A lot of people seem to get excited about the things they are going to buy when entering the sport of running. Although buying things as an entry into the hobby helps a neophyte runners’ motivation, it is also important to note what other things need to be done before actually starting to run.
This article describes what most of us would already know. It is easy to forget about a lot of things in the excitement of entering a new sport such as running. Whether your goals are of weight loss, or improved cardiovascular ability or even to supplement your sports program you should try and remember the following steps before anything else.
A visit to your friendly doctor is of utmost importance. It is funny how people can spend literally hundreds of dollars on running gear yet feel it wasteful to have that all important pre-run check up. Whether young or old it is best to play on the safe side of things and spare a fraction of the cost of running gear. Heart problems may be exacerbated when running even for the beginner who thinks it’s okay as long as they take it “slow.” People have literally dropped dead on their first running session so be advised that it is always best to talk to your physician before attempting anything.
Planning out a strategy to keep running is one of the best challenges any new runner can have. Running for the first few weeks will be fun because it’s something new and you can flash and admire your expensive and “hi-tech” running gear. But when your friends start quitting one by one they it suddenly gets a bit more difficult. This is where planning takes over. As long as you know why you are running then you can set aside temporary setbacks and continue running.
A lot of new runners start out fast. Ironic, but sadly its true. It is not uncommon for runners to injure themselves because they think about 5K times on their first few months. Failing to build a solid base from which you can improve yourself is a mistake a lot of us make. Enjoy running for a few months taking it easy. Learn the proper form and don’t to warm up. This is hard to swallow for most but competing should only be considered when you have had at least 6 months of serious training.
Finally, buying the correct running shoes is an important (but not the most important) last step. Almost all of my friends who tend to run “to lose weight” just buy shoes because “they liked the color.” It would not be hard to argue that this is perhaps one of the top reasons why people get injured. You see it again and again, newbie’s injuring their ankles because they bought the “softest” shoes they could wear.
