Ep #135: Five Steps to Get Started Running Today

In this episode, I’m going to help you step out of your comfort zone so you can see how easy it is to start running. And just an FYI, I am going to step out of my own comfort zone too because this episode is almost completely unscripted. I did not write a script, so who knows what’s going to come out of my mouth?

Welcome to The Not Your Average Runner Podcast. If you’re a woman who has never felt athletic but you still dream about becoming a runner, you are in the right place. I’m Jill Angie, a certified running and life coach and I teach women how to start running, feel confident, and change their lives, and now I want to help you.

Hey rebels. Are you ready for spring? It is finally warming up here in the northeastern US, and by warm I really mean it’s getting into the high 30s first thing in the morning, but then it’s getting into the 50s later in the day, which is awesome. I love spring because I can finally run in tank tops again.

I fucking hate sleeves. They are just the worst. I like to wear as little as possible when I run. Give me a skimpy tank and a running skirt and I am good to go. I love the feeling of the sunshine on my skin. So anyway, getting off track and it’s only the opening moment of this episode.

But I have been talking a lot about thoughts and mindset and feelings on the show lately, all of which is super important. Without that stuff, running is a lot harder. But I know there are some of you that maybe are new to the podcast and you just want to know how to start running. You’re like, okay, this is fine that you’re teaching me all about how to manage my mind, but I really just want to start running, so what do I do to get started safety?

So that’s exactly what I’m going to cover today for all of you that are either new to the podcast or maybe you’ve been listening for a while and you’re waiting for me to talk about this. So that’s what we’re going to do. Now, becoming a runner, super easy. You just got to go out and run.

But if you have not been active for a while, or maybe you’re still scarred by running the mile in middle school, it might seem overwhelming, and you might have thoughts like I’m too old, or I’m too out of shape, or I’m too fat, and I promise you that you are not.

I have students – believe this or not, I have students who are in their 70s. And I don’t mean they’ve been my student for 20 years and now they’re in their 70s. I mean they started running in their 70s. My oldest student is – I believe she’s 76 and she just started running in her 70s.

One of my students started running last year. She’s getting ready to do her first half marathon this summer and she’s 72. So I want you to check your excuses at the door because I’m about to break down the five steps to becoming a runner that are going to get you moving today in the body that you have right now.

You do not need to wait until you’ve lost weight. You do not need to get fit first so that you can start running, which always confuses me when people say that, and you’re just going to be older tomorrow. So let’s just do it today. So in this episode, I’m going to help you step out of your comfort zone so you can see how easy it is to start running.

And just an FYI, I am going to step out of my own comfort zone too because this episode is almost completely unscripted. I did not write a script, so who knows what’s going to come out of my mouth? Just stay tuned.

Alright, let’s do this thing. So the number one step or step number one is to start with a simple run-walk approach. You do not need to go out and just run as far as you can and as long as you can until you want to puke. And then that’s not your first run. That’s not what it’s going to be like. We’re going to do a very simple run-walk, run-walk approach.

And so what does that mean? Well, it means that you’re going to run for a specific period of time and we’re going to talk about how to time those things, and then you’re going to walk for a very specific period of time. And what happens is when you run and then you take a walk to recover, and a short walk, we’re not walking for five minutes to recover. We’re walking for maybe 30 seconds to a minute.

But when you run and then you walk to recover and then you start running again, your body likes this. Our bodies love the run-walk approach because it helps us get our heart rate up, it helps us do the running, and do as much running as we can without it all having to be all at once. Because going out and running for 10 minutes or 20 minutes or 30 minutes when you’re not a runner, it’s really, really hard.

Most people, they try it, they get five minutes in, they want to throw up, they say running is not for me, I’m just not meant to be a runner. So the run-walk approach is going to get you up and running today and it’s going to be so much easier than you thought.

And then what happens is you then start to feel confidence and you think, “Okay, I did that once, maybe I can do it again.” And then you do it again and you think, “Maybe I could do it again.” And then maybe you push yourself a little bit farther the next time. And soon, you’re getting out there and you’re doing a few miles at a time and you feel really, really good about it.

