How Do I Run?

Running may be a natural movement, but using proper form can help you be more efficient and conserve energy.

Use a mid-foot strike. As your feet contact the ground, aim for having the middle of the feet make first contact. This helps with maintaining a comfortable and relaxed pace. Toe striking should typically be saved for sprinting and faster paces. Take a comfortable stride length. If your stride is too long, it will cause your heel (back of your feet) to strike first. This leads to wasting energy, will slow you down, and increases risk of injury.

Your upper body should be upright but relaxed. Work on keeping your head up, your back straight, and your shoulders level. A tense upper body or arching your back can leads to wasted energy, will cause tightness and pain in the lower back, and increases risk of injury.

Your arms should swing naturally from your shoulder and should be bent at around 90 degrees at waist height. Your hands should be relatively loose. Keep your hands from crossing over the center of your stomach. This will conserve energy.

Running Basics

Benefits of Running

Running is a healthy activity, enjoyed by millions of people. Running can be a pretty simple form of exercise. All you really need to run is a decent pair of shoes and personal desire to start.

You have learned a bit about why I run. But in general, you may be asking “Why should I run?”

There are many reasons why:

• It is one of the most efficient methods to reach aerobic fitness
• It is a great way to lose weight
• It is relatively inexpensive
• It is convenient indoors or outside
• It is a great stress reliever
• It is a form of exercise that can be done alone or with others

Running gives your heart and lungs a workout. Your blood becomes better at carrying oxygen. Your heart is strengthened and pumps more with less effort. As you continue running, over time, your resting heart rate decreases. Your cholesterol levels tend to be lower.

Running, over time, produces a general good feeling. Once you gain a beginning level of running fitness, you will most likely begin to “feel” like you want to run instead of “feeling” that you have to run. Have you ever hear runner talk about a “runner’s high”? From personal experience, this is real. It is when endorphins are released during exercise and it gives you a feeling of Euphoria. Also the calories that can be burned through running is generally higher than many other forms of exercise.

Starting Out

If you are just beginning the process of running or have taken a significant time away from running, start off easy and gently build up to avoid injury. Adding too many miles or going to fast too early will significantly increase your chances for injury.

Consult with your Doctor. They will be happy you wanting to exercise. However, they will likely have some guidelines for you to follow, based on your specifics.

Running shoes. When running, it is important for you to wear proper shoes. I would encourage you to locate a nearby running store. They should be able to do what is known as a Gait analysis on your running motion. This will allow you to purchase a pair of shoes that matches your motion, decreasing your risk of injury.

Stretching and warm up time. Before your daily workout, please allow some time for stretching and to warm up. This will help you enjoy a more quality run and will decrease your risk of injury. Learn from my experience, this is important. You may “feel” as though you can skip this step. However, lack of stretching and warm up time will eventually catch up to you..

Walk, then Run. When first starting to run, it is imperative to mix walking with running. Time spent running will lengthen over time, as your fitness level increases and your body adapts. Perhaps walk a neighborhood block followed by running the next block. Or walk for a couple minutes and then run for a couple minutes. As your comfort level grows, you can switch over to more time running.

Be intentional with your pace. As you begin to run, this may not be natural for you. It is pretty important though. There may be small aches and pains. Running too fast, too soon could make it worse. Running at a conversational pace will help. If you are not able to hold a conversation during the run, you are going too fast. Slow down.

Why I Run

I started playing sports when I was very young. My elementary school years consisted of YMCA Softball, Little League Baseball, YMCA Basketball, and flag football. From the get go, I was a fairly gifted runner. At the start of junior high, most of my sports friends began growing and I did not. That pretty much put an end to my time playing competitive baseball, basketball, and football. I joined the Cross Country Running team and quickly fell in love with the sport of distance running. Later in that first year of junior high, I joined the track team as part of the distance team.

Throughout my high school days, running became my passion. It started off as an athletic outlet for me once I was no longer able to be competitive in other sports. Through running, I found coaches that believed in me as a person, who would encourage me, and would help me reach beyond my preconceived limits. Running brought me friends that I still connect with today. Running, in many ways, shaped who I am as a person. It gave me something to do as a teenager. It helped keep me motivated to do well in school and stay out of trouble. It has taught me self-discipline. It has taught me how to be mentally tough. It has taught me how to reach deep inside to push through hard times in life. It has taught me how to move forward and learn from mistakes and poor choices.

After high school, I ran for fun but not competitively. I ran with friends. I ran in local 5K races. I ran as a method for reflection. Running brings a sense of calm to my life. After my college days, for the better part of ten years running began disappearing from my life. I had become busy with life, with being married, with a full time job, with study for the CPA exams, with being a dad, with earning an MBA. I quit making fitness a priority.

Once I hit 30 years of age, I began longing to run again. I remembered my high school dreams of completing a marathon. My dreams of Qualifying for the Boston Marathon. (How many teenagers have this as a dream?) I made the decision to start running again! It was a process. I have seen successes and down times. I trained wrong for my first full marathon and struggled with motivation to run for many months after. Since then, I have completed many road races of various distances. I have ran in many 5Ks, 10Ks, Thanksgiving day races. I have completed several half marathons and, so far, 3 marathons. My half marathon personal best is 1:43:28 and my full marathon personal best is 3:54:55.

Why do I run? For me, Running is a journey. It is a process. I am constantly learning and growing. Constantly pushing myself. Constantly challenging complacency.