Beginner Running Tips Part 2
Beginner running tips, what you need to know to start running.
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Here are some more running tips to make you a pro in no time!
9) Every now and then, leave the Garmin home, and run an unplanned course, for an unplanned amount of time. Just enjoy the scenery, enjoy the run just for the sake of running.
Having running goals and pushing yourself to run faster and longer is all good, but you don't want to take all the fun of running and make it all work.
So if you're feeling a lot of pressure, nothing like a good run on an unplanned course to help you fall in love with running all over again.
10) Rest.
Don't run every day. Just like all your other muscles, your running muscles break down when you are running and need rest to build themselves back up again stronger than ever.
So be sure to take a couple days a week off from running and rest or if you insist on working out, do some cross training or strength training like we talked about in beginner running tips part 1.
11) Don't forget to breathe.
Breath in through your nose and out through your mouth. Breathing in through your nose helps your body much better absorb the oxygen then breathing through your mouth.
Without being an expert on the scientific reason for this, I'll just recommend trying it right now and you will see the difference.
Focus on this while your running, especially if you feel dizzy or experience cramps in your side during your runs.
12) Have a recovery snack available to eat right after your run.
Not only have you just had a big workout and need to recover your energy, but eating right after your run will also help decrease muscle soreness later on.
A meal of protein and whole carb is a good choice. My favorite is as an egg white spinach omelet with whole wheat toast and tomato juice.
But if you find it hard to eat immediately after your run because you're feeling nauseous, at least drink a sports drink like Gatorade or Ensure. Chocolate Milk is also a good recoery drink that many runners love.
13) Drink small sips of water throughout your run.
This will help better keep you hydrated without needing to stop and empty your bladder in the middle of running.
14) Your body doesn't just take in energy from what you eat immediately before your run.
It is important to eat healthy the entire day leading up to your run and even the day before your run.
It helps me to think about it like this: When you have a hangover, it's from drinking too much the day before. So it makes sense to fuel up with healthy foods in order to give you energy for your runs starting at least the day before.
Some foods I've experimented with eating the day before my races or long runs that have been very effective in giving me energy are whole wheat pasta, lentils and salad with chick peas.
Of course making a habit of eating healthy on a regular basis is even better. Here are some more beginner running tips on the runners diet.
Oh and don't forget to eat breakfast. All too often we miss breakfast because we forget to eat or our stomach's don't feel up to it.
You don't have to eat a big breakfast but breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Not eating breakfast or just eating coffee for breakfast slows down our metabolism, causes us to gain weight and decreases our energy for the entire day.
I know how hard it can be to get breakfast in though. What I do is eat a small yogurt for breakfast and then eat a bigger brunch an hour or two later.
15) Don't make a bad run into a bigger deal than it is.
Of all the beginner running tips I can share with you, this is probably the most important lesson. I learned it this summer when I ran my 4th annual August half marathon.
I had a great training season all spring and early summer, pulling in some PRs on my training runs of 6 and even 7 miles. And my long runs I was doing better than ever too.
I had big hopes for pulling in a PR on my 4th annual half marathon which I planned to run as I had since my first year of running in New York City in the heat of August.
Even though this summer was pretty mild, come the day of the half marathon, as it has been every year I'd run it, it was the hottest day of the year.
And I'd been on vacation the week before, had not run for over a week, had been drinking and eating regular vacation junk food.
And to top it all off, I'd taken in a teenager for the summer, an experience that had turned out to be way more emotionally exhausting than I ever could have expected.
Well not only did I not get that PR, it was one of the worst times for a half marathon I'd ever had. I felt so blue about it, and was sure it meant I wouldn't do better on my third marathon I was training for either.
I spent the next month asking myself what was the point of running if I couldn't get faster (forgetting that I was faster, just not on that one hot day!), started imagining injuries and missed a month of marathon training.
Later when I was looking back on my running plan, I saw how well I had done throughout the summer overall, and I realized that I had knocked myself down for no reason with this self-defeating attitude because of ONE bad run in a summer full of great runs.
So the lesson learned: a sucky run is just a sucky run, even if that run. Don't put more energy into it deserves.
Stick with your training plan and you're consistent accumulated training will get you the results you're working so hard for.
Once you get the hang of these beginner running tips, you'll be a pro in no time!
Back to Beginner Running Tips Part 1
