Just started running - looking for tips, techniques, and a bit of motivation

[julia1367]

Hi everyone!
I’ve recently decided to start running, but to be completely honest, it feels super hard right now. I really want to stick with it and not give up, so I’d love to hear from you what are your best beginner tips or techniques that helped you when you first started? And how do you stay motivated even when you just don't feel like getting out of your bed? Thank you for your answers!!

I don’t often respond to threads but I really can’t ignore this! I’m 20 months into running now and honestly can’t envision my week without it now.

tips to survive as a beginner are:

• do the couch to 5k - it’s slow progress but it works!
• make an absolutely banging playlist

as you get more confident in your running:

• sign up to a few local 5ks and get the runners high
• don’t get too obsessed with strava or the data - go off how you feel and celebrate the small wins as you improve
• lastly make an absolutely banging playlist!

Agree with C25K and also, however slow you’re running, run slower! It helps in the beginning.

And also good, properly fitted running shoes and a distraction, like music.

Another couch 2 5k vote. It really helps.
i did it with a friend, that helped too.
when I graduated from couch 2 5k and started running on my own a bit more I made a play list of songs I enjoyed but that wouldn’t encourage me to go too fast. The slower you go the easier it is. Work on going longer distances at a slow pace and the speed will come in its own time.

pick routes you enjoy, do parkruns, join a running club that caters for beginners.

as you improve sign up for a 10k race. It’s a good goal to work towards but not so far a distance that it’s not achievable in a reasonable tike frame.

it is hard at first and it does take quite a while to feel easier but if you stick at it one day it really will. I will run for hours on end with friends as a social day out. It’s such a big part of my life now and something I genuinely love to do. It takes a while but if you’re consistent you’ll get there.

I run a lot, but I’m quite chunky. I used to be a lot more chunky.

You’ll never regret going for a run. You’ll almost always regret NOT going for a run.

You will be amazed at what you can do, even when you don’t feel like it.

Feel tired? Go for a tired run. Feel hungover? Go for a hungover run. Feeling meh isn’t a reason not to run. It’s only when you’re injured or have a fever or a chesty cough that you shouldn’t.

Try to do a couple of strength sessions a week, especially as a beginner runner. It will strengthen the muscles in your legs that keep you in good form as you run, making you less prone to injury. Things like your quads, hamstrings, hip flexors, etc. Plenty of info online to find.

Really good running bra. I wear two at once. Helps you feel comfortable keeping your shoulders in a good posture, upright.

When you run slow, don’t slow down the cadence of your steps. Try and aim for a fast tempo of steps but keep your strides short in length. Long slow strides increase the twisting motion through your joints and tendons and can make injuries more likely. I try to keep to 160 steps a minute (you can find tracks in spotify etc that are specific bpm to see what’s comfortable for you). Athletes tend to do much higher steps per minute cadence than casual runners.

Agree with banging playlist. There’s me plodding along cherry-faced at 5mph listening to acid techno

i Started about 10 years ago with C25K. I now run 5k 2-3 times a week for fun. I never thought I’d be that person. I’m slightly overweight stressed mid 40’s with a lot on my plate. I NEVER enjoy the thought to going for a run. But LOVE how I feel after a run. Like a pp I’d agree - in 10 years I have never regret a run.

tips:

1. Do c25k
2. read some Bryony Gordon
3. get a cracking playlist. Mine involves a couple of steps tunes that I’ve even been known to do the dance moves too in the middle of an empty footpath

good luck!

-Brilliant playlist and tell yourself you just need to run until the end of the track then the next and so on.
-Push through the bit where you think you might have to stop and it feels so good
-Also sometimes you have a bad run for no real reason and that’s ok

I had to skip my run tonight as we had a bit of unexpected bad news and I thought it was best to do so incase I was needed at home! Now all of your comments are REALLY making me itchy to run! 🏃😂

I’m going to go against the grain of the banging playlist (unless of course that works for you). I do like running to music, but lately as I’ve been trying to increase my distance and slow my speed a little, I’ve been listening to audiobooks. Really gripping murder mystery type ones, I find that a good narrator carries me along at a steady tempo, and I’m concentrating on the story so I’m distracted from how long/far I’m running. Just plodding along listening to a book. Although was recently running solo through woodland as someone was being throttled to death in my ears and it definitely made me run faster!

