- Health, Fitness & Weight Loss
- Sport Specific Performance
- Getting Down and Dirty at Tough Guy!
- Jade's Marathon Effort
- Fitness Training for Skiing and Snowboarding
- How to Prepare for your First Marathon
- How Posture Affects Running Performance
- Medicine Ball Training
- Recovery and Regeneration
- Stretching for Optimal Performance
- Tips for New Runners
- Training in your Target Heart Rate Zone
- Why I Fell for my Foam Roller
- Nutrition
- Training with Specific Conditions
- References
Tips for New Runners
How you can Improve your Running Experience
Running is a great way to get great results, but it does take commitment and motivation. One of the biggest things that puts people off running is pain or discomfort during or after your jog. Any number of things could cause this however the first things you should consider is whether your shoes are suitable, whether you are overtraining and if you warm down appropriately at the end of your session.
It makes sense that a running shoes ability to absorb shock diminishes with wear, leaving greater impact forces to be absorbed in your feet, knees, hips and back. This impact force can be 3-5 times your body weight so not only will ‘flat’ shoes make running uncomfortable but over time could lead to a number of injuries.
Here are some simple ways to check your shoes and extend their life:
- Check for worn patches on the sole of your shoes and/or cracks appearing in the mid-sole (between the upper and the sole)
- Use your shoes for their intended purpose. Using your shoes when doing other activities will eat into their life.
- Always wear socks. Not only do socks help absorb impact force they also prevent moister getting into the inner sole of your shoes. They will also smell a lot better.
- Replace your shoes after every 600km – 750km (or every 4 to 6 months) if you are running over 30km per week or once a year if you are doing less than 15km per week. This will vary depending on your weight, running technique, average distance run, terrain etc.
- If you are unsure about your shoes’ condition, take them into your local running store and get an expert’s opinion.
Equally important as shoes is a good warm down. Read our article Stretching for Optimal Performance.
Finally, if you are just starting out with your new jogging programme, be careful not to over do it. A good way to introduce yourself back into running is by using in intervals. Try walking for 2 minutes then jogging for 2 minutes. As you get fitter you can adjust this ratio to suit (e.g. run 2 minutes and walk 1 minute). Eventually you will build up to the point where you can run non-stop.
So that being said, it's time for you to go burn rubber! Have fun out there.
By Hamish Abbie BPhEd, BComm, CHEK L1, XLR8 Coach, REPs - 30/11/2007