After taking some time off. I'm getting back to work on my marathon training. It's funny-after all of the progress I've seen it can still be intimidating to get back into it. I feel like a beginner again. In this light, it's probably a good idea to review the basics, the key tips that helped me to push through beginner's anxiety and find my stride (somewhat).
- Shoes: Sounds shallow, but is totally key. If your shoes are wrong for you, it's going to affect your feet, then ankles, knees, hips back, all the way up. Lost of people start out with shoes that don't provide support and are just too heavy. Running shoes can be expensive, but well worth the investment. Anyone who has started out with crummy shoes and traded up (like me) can testify to this.
- Posture: Good posture takes a bunch of pressure off of your back and opens up your lungs to help you breath better. Running while you lean forward may feel natural, but you're going to hate it after a few minutes. Someone told me to "run like you want your junk to cross the finish line first". It's kind of awful, but it's a good way to remember to keep your back straight and hips forward. At least it's hard to forget.
- Gait: My natural running style was to take big 'ol strides and try to take the fewest steps possible. Wrong! What you want to do is take a lot of smaller steps. A high "turnover" or stride rate is an indicator of a strong runner. Try to have your foot fall just in front of your body and minimize your bouncing.
- Effort: When you're starting out, take it easy. Run for a while, then walk a bit. Then run again. What you don't want to do is wear yourself out and dread the next run. Just do the miles that you planned at your own pace and enjoy it. Make it so you look forward to your next workout.
- Stretch: A lot. I like to stretch right after my run, but a lot of people run for a half mile or so, stretch, and then finish out their run as well. The key is, make sure you do it. You don't want to tighten up and pull something when you start out. Here's a link to a few good stretching routines:
That's a pretty good start, I'll try to keep this stuff in mind tomorrow when I get going again.
