Last week I wrote a guest post for i am LadyRunner and wanted to share it with you today. Thank you, Katie, for reaching out to me!
Hi! My name is Debbie (or Deb) and I write over at DebRuns.com. I’ve been running since I was little when my brother and I ran all over the family farm. I started organized running when I was in the eighth grade and joined the JV track team, and I’ve been running ever since!
I’m sure that many of you that read Katie’s blog don’t necessarily have that kind of running history or born-in passion for running, and might just be starting to run. Let me be the first to congratulate you on your decision to give this crazy running thing a try!
First of all, let’s take a look at why you might be considering taking up running:
- You have a friend that runs and it seems like a fun thing to do
- You want to get fit
- You want to lose weight
- You want an excuse to get out of the house alone and away from the screaming children for an hour a day
- You’ve had a recent health scare and your doctor told you to get some exercise
- You want an excuse to spend more time outside
- You remember how fun and freeing it was to run when you were a child
- You read running blogs and have decided that you must join this cool group of people 🙂
The great thing about running is that you don’t need a lot of fancy equipment to try it out. Sure, you can spend lots of money on cute little matchy-matchy outfits made out of the latest wick-away fabrics, but you don’t need to buy any of that until you’re sure that running is the sport for you. When I first started running, I ran in Converse canvas sneakers! I’m not suggesting you try that, I’m just pointing out that you don’t need to buy $120 running shoes for what could be your first and only run!
Leaning for the finish in my Converse canvas sneakers!
Once you’ve gone on a few runs and fallen madly in love with the sport (which I’m sure you will), then you can worry about the equipment. I highly recommend that you go to a reputable running store to get fitted in the right shoes for you. Now that you’re committed, you can by those cute little running outfits. Target is one of my favorite places to shop for affordable running clothes. I usually treat myself to one or two items from the running store and sporting goods store, but I always check to see what Target has, too.
After you’re geared up in your cool florescent running clothes, you’ll want a running plan. It can be as simple as scheduling your run on your calendar so that life doesn’t get in the way. You can also set goals for times and distances, or you can fly by the seat of your pants and just get out there and run! 🙂 The key is just that… get out there, run, and have fun!
So you’re all excited and running on the days you have scheduled and you’re all happy and feeling like you’ve got this running thing, and then it happens… Winter comes, or it rains for a week, or you go on a business trip, or you get sick, or something else gets in the way of a couple of runs, and then you’re not running anymore! What’s a girl with expensive running shoes, cool hot pink running shorts, and a fancy high-tech running bra to do?
Devise a plan to get you back on the running trails:
- Find a running buddy
- Sign up for a local race
- Write down specific running goals and dates to accomplish them
- Join a running group
- Download a running app on your smartphone
- Read running articles online to learn new running tips
- Encourage your spouse or significant other to start running so it becomes a part of your family’s routine
Hopefully with these tips, you’ll become the runner you want to be! Good luck, have fun, and get out there and run! 🙂
- Questions:
- Did you like the running events in the President’s Physical Fitness tests in PE when you were in school?
- Do you run regularly or occasionally?
- What’s the silliest excuse you’ve used to skip going out on your run?
Great to get people motivated Debbie! I LOVE those Converse. Can’t say I ever ran in them but I definitely rocked some in middle school!
I’m showing my age! HaHa!
I cheated on our mile test, ha. We were gone for soccer or something like that in junior high and we had to go do it on our own during class and time ourselves…so we went out to the track and then hopped the fence to my house (literally goes right out to the track) and ate some snacks, went back inside and spit out whatever number we needed to pass. I felt slightly less guilty about it knowing that I would have passed had I actually done it, ha.
Ha, that’s funny! There is absolutely no way I could have done that and not gotten caught!
[…] Monday I posted Becoming a Runner, Where Should You Start? I wrote about the reasons you might consider taking up running, buying (but not buying too […]
OMG! I had totally forgotten about the President’s physical fitness test!! I remember those in middle school. PE class was one of my favorite classes in school. I was always the only girl in the class that would participate in what ever sport we were doing at the time. I was always the first girl picked (since the PE teachers made who ever was the captain was pick a girl first) when playing sports 🙂 Of course, you know I already run regularly!
I LOVED PE class and that’s why I decided to become a PE teacher! 🙂
Great tips and guidance to becoming a runner, Deb! I absolutely loved the Presidential Physical Fitness tests when I was a kid! My personal favorite was this test we did called the Pacer (also known as the Beep test).
I loved those tests, too!