THE BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO RUNNING . .
BY A BEGINNER!
This is a case of 'if I knew then, what I know now how different it would have been'. Running is one of those things that we all believe we can do, come on, we were hunter gatherers (so they say) who ran after our dinner! It's natural to us, it is what we were designed to do!! Or is it?
Honesty is the best policy and all that, so to start I will tell you I am a beginner on the running side of things. I have been trying to become a runner for over 8 months, but, due to following the advice of those in the know . . I have failed (for the record the fault is mine NOT the running sites, they give superb, solid information) I shall explain myself.
In this article I will explain why there is more to this running lark than meets the eye (and knee), how we allow ourselves to be duped into the belief we can just buy a pair of running shoes and off we go!
It all has to start with a basic understanding, we all, more or less, fall into two very general categories; those that have always been into sport from childhood, in the team both track and field, loving every minute of it, kept it up for their whole lives, some even going on to become professional athletes. Then there are the other category (I'm waving) the ones that were never picked for the team, that could never hit the rounders ball, win the race or jump very high. We may have happily enjoyed ourselves, we may have even given it our all, but, we were just crap at sport and as soon as we left school happily uncoupled ourselves from the fitness train and got on with life.
The first group will have very few, to no problems, they may over run, they may even stuff up nutritionally but generally speaking, they will have no worries picking up the baton again and setting off.
Then there is my group. We reach a certain age and reality gently strokes our hair (or blatantly throttles us) and explains that if we don't get fit, we are going to have a lot of problems in our dotage. So, what better thing to do than re-start doing what our bodies (allegedly) are built for? It's the best way to get lean and toned . . isn't it? So we put on our old trainers, read some articles by the experts and off we go. . . here is the absolute kicker, all articles I have read miss out one very important paragraph at the beginning. don't get me wrong the training schedules they give you like couch to 5k are superb and yes they do work, but there is a lurking undertow that is going to suck you under unless you take heed to my next paragraph.
If you have never done running/exercise before there is a slim to huge chance that you are going to bugger up your knees/ankles/hips within about a year UNLESS you do some, preferably ALL, of the following things.
DO YOU HAVE A PAST INJURY?
If you have ever had an injury in the past, it doesn't need to be a huge one, and you believe it has stopped hurting/bothering you a sport like running may soon tell you otherwise. DO NOT get me wrong here, running is GREAT especially at letting you know exactly how many problems you need to address.
FROM HEAD TO TOE
A huge misnomer is that a sore shoulder is a problem just with the shoulder . . NOooooooo, a sore shoulder can be a problem with your hips, knees, ankles or all three. Think of this simply, we are bones covered in joiny together bits that are moved by contracting and releasing fibres. These bits are all interconnected like a woolly jumper, and if a bit of thread goes at the top, the whole thing may unravel unless mended quickly.
Putting it simply we need to balance our bodies before we begin.
HOW ONE THING ALWAYS LEADS TO ANOTHER IN YOUR BODY?
In the dark and distant past I had suffered for years with my leg that would give out under me without any warning, at the time and over about 3 years I was told I had sciatica and a plethora of other things and there was nothing to be done. BOO. Luckily I happened upon a knowing physiotherapist where I used to live who got me to lay down, as I did so he just laughed and said
"Have you ever noticed that when you lay down one leg is longer than the other?"
I had not, in fact at that time I would not have even thought about looking at my feet when I was laying down. It turned out this 'sciatica' was in fact an imbalance in how I walked ie I favoured one leg over the other and strode out on it, thus causing the imbalance. After only 1 month of little exercises CURED!
Then last year I was at my new physiotherapists after having enormous pain in my shoulder . . .funnily enough I had just started learning to run (coincidence . . not), it turned out that an old injury from a car crash a couple of years before was showing it's ugly head and my spine had to be re-adjusted.
Move on a month and a bit, and everything has settled down, I have done my exercises and once again set off to learn how to run . . then the big one . . I started getting pain in my left knee, I put this down to being a beginner and looked it up on pro running sites to read it was normal to get little niggles, aches and pains when you first start. So I carried on running. Then one morning whilst doing my beloved Hindu Squats a pain shot through my leg that quite literally brought me to my knees in tears. Went to the doctors who told me I had a broken patella, was taken to hospital for an x-ray to be told that I didn't need one and the last doctor was an idiot, I had not broken my patella but I needed . . PHYSIO. So I phoned the department up and they emailed me some re-hab exercises. I was a bit taken aback they didn't actually need to see me to assess me, but hey ho. Whilst I was on the phone to the physio man I asked a serious question (so I thought)
"Are my injuries connected in any way and is there a set of exercises that I should do to prevent/treat them as one?"
Ohhhh how he laughed and told me not to be daft, of course there were not such a thing!
On putting the phone down, my mind told me, in no uncertain terms, not to believe the piece of information I had just received. So started digging about, reading other articles and watching YouTube videos. Turns out its Physio bloke 0 Me 1. Yes all my injuries were indeed because of an imbalance in my body, and running had brought it all to the fore.
So how do you address all your body?
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Trigger Point Therapy using
Trigger Point Massage Ball |
Answer? Yoga and I also found out about trigger point manipulation ie using a hard rubber ball to ease tension in muscles (see link at the bottom for more info). Find a yoga book like The Complete Yoga Book and make out a routine that stretches and manipulates every set of muscles in your body. You don't have to do it all at once you could have a day concentrating on stretching your hands (very overlooked part of the body, yet the one we use the most), arms and shoulders, then another day concentration on the back and hips, and another on stretching out the butt and legs.