It is hard in the beginning, just like anything new and unfamiliar.

Go super slow; you’re looking to gradually build time and distance but be patient. You will be rewarded. Listen to your body and be absolutely honest with yourself (am I really too tired?).

I have come to appreciate the slow nature of improvement and self discovery (never have I ever done this before, or a new route). It takes time and discipline to be consistent - and consistency is key. Be prepared to make changes and also for how you feel during a run. Last week’s super easy run might feel much harder (tiredness, lack of sleep, nutrition…. So many variables). Embrace the here and now and show yourself gratitude for being able to do whatever you did.

What gets me out? I remember how I feel after a run, the calm (even though I am beetroot red), the sense of peace and restfulness in my body. I remember that consistency of turning up counts more in the long term.

Don’t neglect stretching and mobility work at the end of a run.

Do find a local running group. Completely different to run with others, helps keep you accountable and it goes by so quickly.

Running has made me do things I’d never imagine doing. I reach for the weights and want to be stronger. I run on my own. I’ve done distances I never imagined I could. I love social running. It’s given me some self belief and motivation. I am proud of my body, turning up for me and doing amazing stuff. Wear the shorts!

I would echo @mamakoukla - see what your local running groups are like - ours has two group training sessions a week plus informal group runs for different levels and then always good to know people at park runs or local races. we also put on beginner groups in the summer
There are running groups linked to local running shops too

running with others keeps you going when you have the “meh” days - just find your tribe!

I've been running for 2.5 years and I'm another advocate for couch to 5k. I like a good audiobook for longer runs when I want to slow my pace. Varying your route now and again keeps life interesting. And, I have to say, the one thing that really kept my motivation going at the beginning was taking out a Strava subscription and thinking well I'll have to keep this up now to get my money's worth 😂
Once you've got to 5k distance, sign up for some races - nothing like strangers cheering you on and a medal at the end!

I’m 7 weeks into the c25k program - I’ve started and stopped many times over the years and this is the furthest I’ve got and the only change I’ve made is switching from music to audiobooks.
It seems to make the runs feel not as arduous since im focused on the story and not how much running hurts.

I graduated from c25k a few years ago then signed up to Runna. It really works for me and has made a massive difference to my running ability. I love having something to tick off to say I’ve done it.

I started 18 months ago at the age of 52! I did couch to 5k, now I Jeff and am up to 8k and planning a 10k race. I listen to radio 2- each song is 3 minutes, then the news, then a quiz. My lovely sons did my first on proper 5k races with me and then I did my last one on my own. You can definitely do it if I can!!

Keep going! Running like a Girl is an amazing book for beginners. Recognise your wins are different to everyone else’s so dictate your own successes. I have my own running playlists so I look forward to listening to them. Getting my kit ready ahead of time and just doing it helps too. Parkrun when you are ready, full of all ages and full of life. Running altered my life in such significant ways. You get out of it exactly what you put in ❤️

I just started couch to 5k today. I started my own thread- would you be up for joining me?

found the tips in this thread really helpful. Made sure to run slowly and chose music that wouldn’t make me go too fast.

I started running about 12 years ago having never run before. It was hard at first (and still is sometimes!) but I kept at it because although at times I hate the actual running I always love the way it feels at the end 😂
I agree with the banging playlist/ podcast/ audio book distraction.
Couch 2 5K is brilliant (I LOVED the Sarah Millican version, her gentle Geordie accent is lovely)
I'm not interested in running timed races or events so I just run for me, 3 or 4 times a week as a way to quiet my noisy brain. I love being outside in the fresh air, even when the weather is crap. It really helps me appreciate the seasons as they change and makes a massive difference to my stress levels.
If you can encourage a friend to join you then that helps to keep you going, once you've arranged to meet someone its harder to change your mind!
Basically the best advice is keep going, dont give up because it feels hard and you have to walk for a bit or you had a bad run that you hated. Even the most experienced of runners have days like that. Give it a few months and you will never look back!

