It’s time for Friday Five linkup with DC area bloggers Courtney at Eat Pray Run DC, Cynthia at You Signed Up for What?!, and Mar at Mar on the Run!  Be sure to stop by their blogs and say hello!  While you’re there, be sure to check out other bloggers who are participating in the linkup, too. This week the DC Trifecta chose Five Running Tips  as the theme…..

PosterRoadSeemsShorter
 

“We are all created with equal amounts of awesome.
It’s up to you to determine how much of it the world gets to see.”
~ Unknown

 

Over the past two and a half years of blogging, I’ve spent hours writing posts about all things running.  You can find articles on how to start running, how to avoid injuries, types of training runs, race preparation, and much, much more on my Coaching Tab.  For today’s post, though, I’m going to keep it simple, and talk about things that might easily be overlooked when thinking about running tips…

 

1.  Have Fun – Running is our sport, let’s not make it our chore.  If you love racing, race.  If you don’t, don’t.  Run with friends, run alone – do whatever makes you happy.  Whatever you do, don’t take your running so seriously that you let it get you down if you have an off day or week.

2.  Listen To Your Body – If something starts hurting, slow down, cross train, stop running, see a doctor, whatever it takes to make that body part stop hurting.

3.  Set Realistic Goals – If you have just started running for the first time since you were six years old, don’t set a goal of running a marathon next month.  Build a three month base, see how you feel, and if you want to run longer distances find a plan that will get you there in four or five months.

4.  Mix It Up – Run a variety of routes, try out different surfaces, and run different paces instead of heading out your door for the exact same run every day.  Try running at different times of the day and see when you enjoy it most.

5.  Get Fitted In Proper Shoes – If you’ve never been fitted for running shoes, do it, and preferably at a specialty running store.  Knee, hip, or ankle pain when running can often be prevented by wearing the proper running shoe for your type of foot.  Keep in mind that feet and shoes change, and the perfect shoe for you today, might not be your best choice in three years.

Bonus:  Find A Running Friend Or Group To Train With – Let’s face it, friends are the best!  Even if you prefer to run alone, it’s great to have friends with a common interest.  Running friends are great for bouncing training ideas off of, they understand injury frustrations, and they give us an outlet for talking running so we don’t bore our other friends to death!

 

Don’t forget to stop by the other participating bloggers’ little corners of the internet to find more running tips! 

 

  • Questions:
  • What is your most basic running tip?
  • What running tip have you received that you found to be the most helpful?
  • Are you racing this weekend? ~ I am on Sunday!  I’ll be running in the Leesburg 20K.