
What I’ve discovered is that although running started somewhat as a solo venture, I love the people I have met through running. It has really been about much more than running. It is about community, goals, and joining others who are taking a risk and sticking with it, and then actually signing up for that race and finally crossing the finish lines. And this running habit has also crossed over to other areas of my life. I’m not as afraid to try new things. And I’ve made lifelong friends to share, laugh, cry, and run with.
In this blog, I’d like to share with you how you also can start running. I’ll share a running plan that has worked for hundreds of runners that I’ve trained, and also give you some helpful information on stretching, strength training, preventing injury, how to stay motivated, and much more. But we’ll start here with my favorite beginner’s running plan.
| Week # | Run Increment | Walk Increment | Number of Cycles |
|
1 |
1 minute | 4 minutes | 6 cycles |
|
2 |
2 minutes | 3 minutes | 6 cycles |
|
3 |
4 minutes | 3 minutes | 5 cycles |
|
4 |
6 minutes | 2 minutes | 4 cycles |
|
5 |
8 minutes | 2 minutes | 3 cycles |
|
6 |
10 minutes | 2 minutes | 3 cycles |
|
7 |
15 minutes | 1 minute | 2 cycles |
|
8 |
30 minutes | 0 minutes | 1 cycle |
|
9 |
35 minutes | 0 minutes | 1 cycle |
The reason I like this plan is that it is easy to remember and easy to use. It is a run/walk plan. You build up your running increments while diminishing your walking increments. It is easy enough that most people can do it. The run/walk time always totals between 30-35 minutes.
Run 3 times per week including rest days between each run. Your body needs rest days to recover so it can grow stronger and ready for the next run. Don’t jump ahead weeks, even if you think it’s too easy. Your heart and lungs adapt pretty quickly. But bones, ligaments, and joints take the longest to adapt. They actually take from 6 weeks to 6 months to adapt. But we don’t know that they have not adapted until there is an injury (a sore hip, shin splints, an achy knee).
Invest in running shoes. Enough said. Please, go to a running specialty store and get shoes that are best for your type of feet and gait.
And finally, when you are running, run at a conversational pace. This is a pace that is about 3-4 steps per breath in and 3-4 steps per breath out. Don’t worry about how slow you are going. Most improvements come during your easy pace runs. You build more capillaries, you increase your mitochondria count (that transports energy to working muscles), your stroke volume improves, and muscle properties adapt to running. You will become more efficient at running. Continue reading “How a Running Hater Becomes a Running Coach”
It Is Well 