I started a couple of years ago. Don't feel bad about not enjoying it, and don't feel like that has to eventually come. I don't. I'd rather be doing a lot of other things that don't involve being hot and sweaty, and I don't get the endorphins or runner's high or anything. But I do it. Four times a week, maybe 5. I reward myself with a nice breakfast, either at home, or I run to a cafe. Or a pastry or cake or something. I still lost weight, as I was very restrained with eating otherwise, and then I reward myself by buying new clothes on Vinted. My motivation is mostly not to gain the weight back. Don't feel pressured to love it, just be glad that you have a sort of exercise you can do.

I rate ennertor insoles (I had the custom ones, but the normal ones were what I started with, after years of pains of one sort or another), good shoes (replaced more often than you might think), knee sleeves if your knees start hurting, Sweaty Betty power leggings from Vinted, GoodMove bra from M&S, and a cycling vest to carry the dozens of tissues that I need. And Zeiss anti-fog spray for glasses. And mittens in the winter that fold open to let my fingers cool when my hands get too hot.

I don't use a play list as I was tempted to run to the beat too much, which then didn't work with pace - I try to just go at the pace that feels natural. I am pretty slow, but have increased my distance rather than my speed. I have never done a race or even a parkrun. But I run for my treats.

It's still hard to get myself out of the door but I just make myself do it as a non-negotiable, and remind myself that breakfast or cake or whatever is still to come. And later in the day I"m glad that it's out of the way already.

I do it for what it does for me, not because I want to. Focus on the benefits - you'll be less out of puff going up stairs, able to run for the bus, and have a virtuous smug glow which is very nice.

I've worked out what works for me:

• I hate running with other people; parkrun is my idea of hell
• I listen to podcasts not music
• I have 3 set 5k routes that I do on rotation
• I run in the mornings after I've had a poo (poo before running is non negotiable)
• I use Strava to see my pace but have just three friends - dd, sil and my husband
• I run every 4 days; between the runs I do one 50-min functional strength session which has made a massive difference to everything
• I buy cheap everything from vinted except my running shoes which I get properly fitted at a proper running place

A year ago I couldn’t run between lamp posts. I signed up for the Runna app, and it coaches you through your headphones. It sets your runs based on your goal and includes conversational pace runs (which was stop start for me at the beginning) and also intervals. It makes running waaaay more enjoyable.

i had no idea that running slower made you run further and faster in time. I also lift weights twice a week at home, following a program to support my running.

I’ve knocked over 2 minutes off my 5k pb in the last 5 months. And I’ve just completed my first 14k, running slow for the first 10k then upping the pace towards the end.

I usually listen to a podcast for slower running, music when I’m speeding it up toward the end.

without a program I wouldn’t have stuck to it. I now feel great and I’ve lost weight! If you’re not enjoying yourself, it won’t stick. Well done for starting!

I found a local running group. Use the Runner app for your location. Lots of groups - mostly free and a wide range of abilities. The knowledge I was meeting up in a week encouraged me to do runs on my own in between.

I'm going to go even more against the grain and say don't listen to anything through headphones. Tune into your running instead. Concentrate on how your body feels, if you can push a bit from one lamp post to the next. Then slow right down to recover. As others have said, so long as you are running, you can't run too slowly when you start but even a tiny bit of speed for a very short distance makes you feel good, so long as it doesn't hurt and you can recover whilst keeping going.
That said, I'm unusual in that I don't like to be distracted but I think most people do so see what works for you.

@redboxer321fair play to you running with just your thoughts and breathing, I couldn’t do it! I do use the bone conduct headphones though, so can hear my surroundings and breathing.

I do a mixture. I probably run without headphones more than I run with them because I’m often with people. Even if alone I often don’t bother but for long solo runs or races I do.

I did a 50k road race at the weekend and I made myself a play list I knew I’d enjoy running to and had great time running along, I pretty much sang and danced the whole way. It was really fun! 🤩

50k road race... that's about what I might do in a month!
I couldn't imagine enjoying that however good the playlist I had but good for you that you do 😀
I hate running with other people too. Definitely prefer the loneliness of the short distance runner.
Edited to say: I prefer trail running too. Even just running on grass. I enjoy problem solving over rhythm.