If you missed the first two articles in the series:

• Beginner’s Guide to Distance Running Training – Day 1/3
• Beginner’s Guide to Distance Running Training – Day 2/3

This is the third and last article out of the three article series. In this article, I want to explain why it’s absolutely critical that you utilize a training log and/or journal, ways to rest (not just sleeping), ways to keep yourself motivated to get out there day after day and nutrition. If you haven’t read the past two articles, I highly suggest going through them first: Day 1/3 and Day 2/3.

At this point, I hope you have followed through with each article prior to this one and have everything in place. Here is a checklist of what you should have at home or know what each point is talking about:

• The purpose for running and why you will continue training through thick or thin (this isn’t marriage counseling….I charge extra for that ;)
• Proper clothing and shoes to allow to train properly without injuring yourself
• A plan suited for your goal and purpose – Ex: weight loss, 5k race, etc
• Warming up and stretching
• Learning to pace yourself and listen to your body

If there are some things you are a bit confused on or if you need more help, it’s best if you go back to the first two articles, reread them and post a comment to get some help :)

Using a Training Log to Perfection

photo credit: marj k

It’s important to understand why you are writing in a training log so you will be more prone to writing everything down. Let me give you an example:

Terry is training for the marathon which is around the corner. Terry is relentlessly running everyday BUT not writing anything down because he thinks that if runs until he gets tired, that will be good enough to train him for the race. So fast forward two weeks, Terry is running the marathon. As he is running, he feels so exhausted at the 16 miles mark that he drops to his knees. The only thing going on in Terry’s mind is: “why wasn’t I able to finish? I ran the hardest I could each of my training sessions…WHY?”

There are many things that Terry needs to do to prepare him for the race better. Instead of running aimlessly, he needs to write down what distance he should be running based on the plan that he chose for his goal to run the marathon successfully. He also needs to set a time in which he must finish that distance. Once Terry has a time fixated in his head, he will have an increased desire to match that time and this will result in more effort and perseverance.

In order to prevent the same mistakes Terry made in his attempts, you need to be proactive. After you have gone through your workout, it’s a good idea to write down a bit about your run that day. There are many different components of your training you can track. Here are some of the necessities of tracking your workouts:

• Date
• Planned Distance
• Actual Distance
• Planned Time
• Actual Time
• Post-Training Comments

The post-training comments section is, in my opinion, the most valuable section. The reasoning for that is because say if you ran Monday and realized that the distance and time was too challenging, you can write it down so the next time you run, you know you need to decrease the intensity, or vice-versa. In the post-training comments section, you can talk about your stress, fatigue, soreness, weather and anything else that may have made this run better than other runs or caused it for the worst run.

Rest Your Way to the Finish Line

photo credit: driki

Your ability to rest your body after a high stress and high pressure activity such as running is important to the quality of your performance on race day. There is so much emphasis on flashy training techniques that many runners simply overlook resting.

During your regular workouts, the amount of rest you need before your next workout is based a lot on your experience level running and the work load. The lower the experience level and the higher the intensity, you will be challenged in many ways while running and feel overwhelmed (HINT: this is where the running log comes in). Here are some methods to effective resting:

• Proper Night’s Sleep – 8 hours is recommended. Honestly, it depends on you as an individual. I know people that can sleep 6 hours and wake up like they slept 12  hours. On a day where you might not have anything to do early in the morning, try sleeping without an alarm and see how many hours your body thinks you need to rest properly.
• Practice Yoga – Yoga is great for relaxation and reducing excess stress that you place on your body. If you are inexperienced with stretching and yoga, just perform light stretches to release tense muscles. If you are uncomfortable of doing yoga, that’s fine. You can pick up a DVD and do it in the comfort of your home. Give Yoga for Runners with Ann Richmond a shot.
• Deep Relaxation Breathing – deep breathing does wonders after a grueling workout. Deep breathing is very straightforward. Sit down on the floor cross legged with your palms facing the ceiling (or on a chair) and breathe into your stomach. Each inhale and exhale should be 10 seconds each (it’s hard to count sometimes so I go old school –> “one on-thousand, two one-thousand, etc.”)

If you are a true beginner, starting from scratch, you need to run at most 3 times a week. Most marathon programs require that you can run at least for 30mins without stopping. The plan that you chose must be low intensity with a low workload in the beginning. As you develop stamina and the ability to run for longer periods of time with less fatigue, you can train more often, increase your weekly distance and be more prepared to competing in the upcoming race.

Motivation – Why Are You Running A Marathon?

This is a very challenging section for runners. Sometimes, you are lying on your bed and all you can think about is the struggle, aches and pains you will have to deal with after the workout. Believe me when I say this, I have been there, just like you have in the past.

