This is a guest post from runreviews.com with a simple dialogue containing questions/thoughts that runners may commonly ask themselves. Enjoy!
Handbook for runners
INCORRECT: If you are on the running track and you stumble on a little hidden rock, you go on as you know you need to be consistent and not stop whenever little obstacles emerge.
CORRECT: If you are on the running track and you stumble on a little hidden rock, stop. Check to see if everything is in order and relax for a few seconds. You may try to run again, but slow it down a bit. If anything seems different, stop and go visit your physician. Trust me on this: it is better to be cautious, than in pain later on.
INCORRECT: Energy-free? Just relax. Rent a movie or hit the new game you just bought.
CORRECT: Energy-free? Don’t hit the game you just bought. Hit the track. If it is a cold day outside, even better. Your energy levels will be refilled and your evening will be much more pleasant, as gratification for things you don’t appreciate enough (such as warm water, electrolytes or vegetables) will be fulfilling.
INCORRECT: Keep your races slow, don’t overdo it.
CORRECT: Keep your races slow, don’t overdo it at the beginning. As time passes and training becomes more intense, exercise harder. Increase your running time gradually and be ambitious.
NOTE: Don’t be a hero. Just be an athlete. Stay healthy, motivated and keep yourself away from injuries. Still, if and when injuries happen, remember it’s not wise to take action into your own hands so visit a specialist.
INCORRECT: You know better than anybody else how your body works and reacts to exterior stimulants.
CORRECT: You know better than anybody else how your body works and reacts to exterior stimulants, unless we’re talking about a new activity, such as running. This is why professional trainers exist: they are supposed to lead a freshman on the right path towards becoming a successful runner.
NOTE: Running techniques don’t apply for everybody in the same way. Explore and ask for help when you feel you’re not able to self-educate.
INCORRECT: I am Superrunner and respiratory distress doesn’t come anywhere near me!
CORRECT: You are not Superrunner and respiratory distress may happen, as does fatigue and soreness. If this is your first run and after 5 minutes you feel like you just can’t go on, you should stop. There is something you are doing wrong, and it is totally normal for a freshman to make mistakes. Check your breathing, your running shoes and your attire and make sure you hydrate your body enough to run smoothly. Don’t forget that it is recommended to learn and practice belly breathing before starting running. Belly breathing is recommended breathing technique that enables pulling in enough oxygen and breathing out CO2.
NOTE: Learn your body language and use it on a daily basis. Along with the mind, the body represents one major asset that we are intelligent enough to decode.
The Mind
INCORRECT: If you feel a lack of energy (temporary or prolonging), you should revise factors that may produce it (such as exhaustive training sessions, excessively long runs, lack of fresh air inside the house).
CORRECT: If you feel a lack of energy (temporary or prolonging), you should revise factors that may produce it, starting with diet. Serotonin is a major asset for runners, and the beautiful part is that it can be manually stimulated. Cottage cheese, avocados, walnuts, turkey, bananas, dark chocolate, they all contribute substantially to replenishing serotonin daily levels. Serotonin boosts energy and wellness resources, this way determining you to lurch out and have a successful run.
INCORRECT: In order to maintain focus, introduce tricks in your daily runs, such as counting blue cars, depicting the surroundings or listening to music.
CORRECT: In order to maintain focus, introduce tricks in your daily runs, such as counting blue cars, depicting the surroundings or listening to music, but be careful, especially about the later. Tricks may be too distracting, mostly music, since it introduces the runner into an area that can absorb full focus. Imagine you are on a sunny hill just outside the city, the wind is carefully blowing just in time to refresh you, your new running shoes are just exquisite, Alicia Keys indulges your mind and you stumble on a tree root, causing you enough pain to stop running. Maybe if Alicia Keys hadn’t distracted you, you would have finished that half hour of running. Evaluate factors that are beneficial to your runs and focus on them.
INCORRECT: Choose treadmills. They are accessible no matter the season or the weather moods.
CORRECT: Choose treadmills but be creative and provocative with your own mind and body. A cold winter outside? Go for a 10 minute run. Feel the coldness as it liberates all your dark thoughts and negative energies, and most of all as it strengthens your body and increases endurance.
INCORRECT: Once your first run is completed, go with the flow. The start is the most difficult part.
CORRECT: Once your first run is completed, think of your discoveries. They may not be many for an initial run, but even so think of the effect this run had on you. Grab on to that feeling and don’t let it go.
I’d like you to stop and think about something for a second: what do you wish to do with that feeling? Call a friend and describe it to him? Call your mom? Scream with happiness? Or maybe write it down? Whatever makes you happy, just do it. If you are the literary type, start a blog. Bookmark other running blogs and share the experience. This isn’t a step meant just for fun, but it will also keep up motivation, and that is why you can’t just go with the flow.
NOTE: When motivation decreases, and it just may, persuade a friend into joining you. Two is a team.
Now you are off to a great start!
This article is signed by Miki, writer for runreviews.com, a site where you can read about treadmill ratings.