Spring is in the air! Now is the time to – finally – make your way outside from the cooped-up winter season.
5 Running Tips for Beginners
Spring is in the air! And with it, the inevitable flood of finish line photos and 5K invites from your runner friends is coming back. Now is the time to – finally – make your way outside from the cooped-up winter season.
So let’s say this is the year you want to tackle your first race? It can be intimidating at first, but once you cross that finish like, every ounce of training will feel worth it. But it’s worth it. On the other side of food writing, I’ve lost 40 pounds since I picked up running and still do it today. There are plenty of guides online, but here are a few hints that will help you tackle that race:
- Work your way up to it. I could run less than half a mile when I started training for my first half marathon. You don’t expect to tackle the whole length of the race immediately; start with a short run and build up over a course of weeks.
- Don’t shoot for a fast time on your first race. Just aim to finish the race. A big part of running is overcoming the mind game. And you don’t know how you’ll perform if you’ve never run a race. Just focus on finishing your first one. Once you know what you’re doing you can go for a certain time.
- Fuel right: Staying hydrated is absolutely vital. Increase your intake of water in the few days leading up to the race – you’ll need it for the run. Diet wise, get some protein in your system a day or two before, enjoy come carbohydrates the night before the race, and maybe a small snack when you wake up on race day.
- After you cross the finish line – keep walking. The inevitable soreness comes as lactic acid builds up in your muscles. Keep walking for 10-15 minutes after the race and it will go a long way toward reducing soreness.
- The first few miles are the hardest: Getting up to the point where you can run three miles is tough. But don’t let it discourage you from going further. At that point, it gets easier. You’re building a new type of muscle for distance running, and it can tackle longer runs more easily.