When you ask people which muscles and joints you use in running, the obvious answer always comes back as your leg muscles. It is not however the case. You are using ALL your muscles and joints, powering from the feet through the ankles the calves, upper leg muscles, which use the butt muscles, which are connected to the lower back muscles, all the time pushing through with your arms that are connected to your shoulder muscles that, join to your lats. Move it all round to the front and still it carries on, through your delts, the movement of running using your abs and external obliques . . you are just going to be using EVERYTHING!
Of course, by the nature of the beast you are not going to become huge and muscular through running, but that is not what this article is addressing. What I am saying is that if you have not exercised in a long while, or have never done running then just donning the running shoes and setting off may be the worse mistake you will make.
SO HOW SHOULD YOU REALLY BEGIN?
- Find your weak points through stretching and yoga exercises, and before you even look at a fluorescent jacket get your flexibility up. Even if you don't have any imbalances, I would suggest to get stretching first.
- Walk before you can run. If you already walk regularly, try picking up the pace a bit and see how your body copes with this. If you don't, start by getting a couple of walks in a day. If you are carrying a lot of excess weight I would strongly recommend walking and not running as the weight will also impact on your joints harming rather than healing.
- Get a member of your local running club, or someone who REALLY knows what they are talking about to watch you run on a treadmill. They will INSTANTLY tell you whether your feet are landing properly, a bad foot strike WILL lead to injury.
- NEVER start running in an old pair of trainers!! Get yourself either properly fitted for by a reputable running shop or, if that is not an option at least ensure you buy yourself a decent pair of running shoes.
- Start on the treadmill. If you can, get your body used to running on the soft and forgiving surface of a treadmill, this way you get in the exercise, reduce the impact injury risk and can get your form and foot landing to a tee before you start hitting the hard unforgiving surface of the road.
- LEAVE YOUR EGO AT HOME AT ALL TIMES! As a beginner, you should not be going to the fastest, farthest or longest times. You SHOULD be going slowly, for short distances, then, over a period of MONTHS not days, be working up how long you run for. As we are each different being that one is going to have to be between you and your running programme.
- Running Programmes are NOT set in stone. If you do start with something like Couch to 5K remember this are guidelines, not rigid, needs must or fail, chiseled in granite laws. Go at your own pace. If you find it easy . . good, stick with the program till you find it hard, do not skip a few steps . .that is the path to injury. If it is too hard too soon, just stay at the pace you are comfortable with for longer! You are doing this to aid your health not break it!
- Ladies out there, do yourselves a favour and buy a proper running bra, as otherwise you are going to be in pain. I use, and highly recommend the Shock Absorber sports bra brand. There are plenty of others out there, this one just works best for me as I am rather ample in that area.
- IF YOU FEEL ANY PAIN IN YOUR KNEE STOP!!! Stop immediately. You have either just injured yourself and are about to make it ten times worse by continuing, or your body is telling you loud and clear you are doing too much too soon. I have read way too many times (and from people who have been running a long ol' time) how they 'pushed through even though the knee was hurting'. Then BAM move on two weeks later and you are reading how they are now laid up unable to move and have been told not to run for at least 3 months plus!
- Join an online running site like Daily Mile as the advice you can gleen from people that have been doing this shizz for years is excellent.
So, to conclude . . .
If you want to start running, be honest with yourself. If you are not fit, you need to put some work in to get yourself more supple, strengthen your joints and balancing your body.
If you have any old injuries ensure you are on a good regime to keep them clear. Once you are given physio instruction, keep it up for life!
Going headlong onto a 5 miler down the road in your old trainers is not going to do you any favours, plus the fact that after one minute there is a strong chance you are going to have a rude awakening on your fitness levels. Treadmill before tarmac.
Go at your own pace, don't push yourself to breaking point.
Most importantly LISTEN TO YOUR BODY! If it says it hurts, there is something wrong. It may be as easy to fix as an ice pack but don't turn it into surgery.
As with everything fitness wise keep hydrated.
Well, that is my advice and as with everything in life, you can either take it or leave it. Trust me on one thing, everything I have learned is from stuffing up myself, injuring myself, going head long into a sport I had no idea about and not listening to my body. I am now happier and wiser for my cock ups and infact, stronger. I have written this as I would like people to be able to avoid the middle man ie breaking and causing yourself pain and hey, if you have got dodgy knees just have a go on a rowing machine instead . .. . I'll write another heads up on that one later (I have slightly fallen in love with my rowing machine!).
Be safe, be aware, research EVERYTHING, and good luck!
With love and hugs.
Cathi x
Some sites to look up:
If you want to find out about using Yoga Balls for muscle release/trigger point therapy check out the Yoga Tune Up site on YouTube. I cannot recommend them enough.
Rebekah Borucki who teaches yoga, meditation and does some brilliant fitness workouts.
My Yoga Online an online yoga class, includes free downloads and you can also become a paid subscriber.
Elliott Hulse although it is generally about strength training he also has superb, well researched advice about balancing your body, dealing with old injuries and a plethora of videos explaining and helping you understand the inter connectivity of your body and how to treat it.
