Running in the rain isn’t the most popular time runners want to get out on the road. Most runners prefer running on a warm, beautiful, sunny day rather than a dark depressing one, me included. But, my mindset towards running in this weather changed after I said “You know, screw it! I’m gonna go for the run anyways!”

photo credit: rajeshkunnath

Let me back up a bit. Here in Toronto, there is a Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon going on. Walking around downtown and around the venue, I saw herds of runners nervous, excited and exhilarated for the marathon. For some marathoners, running in the rain can be intimidating because they might have not done it before.

It really is challenging IF (and this is a big if) you make it challenging. There are a lot of excuses we feed ourselves and confuse the mind to make it absolutely ok for you not to run. So instead of continuing to feeding your mind crap, I want to transform your perspective of running in the rain and why this will actually help your running.

Here are 7 reasons you should run in the rain:

1. You train yourself in challenging situations that allow you to overcome challenging periods of your marathon.
2. You will be physically more comfortable in different weather conditions as well as more layers (this is true for the  freezing, cold marathons early in the morning that transform into a beautiful day halfway through your race.
3. The relaxing shower after really feels like no other. At the end of the shower, you feel renewed.
4. It will clean your shoes so you don’t have to :)
5. There is no one else running – while everyone else is feeding themselves a buffet of excuses, you are “trimming down” and training to run your next PR!
6. You will become tougher physically and mentally – EXCUSES BE GONE!
7. If you get cold, there’s only one thing you can do to make yourself warmer: keep running!

There are literally hundreds of reasons why you should and will run in the rain and for every runner, there is a unique answer. Find the reason why you like running. Maybe it’s the beautiful sounds of the water or the feeling of tranquility when you run in a fall trail path.

Whatever it is, use your reason to get the most out of it as a motivator to get you out running in the rain.

Leveraging the REALLY important information that you get from a race calculator is nothing to overlook. There are far too many runners who run with a “blind fold on” in terms of how they train and their methods of measuring the progress, if any.

photo credit: lunay

I talked to you about using a running log and why you are pretty much wasting your time and effort if you don’t keep track of your running. But running logs aren’t what we’re talking about today. I wanted to introduce you to a resource that will help you understand what pace you should be running at realistically.

“Slow Down There!”

Do you know the pace you have to run to be able to actually finish your marathon? If you don’t know the right pace to run on for your marathon, there’s a high chance that you will work yourself too hard too early. This will lead to a lot of negative effects on your run and I hate to say it but those runners won’t finish the race.

On race day, there are a lot factors that can influence you that can instantly change your attitude, your mindset and even your goals of the marathon! Something that you should have planned well in advance is your pace to run the marathon.

At the beginning of the marathon, everyone begins to run fast so they can “keep up” with the rest of the pack. This is a HUGE mistake! Go back and read that sentence again: at the beginning of the marathon, everyone begins to run fast so they can “keep up” with the rest of the pack. The same runners who have trained for a 9 minute pace are trying to keep up with elite marathoners that have trained rigorously over the years for a 6 minute pace.

How in the world is that 9 minute pace runner going to survive the whole marathon? Eventually, that runner will get exhausted much faster than he/she expected to and ultimately, disappoint themselves. My goal with this post is to eliminate that possibility by sharing the right tool to perform your best; a race calculator.

The “Go-To” Resource For Calculating Your Pace

The biggest determinant of your pace for the marathon will be your past runs. If you have already ran similar distances, such as the long 18 miler, you know the pace you were running for that specific run. Based on that data alone, you possess the ability to project your pace on marathon day.

There are a variety of tools that you can use to calculate your pace but I’m going to recommend the McMillan Running Calculator. This calculator is developed by Greg McMillan who holds a Masters degree in Physiology.

How the McMillan Running Calculator Works

You type in your best time for a distance, for this example we’ll use 10k. So you input your time of 62 minutes (1 hr|2 mins) and the calculator will show you that your pace for the 10k is 9:58 mins/mile. This means that with your current fitness level, you pace for the marathon is 11:07 mins/mile.

You can now see why knowing this key figure will help you save energy and help prevent from getting too excited ;)

Also, by having a specific number in mind, your goal is more concrete simply because a random number, like 10 mins, doesn’t as much meaning as 9:58. You can also take this information for training for your long runs.

