This past weekend I went to a friend’s house to celebrate her birthday. As the party wore on and we began to reminisce, we stumbled upon the well worn topic of our high-school cross-country escapades: Our coach’s motivating aphorisms, the rain-soaked race that turned our course into a mud bath, a shared hatred of a training exercise called “accelerations.” As we talked we realized that we both, and most of the girls we ran cross-country with, still run on a regular basis. “It seems like everybody’s taking up running these days,” she said. I had to agree – even my brother who his entire life has hated the sport decided to train for a half-marathon this summer. We came to the conclusion that running must be the new yoga.

A couple years back, I’m sure many of you recall, yoga became a big deal. I admit I have at least one dusty yoga DVD in the closet and still hold painful memories of the times I tried taking yoga classes only to leave half-way through either from embarrassment (I have no sense of coordination or balance) or an excruciating charley horse. Maybe that’s why the new trend toward running makes me so happy – finally something I can get excited about. Running also seems like a much easier exercise to get into because basically all you need is a pair of running shoes (and a good sports bra… please don’t underestimate the importance of the sports bra). But after speaking with my brother and others looking to pick up the sport, it seems like people have a lot of questions when they’re first starting out and a lot of apprehensions. I decided I’d like to share some of the things that got me through my first year of running and what kept me coming back year after year.

Now, please understand, I’m no state champion, in fact, I was the slowest person on the cross-country team. I’m pretty sure my coach was generally just impressed that I managed to make it through practice every day, never mind my splits or weekly mileage. I even got lost during my first ever cross-country race and had to get led back to the course by some of my teammates who I thankfully (literally) ran into while they were doing a warm-up run. Still, I like to think that these extremely humble beginnings can bring hope to those just starting out.

1. Do what you can handle, but don’t be afraid to push yourself.

2. When you start out, think about running for time, not distance (i.e. make a goal to run for five minutes, not for a mile). Once you work up to running a couple miles then start thinking about adding distance or even faster intervals.

3. Lie to yourself, and lie often. Tell yourself you’re just going to run for a little while, then once you’re out go a bit further. Or, when you’re getting tired, say “I’m just running to that light post” then when you get there set a new goal. Short goals will keep you motivated and keep a long distance from seeming overwhelming.

4. Get good shoes. If you can, go someplace where they’ll measure your gait and recommend a shoe based on your personal stride and the shape of your foot. Trust me, it makes a huge difference.

5. Don’t let weight loss be your goal. It might be your secret reason for running, but if you want to stick with it, you’re going to need to find something you love about running – the fresh air, the post-run high, the time alone with your favorite band – whatever it is, make that your motivation.

6. Expect the off days. Some runs will feel awful. You’ll be slow, distances that you’ve covered easily in the past will seem tough, you’ll want to quit. That’s normal, just get through it and the next day will most likely be much better.

7. Start thinking of yourself as a runner. It doesn’t matter if you walk every five minutes, a mile is still your goal distance, or you’ve only been running for a couple weeks, the sooner you start thinking of yourself as a runner, the sooner you’ll start taking yourself and your running seriously.

8. Cross-train. If you’re only running three days a week you’re still going to make progress, and walking or biking or weight-training on the other days will keep you active and keep you from getting bored. Your muscles will also feel fresher on the days you do run.

9. Have a good mindset. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve been in the middle of a hard workout, really struggling and just said to myself “I can’t do it,” and stopped. When this happens take a couple deep breaths, shake it out and regroup mentally. I like to tell myself something cheesy like, “You’re a warrior!” then picture myself running strong and pick it up again.

10. Talk “shop” with someone. For some reason I always find that talking about a great run, venting about a bad one, or even talking about a new trail I found is very therapeutic. It also lets the people in your life know it’s something you care about and having support for your new habit is really important too.

Hopefully these are helpful, but I’d like to reiterate that I’m no trainer – just a slightly uncoordinated girl who decided to stick by running for better or for worse. If you’re worried about health issues or pain issues you should probably consult a doctor. But for more general questions you might have I’ve listed a couple websites that have good info for beginning runners. This is one bandwagon that’s well worth jumping on!

Resources for Beginning Runners

Runner's World

The Runner's World 8-Week Beginning Runner's Training Program, Runnersworld.com

Newbie Runners, active.com

Becoming a Runner, Run the Planet