beginner - Beginners - Runner's World

kenneth pirrie

03/09/2002 at 15:04

i am 50 and just trying to take up the sport any hints or tips would be welcome.

Gemini

03/09/2002 at 16:05

DONT DO IT!!

only joking, if you go to the home page of this website they have lots of beginners articles which I found very useful. Biggest tip I found was don't run before you can walk, start slowly don't think you should have to run marathons immedialty and theres nothing wrong with having to start off doing run/walk combinations.

Good Luck

The Evil Pixie pirate

pirate

03/09/2002 at 16:25

You've done the hard bit by deciding to start!
I started about 6 weeks ago .... and I agree with Gemini ... walk lots first!

Good luck!

Cally

03/09/2002 at 16:52

I started 'running' in April, doing 1 minute of running followed by 4 minutes of walking and repeated this 4 times. I found that quite challenging enough! Now I'm up to running for 30 minutes continuously 3 times a week. Take it slowly & don't be worried that you're not doing much - I never thought I'd get to where I am today. My initial goal was to be able to run for 10 minutes by the end of the Summer! If you push yourself too hard you end up feeling like a failure & not wanting to carry on with it. I increased my time running really slowly so that I always felt I could handle it and was achieving something. I can honestly say I'm so glad I took those first steps to try it, I can't imagine not running now!
Best of luck with it!

The Evil Pixie pirate

pirate

03/09/2002 at 16:56

"Running" - defined as anything that is faster than your normal walk!! - is addictive! It's so true! I also sometimes find myself getting annoyed at not having "gone out".
But keep it slow to start with to get your legs used to the extra sustained use ... it will all be worth it in the end! It's when you find you can't do without running during the week that you can look back and recall these days with pride!