Tips for Beginner Runners

The new year is on the horizon, and you have decided you are going to take up running! Great! Here are some tips to help you ease into a new sport carefully, so that you reduce injury risk, build as a runner, and have fun. Be patient and remember to accept that you can’t be an expert in anything overnight. Enjoy the journey and learn from your experience.

  • Start where you are! Nobody begins as an expert. If day #1 is literally day #1, simply start from today. Keep all running to a 4-5 out of 10 perceived exertion for the first 3-6 weeks to carefully build up strength and adaption to stress. You’ll be improving cardio strength, bone density, stamina and build mitochondria. Most of us start by running way too fast, and our bodies skip a very important step. Even if you can only hold your run for 1 minute – start there. Walk/runs are a normal place for many people to start. Alternating walk/runs for 20-30 minutes per day, 3-4X per week, and you’ll be surprised how quickly you’ll adapt.
  • Consistency is key – just like with anything new. Put your runs on your calendar with meetings and social events. Prioritize and then carve out that time to running. If motivation is necessary, recruit a running buddy for the journey, or listen to a podcast you love while running.
  • Don’t compare yourself to other runners! You don’t know their journey. But you do know yours. It’s new and in it’s infancy. Enjoy this new adventure.
  • Buy actual running shoes. Running can be a low-tech and fairly inexpensive sport, but investing in the right footwear can be a game changer with comfort and injury-prevention. While there’s no magic shoe for everyone, your magic shoe is one that feels like “home,” and supports the demands and needs of your body.
  • Once you’ve built some consistent runs throughout the week for 4-6 weeks, it’s time to start extending the long run and tossing in some speedier efforts. The long run should always be at an easy/comfortable pace, and you’ll build endurance by learning to spend extended time on your feet. Aim to increase long runs by 15-20 minutes, or 2 miles. Enough where it’s a reach, but not so much where it’s a shock to the system. Plan to build the long run for 3 weeks, pull back for one, and then rebuild.
  • Celebrate little victories! We don’t see or feel changes due to a new routine overnight. It takes a little time to adapt and grow. So don’t focus on the instant gratification. Instead, focus on that day or that week, and then own that accomplishment of successfully completing your runs!
  • Be mindful of hydration and nutritional changes. The odds are good you’ll need more water while embarking on a run journey than you did before. Sip water throughout the day, and be sure to hydrate after every run. It’s not necessary to drink throughout a run that lasts under 90 minutes if you go into it well hydrated. Always plan to refuel after your runs with a meal or snack that includes some carbs and protein to help aid recovery.
  • Rest days are important. While obviously you can’t run sporadically and get better, you adapt to the hard work while you rest. So get sleep. Get in 2-3 total rest days per week while starting out, spread throughout the week. It’s tempting to go balls to the wall. While that motivation and drive is great, it can lead to overtraining injuries and burnout – both of which can often be avoided.
  • Mix it up. Take a different route. Run inside and outside. Take a treadmill class (like with me at Mile High Run Club!). Recruit a running buddy. Switch up the time of day you run. You don’t know in the early stages what’s your best groove, so mix it up until you find it.
  • Have fun and set a distant goal! This should be an activity that brings something positive to your life, and enriches you. Not every run will be rainbows and unicorns, but most of the runs should feel physically and mentally good. Perhaps sign up for a 5K or 10K race in a few months and recruit your friends. Race in costume. Set a time goal. This sport is unique to you, so make it yours!

Setting New Goals for a New Year, Successfully!

corky-2816As one calendar year is about to come to a close and we look to the New Year, fitness and health frequently take center stage. This is often a time of reflection on the previous year – races, health, nutrition, happiness, and a time of anticipation and dreams for the future – getting health or weight on track, attempting your first race, working to set new personal race records, trying a new sport, dropping a dress size, sweating on a daily basis, gaining muscle, eating a balanced diet – the dreams and possibilities are endless!

While sorting through your goals, I recommend you do a few things in order to better your odds of succeeding:

  • Be honest about your level of dedication/commitment to change – and what kind of change. It may be a million times easier to achieve a 30 minute walk per day for you, than to consume over 10 servings of fruits/veggies per day – for example.
  • Be patient, and take your goals one day at a time. You are a human being, so expecting a perfect track record is dooming yourself off the bat. While focusing on each day, do have a clear goal for a few weeks, months or years from now. Each day of success will take you a step closer towards that goal or milestone.
  • Ask for help. Very few humans can hold themselves 100% accountable for real change. Rely on a friend, hire a coach/trainer, or use social media or a journal to help your accountability. Meetup groups can also be helpful.
  • Change takes time. Don’t expect to see or feel a huge difference within a day or week. However, you’ll be surprised the difference you’ll notice in a month or two!
  • Trying something new may not be right for you. Or perhaps what you try won’t be the right fit. Perhaps kickboxing is a better fit than ballroom dancing, for example. We are all different, so don’t feel bad if what you initially try isn’t the right thing! Move on and be fearless in what you try.
  • When creating a race goal, be sure to give yourself enough time to be successful! Also be sure any additional races you add to your schedule are supportive of that big goal and not destructive. A big PR in a marathon you flop on your schedule for 12 weeks from now is not wise. Understand your goals the time and work they’ll require.
  • Laugh, have fun and get creative with your goals. Not every day will be easy or fun, but I’m a firm believer that we stick to something we like, and that brings positive change to our lives. Life is too short to be unhappy or dissatisfied. See the humor and fun in everything you can!
  • Toss out the negative. Recognize triggers, and kick them to a curb. Perhaps it’s your daily mid-morning baked good from the office kitchen, or that friend who guilts you into ditching your run for happy hour each week. Everything is a choice, but you can make those choices easier by breaking bad habits, relationships and influences.

