Ep # 334 5 Unexpected Things New Runners Need to Do

Hey Runners, I have a little surprise for you this week. I’m bringing back an episode that was really popular in the past because A, I think it’s a good one, and B, I have a hunch there’s someone out there who needs to hear it again. So I hope you enjoy it and I’ll be back with a new episode really soon.

So, my friends, this week I want to give you five things to do when you are first starting out as a runner, all right? And they’re all super important. They could possibly make or break your success, I’m not even joking. But fortunately they’re all super simple to do.

And by the way, even if you’re not a beginner, you could benefit from all of these tips. Some of them are probably going to surprise you so please listen on to see what you can incorporate into your running to make yourself a better runner.

Now number one, I talk about this all the time but people still don’t listen to me, I don’t know why because it pretty much solves a lot of problems. But number one is make sure you get fitted for running shoes. As in go to a running store, have them measure your feet, have them talk to you about your fitness history. Ideally jog for maybe 20 to 30 seconds on a treadmill to see what your gait looks like.

And I know what you’re thinking, you’re like, “A plus size person does not belong in a running store, they’re going to laugh at me. For sure I’m not going to run on a treadmill in front of other people.” I get it, I understand all of those thoughts. But if you’re going to be a runner, you’re going to need to go to running stores from time to time, right? That’s where they sell the running things. This is your first act of bravery, okay?

If you are there to buy shoes, the person manning the store is in charge of helping you find ones that work for you. They are literally getting paid to help you find the perfect shoe. You are not wasting your time, you belong there. Runners buy running shoes, and you’re a runner, okay? So let’s get off on the right foot, pun intended.

And with regard to running on the treadmill in the store, I know this may seem a little bit scary because whether it’s running in front of other people, or maybe it’s just your first time on a treadmill, you may have some thoughts about it that make you feel uncomfortable. And this is going to be your first act of bravery as a runner, okay? I promise, it is so important to have somebody look at your running gait up close so that you can get the best shoe for you.

Proper running shoes are going to make running so much easier. They’re going to help you avoid injuries. And guess what? Once you’re a runner there’s going to be times when you will run in front of other people, and you won’t be on a treadmill, right? Especially if you want to do a 5K. And by the way, 5K training, today’s the last day to sign up for my 5K training.

But really think about it, right? If you’re thinking, “Oh my gosh, I can’t run on a treadmill in the running store in front of other people.” How are you ever going to do a 5K? So again, it’s your first act of bravery. Let’s get that hurdle out of the way right now, go to a running store and ask for a fitting.

And by the way, if they give you shoes and you get home and they don’t work so great, you’re going to go back to that running store and say, “These shoes didn’t work for me. What else do you have?” Okay, you are going to advocate for yourself, you’re going to get what you need.

Now, the second thing I want you to do is dress like a runner, okay? Not just the running shoes, all the things, okay? There’s two important reasons for this. First, is when you wear gear that is made for running, you’re going to avoid one of the most common pitfalls of running which is chafing.

Clothes that don’t fit properly are going to rub your skin, you’ll get red, irritated, it feels awful. It is just seriously not a good feeling, chafing sucks, okay? Properly fitted running gear really, really reduces the chance of you having chafing on your body, okay?

There are lots of places to get plus size running gear, by the way. My favorites are Skirt Sports, Target, Old Navy, Kohl’s, Athleta, and Superfit Hero. Those are my six favorites. They have lots of great options, most of those go up to a 2X, several of those go up to a 4X. Superfit Hero goes up to a 6X. So you will be able to find something that fits you.

By the way, if you do go to the skirt sports website, which is skirtsports.com, you can use the code N-Y-A-R 15, that’s NYAR15 and you can get a discount. So make sure you do that. But seriously, Skirt Sports, Target, Old Navy, Kohl’s, Athleta, Superfit Hero, my top six.

But here’s the other thing, okay, so we talked about why you should wear running clothes so that you don’t get chafing. But when you dress like a runner, you also start to feel like a runner. It helps you really shift your identity. Because guess what? Runners were running gear, okay?