During your long runs, your pace won’t be as fast as well as a 10k obviously because of the longer distance. But, instead of arbitrary setting a goal for your long run, you can estimate the range in which you need to run your long runs through the system McMillan has created.

Right below the main stats, there is a table called “Endurance Workouts”. Look at the “long runs” row and you’ll see that based on this fitness level of finishing a 10k in 62 minutes, the range for finishing a long run is 11:37-12:37 minutes.

The biggest issue with anything I recommend you to try is acting on it. Just because calculating this process is easy and takes very little effort, don’t just brush it off. Take your target pace and periodically compare it to your pace during your training.

If you get used to watching your pace before the marathon, checking it during the marathon will feel natural rather than like a distraction.

PS: What were your results with the McMillan Running Calculator? What’s the pace you need to run during your marathon? Do you think it’s doable?

Many people get introduced to running because of the low costs to start with the sport. All you truly need is a great pair of running shoes and you’re ready. But in a recent article, Runner’s World mentioned of an economist named Justin Wolfers.

In an essay Mr. Wolfers authored which you can read and listen to over here, he argues:

Runners World magazine recently argued that marathon running is an incredibly cheap sport. [ED: We did?] All you need is a pair of shoes, and you’re off and running. But they’re wrong.

You see, they were emphasizing the out-of-pocket cost, which is small. But the foundation of all economics is something called opportunity cost. It says that the true cost of something is the alternative you have to give up.

So each hour that I spend running is an hour that I don’t spend hanging out, working, or sleeping. … By my calculations my 16-week training program comes at an opportunity cost of several thousand dollars.

photo credit: apesara

First off, even though this makes perfect economical sense, I give my happiness much more value than a monetary amount. I do respect Mr. Wolfers opinions but come on man! What I have gained physically, emotionally and spiritually from running, I can honestly put no monetary value on. On top of that, I have learned more about myself through running because of my failures.

Sure, there are sometimes that you could do other activities that may give you more value than running. It could be something like reading an article for that big meeting tomorrow or watching the season finale of Fringe (…maybe not). But, there are times where running is the best thing you could do for yourself to get grounded.

When I went through some tough times where I had a lot on my plate, I would resort to running. That period of time that I would run felt like a “pause on life”. Nothing else matters at that point except relaxing.

Maybe I’m being too harsh on this perspective on running but I believe there’s a fine line where my health comes before money. I wouldn’t give up any physical activities that keep me feeling fresh and alive just so I can make more money.

But take this same perspective of how much your training will “cost” you and take a look at your journey to the marathon. Do you believe that you will be able to successfully run this marathon? Are you committed to put in the time and effort into training for your next marathon?

The reason you need to answer these questions honestly is because you don’t want to waste your time with something YOU don’t believe in. There is no such thing as you’re too old to run or too fat to run; these are all excuses. We all have infinite potential but to tap into that potential, you need to believe that you can accomplish the goals that you set out for yourself.

There is a lot of talk on choosing worthy goals that will have a great return in the long run but are your goals worthy of you? That is what I want to leave you with today. Get a clearer reason behind why you are running your next race. If you are just running because you kinda-sorta want to …you are going to flush those “thousands of dollars” in no time amigo.

Using a running log so you’re not running without a purpose

Running a marathon takes hard work, dedication and sacrifice of time. You are literally running a few hundred miles in preparation for one day on the big stage. Do you want to lay the foundation and build up high on it or do you just want to get running over and done with?

Laying the foundation and building on it relies of learning the correct running principles, proper running attire, sound nutrition, and hydration. If you haven’t read the three part series on training for your next race, read that because it starts you with running on the right foot.

photo credit: Darwin Bell

Tracking your results after each training session will really put your training in perspective when you look back and see what you have accomplished over the weeks. If you aren’t keeping a running log of some sort, you are honestly wasting your time. If you don’t track your training session, you aren’t equipped with the right information that will help you run a better marathon.

Here’s an example:

In Week 1 of your training, you ran Day 1. You come home after an exhausting 3 mile run, take a shower and rest it off. Let’s imagine as if you didn’t record any data from your run. In week 2 on Day 8, you go out for your 3 mile run and you don’t record the data. Even at this early stage of your training, you can’t even compare your Day 1 results to the Day 8 results.