If or when you fall off your goals (remember – you are human!), simply pick yourself back up and try again. Just be sure to not do the same thing and expect a different result. You don’t need a New Year to spring into your goals. Tomorrow is just as good as January 1st.

Fad Frenzy and Detox Domination

28200_574974599374_24301763_33376923_2796281_nThe New Year always brings with it an odd array of health choices. My twitter, FB and Instagram accounts are flooded with the good, the bad and the ugly. I’ve blogged about the topic of fads, detox supplements, and all that loony business, but apparently America is still full of suckers willing to drop their dime on any possible “too good to be true” gimmick. America, STOP IT. Seriously. You are smarter than this. I totally understand wanting to buy into Dr. Oz’s newest “miracle whatever,” or some Buzzfeed trend started by someone who received some sort of Nutrition Certification online, and therefore is “the voice of science.” Again, STOP IT. Do I need to reach through my computer and shake you?!?

Okay, so some of you are shouting “yes, Coach Corky – preach!!!,” while the rest of you are like “but I read somewhere, or so-and-so swears by…., etc.” Take a deep breath. I am going to assume that you are all intelligent people. I am also going to assume that you work hard for your dollars and are not looking to go out of your way to waste your hard-earned cash. Let’s also just agree that the health/fitness/weight loss industries are multibillion dollar industries. Because that’s true. And that’s a lot of dollar bills.

Let me also just remind you all that for YEARS, I was one of those Americans after the quick fix, and would drop money on anything promising a miracle. I cannot tell you how much money I spent on diet pills in college. College. When I was super poor. Or the money spent of different colon cleanses, detoxes, juice cleanses – you name it, I probably bought into it. If a talk show doctor mentioned some miracle whatever, I was that hopeful person that thought maybe this was the answer I’d been searching for. Why? Because I was unhappy with my body and had zero self-confidence. I also thought that anything “detox” or “cleanse” was truly beneficial and healthy. When you are desperate, you will grasp at straws. So please understand when I say I have been that desperate American who tossed science and logic aside when tempted by trends, and I didn’t care to stop and question what was being promoted. Truthfully, a small part of me wanted to assume that not everyone would sell lies – something being marketed had to be the real deal, right?!?

Okay, so back to today. If you are tempted to try a juice fast, oil pulling, no GMO, sugar-free diet, etc., be the smart person that you are and DO YOUR RESEARCH. And I don’t mean “go find websites that back up what you want to hear.” No. I mean look for medical journals, articles posted by doctors (NOT celebrity doctors!), and reach multiple sources. Anybody can post their thoughts and theories on the internet. It’s your job to be skeptical and play Devil’s Advocate. If I wrote an article swearing by the “Ice Cream Diet,” gave reasons why it worked, and then listed my credentials, it could very possibly become the next fad. Which obviously is ridiculous, right? Right. But come on, that would sound amazing. If you are still confused, pick up an anatomy book. If you knew anything about the body, you’d know toxins aren’t something you can “detox” with a cleanse – you have organs in your body that do a brilliant job keeping your body clean and healthy without your insane desire to interfere. Your personal doctor is the only one qualified to suggest you interfere or change your body’s natural process.

Okay, so now some of you are going to swear that your detox, oil pulling, cayenne pepper, juicing, whatever is making you feel like a million bucks! You have more energy, your skin is softer, you have lost weight, etc. – you will swear your magical new lifestyle is working. Guess what? It probably isn’t. What are you experiencing? One of a few things. The placebo effect should not be underestimated. You WANT your product or new lifestyle to work, so you are already looking for every possible sign that pill is what’s making something better. Or you are losing water and poop weight (sorry, it’s true!) if you are on a cleanse of some kind, so obviously with less stuff in your gut you’ll weigh less. This is temporary. And if you are in fact, actually feeling better, it probably isn’t due to the one thing you are doing but how that shift in choices is altering the rest of your life. For example, if you are juicing for breakfast, perhaps that is replacing your typical breakfast of processed junk – so of COURSE you are going to feel better – you are starting your day with something nutrient-dense instead of empty. Most people also find that if they make smart and healthy choices for breakfast, they are more likely to eat healthy the rest of the day.

I implore that instead of funding the fads and trends of the health/fitness/weight loss world, toss your money where you KNOW it will do good. Eat a balanced diet filled with fresh fruits and vegetables. Go to the gym and be active every day. Get 8 hours of sleep per night. Drink lots of water. Despite what everyone out there in the media wants you to think, there is never a quick fix that will give you longterm results.

In the end, you’ll just end up frustrated and with less $$$$ in your pockets if you chase after the fads. Instead, always seek out the advice of a professional you trust. And there is absolutely no reason why a smart person should trust the likes of Dr. Oz or anyone in his circle and making money off our desperation. Your best resource is a doctor or nutritionist you trust, who doesn’t have endorsements, a book, or other financial incentives to swing their advice.