So if you’re going to be a runner, you got to dress the part. You’re going to dress the part, then you’re going to start to feel like the part. The more you start to feel like a runner, the easier it is to remain consistent, the easier it is to challenge yourself out of your comfort zone. It’s a beautiful snowball effect.

So number three, this one is so important, so important. Number three is to show the fuck up. And what I mean by that is be the fat person who runs in public, all right? So you’ve already done it in number one by going to a running store and running on their treadmill. But I want you to do it in other places.

Be the fat person who runs in public. Be the slowest runner at your running group, even if everybody else in that group is so far ahead of you you can’t even see them anymore, show the fuck up. Okay? This is your second act of bravery. And why is this so important? Because someone has to be first. Somebody has got to lead the way, all right?

In 1967 Kathrine Switzer became the first woman give or take, she might have been the second woman. But anyway, the first woman that they made a big deal out of officially running the Boston Marathon. Because prior to 1967, and actually I think for a little while after that, women weren’t allowed to enter marathons. They thought their uteruses were going to fall out if they ran more than a few minutes, right? Fucking ridiculous, I know.

But when I think this through, like for me, my sentient life, my life with memories and so forth, say from like when I was maybe three or four years on and forward, when I would think about sports it never occurred to me that women weren’t allowed to participate, right? But in my lifetime, and I’m only 54 years old, but in my lifetime women were not allowed to participate in sports the way they are today.

There’s a whole shit ton of other things that women actually, like women could not have their own credit card in their own name as recently as the 1970s, okay? If they had a husband with a credit card, they could have their own card under his account, but they couldn’t have it in their own name.

And I remember when I was younger, my mom taking me to the bank for me to get my first savings account in my own name, not with my parents name on it. I think I was probably 10 or 12 years old. And I, at that time, didn’t realize just what a big fucking deal that was, right? Because prior to that women needed a husband to have their own financial life, okay?

So things have changed a lot in my lifetime, right? Some of you younger than me are just like, what? It’s always been this way, right? But somebody had to be the first person. Somebody had to jump up and down and fight for her place, right?

Kathrine Switzer had to be willing to get hurt, right? She was actually attacked by one of the race officials, he tried to physically pull her off the course. She was criticized, she was jeered, she was yelled at. And she was like, “No, no, it’s so important for me to change this rule, for me to make it okay for women to run marathons,” that she risked all of that, okay?

And now here we are, 55 years later, women make up more than half of the running population, all right? But it started with somebody who was willing to show up, be different, to fight for her place, to be criticized, to be made fun of, because she knew it was right. And I want you to be that person too.

The more of us who show up in public without apology even though we don’t look like a “typical runner,” the more we normalize it, the more we’re like, “Yeah, I’m fat, I run. Those things are not mutually exclusive.” The more we do that, the easier it is for the people that come behind us.

So don’t wait for somebody else to pave the way. Be the change you want to see. Step up, make it easier for the next woman coming after you, all right? And, seriously, as a beginning runner it’s going to be really easy for you to be like, “Oh no, but I don’t belong. Oh no, but somebody might laugh at me, somebody might make fun of me.” I don’t fucking care, you have got to be leading the way, right? I’m so passionate about this.

As women, we are already sort of behind the eight ball, okay? We already have to fight to be allowed in spaces, all right? And we are just one of many marginalized communities in the world, in the running world, but I’m speaking right now about fat women. We got to step up, my friends. And if you’re a beginner, this is one way. This is, again, your second act of bravery.

This is one way that you can show your daughters, show your female family members like this is how we roll. This is who we are. Okay? So be the fat person who runs in public. Be the slowest runner at your running group. Be okay with being different, knowing that you’re making a difference for somebody else, all right?

You’re leading the way. I would love in five years from now to show up to a race and see so many plus size people, so many slower people there just having the time of their lives, right? Not hiding under their hoodie or not making eye contact because they’re kind of afraid of what somebody might say to them. But just showing up, being proud, being themselves. All right, so show the fuck up, be that person.

