5 Tips for Beginner Runners

1. Get a good pair of running shoes.

Do this in person, at a local running shoe store. Have them determine what level of support you need and try on as many shoes as you can until you find one that feels best for YOU.

Don’t be afraid to ask to take them for a short test jog to make sure they are right for you.

With trainers, you are best off erring slightly big than too small. They usually say a thumbnail’s length of room at the toe.

2. Embrace & accept where you are at NOW - even if that is ground zero.

Can you run a full mile or more? Great, start there. 

If not? That is totally fine, do walk/run intervals at a comfortable ratio for you.

We all start in a different spot. But your potential doesn’t lie in your starting point.

Embrace being new at something - it’s a beautiful place to be.

3. Make the effort as easy as possible.

I CANNOT stress this enough.

At first, any pace will feel hard. But if you stay consistent, you will get to a point where a slower pace feels conversational. This “conversational pace” is where you’ll spend 80-100% of your volume.

These easy miles are the building blocks of distance running.

Run too fast, and you’ll miss out on important adaptations that will help you later on. You want to avoid that “gray zone” between hard and easy running as much as possible.

4. Sign up for something.

A race, a group run, a time trial… something to work towards with a specific date on the calendar.

If you have dreams of running a marathon one day, start with the 5k and have a long-term plan (perhaps multi-year) to work up to the marathon.

Even if your first race is 12+ months from now, just have something to hold you accountable and to strive towards. It’s ok if it feels scary!

5. Use a progressive overload method.

With any advancements you make in your running, whether it’s weekly volume, long run mileage, speed work, etc, make them very gradual and generally don’t change more than one variable at once. 

Hiring a coach is the best option to help you safely & efficiently progress in your running. Online plans can be ok, but are often too generic and don’t take personal factors or adjustments into account. There are some great online coaches out there. Contact me and I can point you in the right direction!

Product Review: Footpath Route Planner App

Score: 8/10

I love using this app for planning routes. It is super quick & simple - you literally just trace a route with your finger. As someone who prefers loop routes over out-and-backs, this helps incredibly!

We travel frequently and I almost always run wherever we go. When going somewhere unfamiliar, I always use this app to help me identify sidewalks and get a general lay of the land.

Once you trace a route, you can even see the elevation chart for it. This is super insightful if you are trying to do course-specific work. I actually traced & saved the Boston marathon route and compared elevation chart segments (like Heartbreak Hill) to the elevation charts of hills near home. While I did find some close matches, nothing compares to the real Heartbreak Hill!

The only reason I give it an 8 is that I occasionally have issues with the screen freezing after I trace a segment, but over the years that has seemed to improve and it rarely happens anymore.

March Training Recap

March was all about training! No races this month. I’ve been spending this winter/spring season taking a major shift from the marathon distance and sharpening my speed with track races. I ran some mile’s and 3k’s during the indoor season and I’ll be doing a 10k or two and hopefully a 5k in April. I absolutely love track and I am so glad I made the choice to come back to it this year after being 4 years removed from college.

I had my first bad workout in a looooong time (I always hesitate to call workouts “bad”, but this one was warranted). It was on St. Patty’s day. It was a 36 mph headwind on the front stretch of the track and my paces would slow 5-10 seconds per lap. To give such a high effort and be so far off pacing was so mentally hard. It made me question everything. I had those thoughts of “what’s the point”, “this is such a waste of a workout”, “I’m in terrible shape”, etc. But in hindsight, it was such a character-building session. Definitely not a waste!

Besides that, everything has been fantastic. I’ve been on the regular 2 workout per week rhythm and have been consistently in the weight room building strength. My body has been handling the 55 mile weeks well. Each week, I feel more and more ready to go after some time goals I have in mind for next month in the 5k and 10k. I’ve never actually raced a 10k so it’s exciting to go into this race distance with a clean slate.

I have been practicing shooting my bow and I can tell that some of my regained strength in the weight room has helped a lot. If I get another bow eventually, I will increase the draw weight. I’m scraping by with my Parker Sidekick that’s maxed out, but it’s all I was able to pull back when I first started.

All in all, March was great! I’m ready to race though. I can’t thank my friend Abby enough for helping me with my training!