You don’t know the paces you ran at on Day 1 and Day 8 nor how much faster you went. Even if you take out the speed component, you haven’t recorded if there was anything that might have affected your running results. If there was a spasm in your left shoulder blade at the 2 mile mark on Day 1, you don’t remember what part of the race it hurt or you might have forgot about it already.

The point is that if you don’t know how much you improved in week 2 compared to week 1, how would you compare your progression in training by week 14? How does this uncertainty affect your mental attitude towards finishing the marathon?

What Do I Write Man?

There are a two main pieces of information you want to put into your running log:

1. Distance
2. Time

These two pieces of information are very important but to really reap the benefits of a training log, you can put in a little more. Come on, don’t be lazy now :P

Some of data you could put in are the weather conditions, intensity, mood and energy before run and last but definitely not least, issues while running. The more information the better but there is definitely a limit and you don’t want to spend too much time on it.

My favourite (yeah, that’s the Canadian spelling…get used to it) component of the reflecting on my running is writing down the issues I faced while running. I usually do this in a journal rather than a log because I liked to get a little more detailed. Nonetheless, this component is important to my running because I can look back on the issues I faced and can attempt to find a solution to problem.

Where Do I Track All Of This?

There are literally hundreds of running logs you can use track you training. There are two main methods of tracking: online or through physical writing.

The Online Go-To Resource

I will go in depth on choosing the right online resource for your running but in the meantime, I recommend you start with Trainingpeaks. There is a slight learning curve but in the beginning, stick to the basics and as you play around more often with this amazing online software. You will realize how you can leverage this priceless tool for this marathon but for future marathons where you will want to get stronger and faster than you are today.

Physical Running Logs

There are many running logs that you can download all over the net. I created a FREE printable running log which you can track your running weekly, monthly and yearly. You can download it from the excel file below by Right-Clicking the logo and “Save Target As”:

Simply right down as much information as you can into the boxes provided in the running logs after your run. I have now given you the fundamental tools to track your running without any excuse. Instead of making the “writing down” part a chore you do after running, make it a ritual; a habit if you will. If you make the recording process a habit, then you will have no troubles keeping up with your progress.

Best of Luck!

PS: Have you experienced the benefit of using a running log in the past? Share what you found to be the most important part.

To relieve the stress of a tiring day, a form of meditation, body meditation, will help your running in the long run. After a long day of getting the kids ready for school, working you @$$ off at work and coming home to, well…more work, there needs to be an outlet to reduce all the stress. This is why there are so many people who love running. After a long day of activities, they can go for a run to meditate by reflecting on their day.

photo credit: Stephen Poff

You can look back on your day and ask – what were the highlights of the day? victories? losses? regrets? situations to learn from? When you run, you pump more oxygen throughout your body especially the brain. With more oxygen in your brain, the brain performs at its best which is the perfect time for you to clear your mind and get yourself refreshed for tomorrow.

If you have never went out for a run like this, I hope you experience what thousands of runners feel daily to refresh themselves physically, emotionally as well as spiritually. To meditate, you must be aware while running.

Awareness While Running

This is easier said than done. Focus on body sensing (a concept from ChiRunning: A Revolutionary Approach to Effortless, Injury-Free Running) which really means to interpret the signals your body is hinting at as you’re running and making the right adjustments to relieve any stress or pain. Body sensing alone takes discipline and practice. But sensing the signals of your body isn’t the only thing I want you to be aware of to run for meditation.  There are two components that I want you to focus on when running to meditate: internal environment and external environment.

Internal Environment

Being consciously aware of your body alone will begin to make your running feel effortless. Ask yourself: have you ever been aware of where you are running, the feeling of the ground/trail you’re running on, the awareness of your aches and pains in your body and even the taste in your mouth? It might be a weird question but think about it. Even right now, you’re sitting in front of your desktop/laptop reading this but do you feel the sensations in your body? Do you feel the tingling sensation in your feet? Or an ache in your neck?

I have practiced conditioning myself to be aware of these feelings and instantly, I feel as if I have more control in my results in terms of distance, the intensity I run at and how I feel at the end of the run. I am nowhere close to mastering the awareness of my internal environment but I encourage you to do become aware and feel the effect it has on your running in the long-term. On your next run, start running and start focusing on your body: what sensations do you feel in your body?