So the run-walk approach is the easiest way to start I think is to download an app called Runkeeper, and this app is free and they have a version for Android and they have a version for Apple. And if you go to episode nine of my podcast, of this podcast, I even created a tutorial. It’s a little PDF tutorial, one for Apple and one for Android that you can download and it’ll give you all the instructions on how to set up intervals. Run-walk intervals for yourself so that you can customize your workout.

So the run-walk approach, and I know a lot of people think, “Oh, it’s Couch to 5K,” but I promise you, Couch to 5K does take a run-walk approach, but for those of you who may have tried Couch to 5K and you quit at week three, you already know what I’m talking about.

But Couch to 5K really pushes you to go a lot farther and a lot faster than is going to be realistic for you, especially if you’re somebody who hasn’t been active for a long time, or maybe you’re 100 pounds overweight, and getting out there and the goal of Couch to 5K is to have you running a 5K in 30 minutes within eight weeks, and that’s pretty unrealistic for most people.

So this run-walk method is similar to Couch to 5K but it’s a lot more flexible and it’s going to get you results that you feel good about. It’s going to keep you feeling confident and keep you feeling proud instead of kind of defeated and wanting to give up. So the run-walk approach is step number one.

And I know that there’s a lot of you out there thinking, “Okay, but how much should I run and how much should I walk?” I promise I’m going to get to that at the end of today’s show, so just bear with me as we move on. So step number two is you’re always going to want to warmup.

Actually, let me take that back. You should always warmup. You’re not always going to want to warmup. I have a client who hates to warmup. She thinks it’s a waste of time. But do a five-minute walk before you start your first running interval. And the reason you want to do that is you want to get your heart and your lungs and your muscles ready to go.

If you start running when your body is cold, it’s going to feel a lot harder and you’re much more likely to give up early, and you’re not going to have a great experience. I have a client that when we first started working together about five years ago, she said, “I don’t have time to do a five-minute warmup. I got shit to do. I got to get places. I got to get my mileage done and then I have to get in the shower and get to work.”

But then she also was telling me that running never felt good. It always felt kind of hard and she was always sore the next day and she couldn’t catch her breath and she was like, “That first couple miles just feels awful.” And I said, “Look, why don’t you just try it my way one time, let me know how it goes.”

So she said alright, and a few days later she came back to me and she said, “Okay, I’m a convert.” She did a five-minute walking warmup and she was able to run so much faster than her entire workout took less time with the warmup added on than it did when she didn’t warmup. She didn’t have a lot of soreness the next day and her breathing was a lot better.

So I want you to take heed of that because I have a ton of stories of similar conversations I’ve had with clients, and once they’ve tried the warmup, they’ve realized like, oh, that’s a game-changer. So make sure before you start your first run interval, you warmup by walking for five minutes.

Now, the next step – this is going to sound weird but you got to slow down. Your run interval is not a sprint. I want you to think, especially if this is your first time, I want you to imagine jogging. It’s a more relaxed pace. It’s not a sprint. You’re not going all out, you’re not in a race. Slow your pace down.

This is going to help your breathing. It’s going to help your stamina overall and I know you’re saying, “But the faster I run, the faster I’ll be done.” But really, I want you to go for time. Get yourself used to running for a period of time, rather than a specific distance. And then notice how much, over time, you’re able to go farther. Maybe it’s 30 minutes.

Maybe you work yourself up to 30 minutes and that’s your workout. You’re able to go farther in that 30 minutes, but rather than saying like, “I just want to get done faster,” let’s see how much you can get done in a specific period of time. So that means in the beginning, you’re going to want to slow down.

Allow your body to breathe. Because when you’re sprinting, you get one interval done maybe, and then you walk to recover but you have to slow way down on that walk because you’re hyperventilating, and then you do the next interval and you’re running as fast as you can and the same thing happens over and over again, and that is no fun.

So you’re going to slow your running pace down until it’s sort of a comfortable jog, and then on the walk, you’re going to speed it up a little bit. Make it more of a brisk walk. This is going to help your breathing, it’s going to help you go farther, and it’s going to help with your stamina, I promise.

