How to Get Started Running

Ron Bowman: Hi! I am Ron Bowman and we are going to be talking about beginning running tips. First of all we are talking about how to get started. To get started there are some things that you need to set up first. You want to set your goals. Short-term, long-term and mid-term. Now those goals can be of any length that you choose. An example of a long-term goal might be to lose weight. But I have a some caution there, running is not necessarily the best way to lose weight. It's combination between exercise and diet. So what you might look at for a long term goal is better fitness. A by-product of that and a by-product of running will be losing weight. A caution though that you may actually gain some weight when you run but I will guarantee you, you will look better even if you have couple of pounds higher. A mid-term goal might be selecting a local 5K. The one that is near you, that's easy to get to, isn't too expensive. One that your family and friends can go and support you with. One thing there that you want to do is sign up early. A lot of these races are close out and you don't want to be shut of your goal race. A short term goal might be getting your run in for that day or for the week. Or just making sure that you work on a particular aspect of your running. Find a local beginning running program. Check it out. Ask the graduates how they liked it. Did they achieve their goals? Make sure the coaches or coach is certified. There are a lot of pseudo coaches out there that will teach by the Patch Adams method, with funny hats and things like that, but aren't really going to be giving you what you want to get out of your program. Whether you use a coach, a program or do it yourself you need a plan. Have a schedule that matches with your schedule, your work, family and other hobbies that you want to include. A good starting plan is to run twice or three times a week with a longer run on the weekend. But on those off days, make sure you do some cross training. Swim, walk, strength training, bike, yoga, something like that that keeps your body moving and gets your heart rate up. And those are some of the things that you want to think about to get started. Next we will talk about some of the gear that you will need.