Okay, that was a bit of a rant. But buckle up because there’s going to be another one. Number four is to do your fucking strength training. Oh my God, I’m not kidding about this. I can’t tell you how many people come to me and say, “Oh, I can’t run because my knees hurt.” And I’m like, “All right, well, how often do you squat? How much time do you spend lifting heavy things to make yourself strong? How much body weight training do you do?” And the answer is almost always zero.

So you can do your strength training now or you can wait until you get injured and then pay a physical therapist a couple hundred dollars a week to do it for a few months. I think it’s an easy choice, right? And there’s so many options. There’s tons of free videos on YouTube. The Peloton app if you subscribe to that, I think it’s like less than 20 bucks a month, has several strength training for runners videos. They have lots and lots of strength training videos, but they have some that are just specific for runners.

You can go to a gym and do some group classes. Or you can do a little research and create your own routine. You can build out your own home gym, you can go to your local gym and lift some weights there, you can hire a personal trainer. Join one of my programs and get my videos. You don’t need a lot of equipment.

You really don’t need much to strength train, especially if you’re fat. Oh my gosh, if you’re fat, body weight is on your side. You’re literally carrying around your gym every day. So please, if you are new to running, start your strength training now. Make it part of your routine from the beginning so you can be a stronger runner. Your knees will thank you, I promise.

All right, and number five, this is less ranty. This is more compassion, my friends and it’s very important. I want you to know that you’re going to have moments, maybe even entire days when you doubt yourself. When you are disappointed in your progress. When it feels so hard and uncomfortable and you’re really questioning your life choices.

I have been there many times, my friends. You’re going to have those thoughts. And here’s what I want you to promise me, okay? This is number five, you will never give up on yourself when you’re in the midst of doubt and defeat. That is not the time to say I quit.

When you’re feeling that desire to just say fuck it, this is so dumb. Why am I even bothering? I want you to promise me you’ll never quit in that moment, all right? Don’t let a difficult situation, in other words your brain being a bully to you, don’t let that break you. Give yourself a fighting chance.

If you want to quit running, if you decide like running is actually not a thing that I want to continue doing, that’s fine. But quit when you are not in a place of doubt and defeat. Quit when you are in a place of confidence, maybe even after a great run. You could be like, I went out on a high note, right? Don’t quit when you’re feeling down.

Doubt is so normal, everybody goes through it. I have been a runner for 25 years, I still have those moments when I think, “Why am I doing this again?” And those moments always happen on the hard runs. So I have a deal with myself, I don’t make decisions about running when I’m having a bad day because I’m really not thinking with my best mind at those times. I am thinking from the point of view of my inner mean girl and I don’t want to let her run the show. And I know you don’t, you’re better than that, okay?

All right, so just a real quick recap. Number one, get fitted for running shoes. Seriously, your first act of bravery, you’re going to march into a running store, you’re going to be like, “Hey, I’m a runner or I’m going to be a runner, I need some shoes. Let’s get me on that treadmill, help me out, hook me up.” All right, number one, get fitted for running shoes.

Number two, I want you to start dressing like a runner. Oh, and by the way, that means if it’s hot outside, you’re going to wear something sleeveless. It’s okay for your arms to be shown, right? It’s okay. It kind of blows my mind when people are like, “Oh, nobody needs to see my arms.” I’m like, we can still see your arm, even if they’re covered up with a shirt, right?

It’s not like the shirt magically makes your arms invisible. They look exactly the same size when there’s a shirt on them, when there’s not a shirt on them. So why wouldn’t you just wear a tank top? Or even better, just go running in your sports bra so that you’re more comfortable. But number two is please dress like a runner because you start to feel like a runner when you dress like a runner. It helps you shift your identity. Okay?

Number three is show the fuck up, be the fat person who runs in public, be the slowest runner at the race. Make it easier for the next person to be brave like you, all right? Show the world what all running bodies look like.

Number four, do your fucking strength training. I’m not going to say any more about that. And number five, promise me that you will never quit on yourself when you’re having a bad day, all right?

Real quick before you go, if you enjoyed listening to this episode, you have to check out my running start plan. It’s a free downloadable guide that will teach you exactly how to start running safely and confidently. Head on over to notyouraveragerunner.com/start running to grab it. I would love to be a part of your journey.