External Environment

After you are consciously aware of your body and all the sensations, now take it another step to become aware of what’s around you? Have you ever been of aware of what is around you in terms of lights, types of homes, the different people, and the path you’re running on? What do you hear? What other sounds are there in your running environment? What scents do you smell in the air?

When you become more aware of what’s around you, you will find that you become more agile and receptive to any changes or obstacles you face while running. I noticed that I would recover much faster from a misstep or prevent it completely when I’m aware of my environment. Once you are mentally grounded and completely aware of what’s around you, you’ll feel as if running has changed for the better.

Each one of those questions are small components of creating awareness that might not have such a drastic impact alone but when those question are compounded and they work together, they have a noticeable effect that will benefit the quality of your training which will translate into your results on race day.

Questions to Ask Yourself

Next time you go out on your run, learn to be more aware of your internal and external environment. Focus on these five questions at 4-5 minute intervals:

1. What kind of sensations do I feel in my body?
2. What sounds do I hear other than my own running?
3. What do I see around me?
4. What taste do I have in my mouth?
5. What kinds of scents (smell) are there around me?

photo credit: h.koppdelaney

By going through the five senses, you become aware of your internal and external environment and run much more comfortably. Also, for those runners who are experienced with marathons, after becoming more aware of your environments, I’m sure that your training sessions will be much more effective in terms of what you will learn about your running habits, the good and the bad, and what you can do to make the bad habits into positive ones.

PS: Practice meditative running on your next run and come back to tell us what you experienced :)

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?

Without knowing when to workout, you’re running workouts aren’t going to do anything for you in the long run. The best method to use each of your workouts properly is by using a proven program by a running authority which will almost guarantee success.

The reason why you need to chose a program is because once you have chosen a program from one of the resources below, you are committing yourself to a that program and have no excuses in terms of how you need to train.

Before choosing a marathon training schedule, make sure you take into consideration your experience level as a runner. You don’t want to choose a program that your body isn’t capable on handling. Choosing advanced running workouts when you are a novice runner, you are going to screw up your body by training it far too hard.

Below are resources where you can find the right marathon training program for you to use your running workouts in the best manner:

Hal Higdon

• Link to Novice Marathon Training Schedule
• Link to Intermediate1 Marathon Training Schedule
• Link to Intermediate 2 Marathon Training Schedule
• Link to Advanced 1 Marathon Training Schedule
• Link to Advanced 2 Marathon Training Schedule

Jeff Galloway

• Link to Galloway’s Marathon Training Schedule

There are many programs out there but these two are some of the main resources. If you used any other marathon training programs, let me know and I’ll add it to this list.

PS: What have been your experiences with any of these marathon training schedules?

photo credit: terriseesthings

If you think you’re too old to run a marathon, think again! There are many people out there, just like you, who dream of running a marathon and do it. On the other side of the spectrum, there are people who get past the 50 years milestone and it all goes downhill: more aches, more pains, sickness, etc. Why does this happen? Is it really caused by your age or is it your mindset towards your life?

There are thousands of people that decide to take the leap and run a marathon each and every year. Many of those thousands are people over the age of 50. You still may not be convinced. I want to illustrate the power of the mindset towards running by sharing a story with you of a woman who accomplished just what we’re talking about today: she ran a marathon…at age 65!

I came across a story of a woman, Cammy Wesson-Cohen, who dreamed of running a marathon after she saw one of her friends running the Rock ‘n’ Roll marathon and decided that she was going to do it. She was always fit and active but as life progressed, she got caught up in things to do and just pushed her health to the “to-do list” (does that ring a bell?)

Cammy’s Story

I want you to read this story, understand Cammy’s mindset and how she fulfilled her dream.

Cammy shared one of her mindsets in terms of time training for the marathon:

“I just knew it was going to take me longer and I wasn’t going to compete with the fast guys.”

When you will run your first marathon, keep one thing in mind: just finish. Don’t get caught up in the pace, and the speed that everyone else is measuring up with. Run your own marathon without caring of what speeds other runners are running at.

I hope you enjoy the story and take to heart what is your are capable of.

PS: Talking to your physician regularly is a necessity but what is your biggest concern with running your next marathon? Is it injury? Is it failing to complete the marathon? What is stopping you from running your next marathon?

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