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Before you Run
A lot of people feel running is not for them.
But there are many individuals who make life- changing decisions, perhaps after a serious health scare and start from “absolute zero”. The first time out they can only manage to walk maybe 800 metres. But with a lot of willpower and the right amount of physical effort they end up on the start line of a marathon and completing 26.2 miles (irrespective of the pace at which they move). These people are inspirational.
If you have never run before, start your training by walking from say, one lamppost to the next and then try moving a little faster (up to a jog) to the next lamppost. Then walk again to the next, and repeat for 10 minutes if you can – you’ll know when you’ve had enough.
Each time you go out try to do a little more … this may mean doing the same walk/jog routine, but a little further, or it might be to jog the distance between two lampposts and then walking to the next one. Little increments like this and soon you’ll find you are able to jog a lot further in one go than you ever thought possible – and you are on your way.
Having a goal or a specific target will help to keep you focused on your training and provide you with a purpose to go out for each run. A goal will also provide a focal point from which you can develop your training plan, including a natural end point, after which you will hopefully set another goal to work towards.
Your goal might be to participate in a particular running event or it may be to simply lose weight and shape up.
You may feel that your goal is quite daunting and unachievable. The key is to set yourself a number of targets with your ultimate goal as a long-term aim.
More advanced runners will have goals to finish a race in a specific time, or to finish in the top 10, for example.
One important point to note is that some goals will take longer to achieve than others.
It’s also likely that you will reach a plateau at some point and feel you are no longer making any improvement – but just keep with it.