There are many ways to get around the lack of motivation but the results you will see are solely based on your desire. Ask yourself: How bad do you want it? How badly do you want to complete the 5k, 10k, or the marathon? What are you running for? Is it a cause or maybe you’re running for someone?

Just imagine yourself crossing the finish line with your family cheering you on and congratulating you on this huge milestone in your life. It all comes down what you are running for that drives the motivation to run the marathon. I still face obstacles when training and sometimes, you just don’t want to. Here are some ways I turn it around:

• Vision Boards: a collection of images that relate to your goal. You may have heard about these from John Assaraf in “The Secret”. I heard about vision boards first there and created one for myself. The goal is to keep them somewhere you will look often and believe that you have accomplished your goal now.
• Affirmations: speaking and telling yourself that you have accomplished your goals has been helpful. Repeating to yourself “I will finish the marathon”, “I’m a strong runner” tells your subconscious those thoughts and you will perform based on those affirmations. I was a critic of this for years and then began practicing it. In my experience, the higher the belief one has while repeating these affirmations, the stronger the effect. (I know it sounds all weird but believing that you have already ran a successful marathon further proves to yourself that you will be able to do it race day)
• Writing Out Goals: It’s a great idea to write goals because now, you have made a commitment. Some people are visual in their learning and if a person looks at the goals in front of them, they have a direction they can move towards. This works really well when you are confused about what you want to accomplish from running or why you’re running in the first place. Try this at work and instantly become clear on your path.
• Support Group: these could be your close friends that you tell everything to or the group of runners you run with often. If you don’t have a support group in place, there will be times where you will have your lows in running and there will be no one to uplift you that can give you the kick in the pants to get back out of the track. If you prefer running by yourself, tell others about your running whether they are friends or in forums. The more people you share it with, the more you will feel as if you now MUST achieve run your marathon.

Once you light the fire in your belly, there’s really no limit to how well you can develop your running abilities. Do you realize we just went through a deep journey that now has built the foundation for your future running workouts?

To summarize, we talked about how to use a training log properly, why resting is important and how much to rest and how to motivate yourself to accomplish the goal you set in the beginning of this series.

Your Task:

What steps are you taking in starting a training log? How many hours did your body tell you to rest? (it was 12 hours for my first time because I just slept like a baby)  and what motivation tool are you going to commit yourself to?

If you missed the first article in the series: Beginner’s Guide to Distance Running Training – Day 1/3

This is the second article out of the three article series where we’re going to focus on The Beginner’s Guide to Distance Running. In the first article of the beginner’s series, we dove head first into the importance of planning and goal setting, the clothes and shoes you must have and finding a plan that suits who you are as a runner. Remember, this is all before even lacing up your shoes

You might be thinking, “Man, all this preparation just to do a simple task as running? Wow!” At this point you need to take this process as a building block and realize that you are instantly setting yourself up for long term success. Now, that you the goal in place, know what you’re going to be wearing and have a solid plan that you are ready to commit to; we can now hit the pavement!

Warming Up and Stretching

This component alone has to be one of the most underrated components for all of running. Think about stretching like this:

QUOTE: “It’s the peak of winter and there is 5 inches of snow over your hood. You haven’t drove the car around for a couple of days, but you now start it up and decide, “screw it, im only going around the block”. So, you head over to your destination WITHOUT WARMING THE CAR UP.”

At this point, all I can say is I hope your warranty is still in check. But seriously, the same way you wouldn’t start up a cold car and leave, you don’t want to be doing that to your body either. It really doesn’t matter which part of the day you train, you definitely need a pre-run warm up and stretching routine.

photo credit: adropp

Beginner’s Pre-Run Routine:

1. Perform light exercises that will increase your heart rate and warm up your body. These activities can be running on a treadmill, brisk walking, jumping jacks, skipping, etc. The point here is to warm up the muscles and the connective tissue. You want to do the specific activity for 5-10 minutes.
2. Now that your body is warm, your muscles are ready to be stretched without any kinks, or likeliness to aches or injuries. There are two types of stretching: static and dynamic. Static stretches are where a muscle is isolated and the position is held. Dynamic stretches are targeting muscles but the stretch is through continuous moving. Note that during stretches you MUST be breathing at all times. The first time I heard it I brushed it off but then I started to monitor my breathing during stretches. I realized that I breathed a shallow breath which prevented a deeper stretch.

