Rookie Runner Training Tips
Download PDFAlways wanted to start running but wasn't sure how? Read these tips and start enjoying the runner's high.
1. Beginning runners often develop shin splits or sore knees. Treating these pains immediately after your workout with ice should help ease them quickly. If the pain persists, take a few days off from your training program.
2. Hold your arms comfortably at your sides while running. Bend them at 90 degrees at the elbows and move them forward and back at your waist. Let your fingers relax into a loose grasp, and don’t let your hands sway back and forth across the middle of your torso.
3. Try to avoid busy streets or rush-hour traffic to keep your lungs clean and healthy. Run in greenbelts as often as possible – in parks, on bike trails, around reservoirs, etc.
4. Schedule your workouts. Add them into your computer, daily appointment planner, on your refrigerator, or wherever else you keep your schedule. You won’t find time for them unless you make time for them.
5. Keeping a running log can be very useful in helping you achieve your goals and monitor your training.
6. Running off-road can help your speed. The uneven surface will strengthen many different muscles and will likely make you faster.
7. On hot, sticky days substitute your usual run with a pool-running session of the same duration. Use a flotation device and move your legs as if you were running on land.
8. When running up a hill, shorten your stride and keep your feet low to the ground. Keep your head and chest up, don’t slouch. On your way down, take short, quick, light steps and keep your center of gravity over your legs.