Step number four, get yourself fitted for running shoes. Now, you do not have to spend like, $150 on running shoes. They are not any better for you than the $100 running shoes. But you are going to want to spend probably upwards of $75 to $80 for a pair of running shoes.

And this is an investment, and you can do your first couple runs without them if you want to, but I promise, if you get yourself fitted at a running store where they can maybe watch you running on a treadmill, they can talk to you about what your experience level is and what you want to do with the shoes, and they will help you find a shoe that feels really, really good on your feet.

And wearing a proper running shoe can be a game-changer. If you’re going to go out there in your Sketchers or some really inexpensive shoes you got on sale at DSW, you might not have a really great experience. You might end up with some aches and pains in your body. You might end up with blisters, you might end up with shin splints, and I don’t want that for you.

So go to a running store, and you may feel uncomfortable with that. A lot of people do the first time because they think I’m not a runner, I don’t belong here. But really, you do. If your desire is to become a runner, runners go to running stores, and runners get fitted properly for running shoes. So this is just as much of a get-the-right-gear step as it is an embracing-your-runner-identity-mindset step.

So go, get out, get fitted for running shoes and I promise, you will not be sorry. Now, step number five, we’re going to talk about gear again. Step number five is wear synthetic clothing, especially stretchy synthetic clothing.

And there are some of you out there that are cringing right now going, “Nobody needs to see my ass in tights,” and here’s the deal though, you’re going to be so much more comfortable if you wear tights or leggings when you’re running, than if you wear big old baggy sweatpants. Just trust me on this. So much more comfortable.

Cotton, it traps moisture. It leads to chaffing, it’s going to make you a lot hotter and sweatier than you need to be. And things like synthetic running tights and running tops, they’re designed to help you feel better in your body when you are running.

And I know that mentally you’re like, “But people are looking at me and I don’t like the way my stomach looks in tights, and my arms, people can see my arms and oh my gosh.” I promise, nobody is looking at you. They really aren’t. People are so wrapped up in their own shit. They do not care what anybody else is doing.

And the other piece of that of course is if you’re saying I can’t go out running because other people might have opinions of me, you’re saying their opinions of me are more important than me getting done what I want to do. So don’t let strangers who are probably not going to say a word to you about what you look like in your clothing, don’t let them be the boss of you.

You get to decide, if you want to be a runner, wear the clothes that a runner wears and get your ass out there. And you can do your first workout on a treadmill. You can do it in your neighborhood. You can do it in the woods. You can do it on a high school track. There’s a million places that you can go.

If you want to go someplace where there are fewer people because you feel more comfortable, that’s totally fine. If you want to go on a treadmill because you feel more comfortable there, that’s totally fine. So those are your five steps to start running.

Now, I told you at the end of the show that we’d be talking about what is your first workout, and here is the deal. I just created a 30-day starter plan for brand new runners, and it’s called The 30-Day Running Start Kit. And if you go to notyouraveragerunner.com, right at the top of the page there’s a little signup link.

All you got to do is put your first name in and your email address, and I will send you the 30-day starter kit. And that’s going to have all kinds of good stuff in it. It’ll start out with a training plan that’ll get you through your 30 days of running, and then every day I’m going to email you with a little bit more information.

So I don’t give it to you all at once because I don’t want to overwhelm you. I want you to just feel like, alright, I’m just going to do this one thing right now. So go download the free 30-day Running Start Kit and it’s going to talk to you about what intervals you should be doing and how you should get started. It’s amazing.

Now that is it. You know what, I think I did pretty good with this unscripted thing. I don’t know. Write to me. Let me know. Let me know if you like scripted versus unscripted. But I think I dropped less F bombs than usual, so maybe this is a good thing. Anyway, that is it for this week. Get your ass out there and run and I will see you in the next episode.

Oh, and one last thing. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, you have to check out the Rebel Runner Roadmap. It’s a 30-day online program that will teach you exactly how to start running, stick with it, and become the runner you’ve always wanted to be. Head on over to rebelrunnerroadmap.com to join. I’d love to be a part of your journey.