There are many, many stretches that you can perform, but here is a short list to get you started:

Static Stretches

1. 1. Head Circles: Tilt your head to the right where right ear is close to the right shoulder. Hold position for 3 seconds, inhale. Then, exhale as you roll your from your right shoulder past your chest and to the left shoulder. Do this 6 times in total (3 stretches on each side). Note that you need to keep your neck relaxed for this stretch to be effective.
   2. Quadriceps Stretch: Stand erect and use the wall if you need support. With your right hand and right leg bent towards your bum, pull on your feet to feel the stretch in your thigh area. This stretch is great if you hold the stretch for 10 seconds each side.
   3. Iliotibial Band Stretch: sit on the floor with your posture erect. Bend your right leg and place it to the left of the left knee. Turn your upper body to the right looking away while your right hand supports your body. Use your shoulders to drive your upper body more to the right while using your left hand on your right knee to further stretch out. Note that brething deeply will help the stretch so stay relaxed (calm blue ocean, calm blue ocean)

Dynamic Stretches

1. Arm Circles: Place both arms out and move them in a circular motion. It is critical that you keep your neck relaxed or you might do harm than any good. Do 20 rotations with each arm and then switch to the other direction for another 20 rotations.
2. Lunges: Step forward with your right leg where your quadriceps (thighs) are parallel to the floor and your left leg is perpendicular to the floor in the shape of an “L”. Take 20 steps in total where you might have to turn in the other direction when you run out of wall. Note that you need to take these steps while holding the position for a second and maintaining stability.

Pacing Yourself

Now that you are warmed up, stretched out and feeling absolutely fantastic, you are ready to get out there! The first time you get out there is really to gauge and understand how well your body is conditioned; this will play a key role in the effectiveness of your plan that you chose in the first article of this series. If you know that you can’t run continually for 20 minutes, don’t start your first workout with running. Start by walking briskly and speeding up as you get more comfortable with walking for longer distance. Remember keep a water bottle on you or that will be just one more reason to get back home and throw yourself on the couch.

As a beginner, you realize that you can’t run the time period mentioned in your plan, don’t worry. You can take advantage of a method call walk-run by Jeff Galloway. The method is really straight forward and I actually used this as a kid, without knowing it, when playing cops and robbers (2 hrs of that game is very taxing on a young soul ;) The way you perform walk-run is that you walk the majority of the time but run for short intervals. For example, if you are running for 10 minutes, you can start by walking for 4 minutes and running for one minute. The point you want to reach is running for a straight 30 minutes without stopping. I KNOW YOU CAN DO IT!

The reasoning for this is it allows new runners to ease into running rather than shocking them mentally and physically with an intense amount of pressure. Eventually, you will start running for two minutes and walking for 30 seconds and keep working up to brisk running with no problem.

Just Enjoy It!

Don’t take yourself so seriously. Setting goals and using plans are great but these are in place for motivation and a sense of direction. If you accomplish them, GREAT! If you don’t accomplish them, that’s ok but reflect on what you could have done better. For example: managing your time, putting your shoes so you trip over them and remember to run or asking a friend to come along.

The best thing you can do for yourself is find friends who have the same desire and motivation as you do to lose the weight or compete for the 5k. This is huge because not only did you instantly create your support group but now you have no reason to be bored during your workouts.

For fun and to keep things fresh, have little challenges and bets. What I do to keep me motivated is that if I don’t show up for a run, I have to buy each runner I train with a meal next time we go out. Or if you’re a betting kind guy or gal, you can put some money on it. Hey, whatever floats your boat. You need to have fun while you accomplish your goals and with friends, workouts will go by like nothing.

To summarize, you now know the importance of warming up and stretching and how to do the pre-run routine. You understand the how you need to pace yourself and know you got to enjoy the journey you just embarked on to achieve the goals you set out in the first article.

I really want you to take advantage of this series so quickly consume this content and just get out there. Once you get out there and starting walking and running, you will feel better because now you know that you just took the right step in the direction of success.

Your Task: comment below and let everyone know: how your warm up and stretch go? did you have any troubles running and pacing yourself?  and lastly, did friends help your running? what about the challenges you put in place?

This is the first article out of this three article series. In my experience as a runner, I can say that running for beginners is not going to be an easy task unless you have a proven plan. Yep, running needs a level of planning to get you from where you are today to where you want to in the near future. Throughout this series, my goal is to prepare you to start running as soon as possible while doing so safely and seeing results.

Planning and Goal Setting

There are a lot of reasons why a person wants to run. The major reason is due to health. People run in order for them to be healthy and fit. Some run because they want to lose weight in order to have a toned and beautiful body. While others have the same reason as mine, they run because they want to compete in races. Whatever your reason is, you must visualize it and honestly believe you will achieve the goal you establish today.

Take out a piece of paper now. You need to place this paper somewhere so you will see it every day. This could be your fridge, beside your computer screen or the ceiling above your bed. We’re going to be talking about motivation in another article but this is a start. At the top write [YOUR NAME]’s Running Plan and copy the questions below:

1. The reason I’m running is to: ________________________ (Ex: Compete in the 5k race)
2. I will start training from: ________________________ (Ex: Aug 1/2009)
3. From a month from today, I want to be able to: ___________________________ (Ex: Be able to run for 30 minutes non-stop or “fit in my itsy bitsy, teeny weeny, yellow polka dot bikini” ;) )

Each answer should be about two-four sentences stating the answer to your question and the feeling you will have in when on that date. Let me give you an example:

“2) I will start training from Aug 1/2009. On this day, I will have my clothes and shoes ready, know where I’m going to run that day and be pumped because I know that this will be my first step to (answer from a) get be prepared to compete for the 5K race 2 months.”

Writing out your goals helps a lot because subconsciously, you have made a commitment and once you see this piece of paper again, you will feel strongly towards it. So fill in the statements above and let’s keep going.

photo credit: darkmatter

Clothing and Shoes

Don’t underestimate this section. Many beginners start running with their shoes from 5 years ago because they look decent enough to run with. BIG MISTAKE! If you wear shoes that aren’t running oriented shoes, you will be screwed brother! When you run, your body takes a lot of damage and if you don’t reduce that damage through proper shoes and clothing, you will ache all over in no time.

What you need to do is purchase shoes for running. The best thing you can do for your feet is to head over to a running store, not a sporting goods store like Dick’s but specifically a running store such as “Running Room” for my fellow canucks or “Fleet Feet” and “Athlete’s Foot” in the US. After they have looked at the arc of your foot, choose the shoe with the following characteristics:

• Proper shoe cushioning
• Responsiveness to pressure and movement
• Flexibility of the shoe
• Firmness and stiffness of the sole

Store clerks are made to sell you as much as they can but when they say that more than one shoe is better for your biomechanics, they are right. Using more than one shoe allows less battery of the sole of your shoes which will ultimately provide more protection .You want to use these shoes for about 300-500 miles before replacing them. It’s important that you do replace them once they get beat up and after you’re done going through this site, oh boy, they WILL GET BEAT UP!

As for the basics for clothing, you want to purchase clothes for running; known as technical apparel. This includes anything that is closer to your body than regular clothing such as a sports bra, tights, etc. Think Under Armour clothing in terms of how close and tight it is.

These type of clothes are perfect for running because it keeps you dry and doesn’t let the sweat kill your run…or your mood (being drenched in sweat isn’t the best feeling in the world). As a “noobie”, you’re going to sweat because you’re going to get challenged and if you buy tech clothing, you will get used to feeling nice and cool instead of hot, exhausted and ready for a McFlurry.

I highly suggest you pick up as much technical clothing as you can afford for training because it does help you stay focused and not feel dragged down by your clothes as it is light weight.

Finding a Plan Just for YOU

Beginners are known to be ambitious because there is a level of confidence and a level of underestimation towards the sport.”It’s running. BIG DEAL! I used to run a lot during high school and I know I can run for 30 minutes; no problem. Fogeddaboutit (Italian accent)” I thought like that and started training. After the second week, I was aching all over not because I couldn’t run, but didn’t realize how much of a beating your body takes without the right shoes, clothes, rest, etc.

Now, to choose a plan for you, YOU need to look at your level of experience. I emphasize “you” because this is no job for anyone else. At this point you need to realize where you are as a runner and assess which level of difficulty will allow you to build a solid foundation and achieve the goal you wrote down from above (you did write it down right…) If you are a true beginner, consider a lighter plan in terms of intensity which requires more walking or run-walking (walking for the majority of the time and running short intervals) and less continuous running. In the beginning, you really want to go stick with your plan and if you’re really struggling, work up to walking for 20-30 minutes. If you consider yourself a runner who has been around the block a few times, no pun intended, then consider taking on a more intensive plan.

Many beginners start to train and realize they can’t perform this week’s increased intensity level. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. Simply stretch your program out another week with last week’s schedule so you can feel more confident and rest to be prepared for the following week.

Running Blueprint is working on a program, just for beginners that will take you from the lazy couch potato you are to the finish line faster than you can say Super-cali-fragilistic-expialidocious. Do look out for that in your email. In the next article of this series, I will teach you how to warm up, stretch, pace yourself and enjoy the workout to really get the most out of each workout.

To summarize, you need to set goals and understand why you are running instead of running just “because you have to”. Next, you need to purchase and use the right shoes for running as well as the right clothes, known as technical clothing. Lastly, choose the right plan for YOU. You don’t want to overdo it to land back on the couch to start watching Oprah and Dr.Phil (two hours of your life…gone!)There are two more articles in these series so stay tuned and start training based on your answer for number 2.

Here’s the next article in the series: Beginner’s Guide to Distance Running Training – Day 2/3