Runners?

[lastlight]

For me running is nice alone time. Good music and nature. Funny I think most people would like to have a running partner but I doubt I could do it. They do say if you're running often that it should be at a pace where you *could* carry on little bits of a conversation with someone without too much trouble.

Forgot to mention that in the beginning I was about 225lbs. It was still nice out so I was in a shorts and t-shirt. This meant I shook like Santa. Maybe it's silly but all my initial running this year was done at night as I did feel a bit self-conscious.

If you're going to run in the winter (this has been a first for me) get tights, windproof pants for over the tights, running jacket, mitts, toque and balaclava. This way you can layer up and down (mostly tights or tights and pants... toque or balaclava or once i needed a toque OVER the balaclava) and not worry about freezing out there. I find while it can be slippery right now if it's -10 or colder the snow is crunchy and not slick... and the snow is easier on my knees.

Word of warning about the balaclava...I'm pretty tall and when I meet people out there (fish creek park) dressed all in black with a rapist mask on I don't always get a wave back.

For a cute spin to this thread here's a little gaffer I spotted on one run:

[toxic111]

Ok, back in HS 20+yrs ago I hated gym or running. I was not an athlete at all... loved to ride my bike with my friends, that was it, then I got a car.

Fast forward to last spring. A buddy of mine in the RCMP told me he signed up to run the Victoria marathon. some back and forth on FB he challenged me to start the couch to 5k program ( http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml ) and come out there next spring to run with him in a 5k or 10k if I can get ready.

I worked through the program through the summer, I find for me running right after work but before supper works for me, my body is all stretched out from moving around the day. In August I ran my first 5K, but pushed my self a little too much and got shin splints, it took 6 weeks for them to heal. with the cold weather & a cold & flu that knocked me out for 4 weeks out of 5 I am getting back going. I am hoping to be back running & back to 5k for the end of January.

If you start running, go to the running room & get fitted for shoes. Spend the $$ for a good pair that fit you right, it will pay in the long run.

You can also use the Nike + app for the iphone, if you don't have a iphone, they do have an app that will work for the touch, or a ipod.

The C25K also has a pod cast that has music & promts to let you know to run or walk. It is what I used.

Let us know how it goes.

Also quit smoking, its something I don't regret doing, & I liked smoking when I did quit.

[Trabby]

This is great feedback! Thank you!! I'll give you a bit more about myself....
I'm 32 years old, I am a stay at home mom of 3 great kids. Never been athletic.At age 18 I was walking home late one night and got a bit creeped out..... So I ran home. It was great, so I decided I was going to run more often. I'd run at night because I felt I didn't look so stupid in the dark lol
I ran for about 8 weeks and my knees where trashed, so I quit. Up until 2003 I did not drive, I walked or towed my kids behind me on my bike.
Then I got a car and that's the end of that
March of this year I went out and spent $$$ on some fancy nike shoes and a pod for my shoe. Well... I walked a fair bit.. Did a bit of running and felt rather close to dying but was enjoying it. I felt that my Nike+ pod for the shoe was lying to me ..I was going to buy the couch to 5k app for my touch....Then the two months of wet and snowy crappy weather came... Can and will not wreck my fancy new shoes ahhhh Then I got sick.. Then my focus turned to planting and tending to my garden and pond.
So now that brings me to now.. I sooo need to motivate myself... My peeps
kinda thought I was nuts when I made my failed attempt in the spring.. Proved
them right didn't I, lol plus this isn't the sort of thing that any of them are interested in.
well ultimately I would like to blow all of their socks off and run a marathon.. A fundraising marathon for diabetes, my 13 yr old son is a type 1 diabetic... This in itself is great motivation... But it's not enough... That is the longterm goal... I'd probably have a heart attack running around my block :0 thank you cigarettes .... That's the big hurdle... I need to get in some freaky mindset and
quit... OMG!! I don't even know where to start!!

[lastlight]

I think there is something to good shoes. Mine are over 4 years old and I do battle bad shin splints in my left leg sometimes.

I personally feel that the more you think you have to prove the easier it is. Make stuff up in your head if you have to =) I was always the skinny kid until I moved out from home and it sorta sickens me how I got equally used to being the overweight guy in just 10 or so years. So you have something to prove to yourself and everyone that knows you're running. It's not showing off it's showing people (and most importantly yourself) what you're capable of.

I should mention I never smoked but I have been a lifelong junkfoodaholic. We're talking the big bags of chips in one sitting, fast food all the time etc. Every previous comeback I attempted I never kicked that habit. Both need to happen (at least moderation I still indulge).

I recommend runkeeper because we can be steet team members. Nothing motivates like knowing your buddy was out for a run =)

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by lastlight

I think there is something to good shoes. Mine are over 4 years old and I do battle bad shin splints in my left leg sometimes.

Absolutely!! I'll go through 3 pairs of shoes in a year. Once they get old, your legs are gonna suffer. Go to a running store and get real shoes for your foot posture. Wrong shoes and you'll just set yourself up for failure.

[lastlight]

Yeah I intend to Brad. I didn't have the money after all the other gear and didn't wanna trash new ones in the snow this winter but yeah these are ancient. I also just bought them years ago never pro fitted. I sure hope that will help with the splints when spring comes and I have the cash.

[Aquattro]

Brett, they'll really help with the shins. I spend about 130 on Mizuno brand, really light and comfy, like running in slippers. I then rotate. I get a new pair for running, recycle the recently used ones as daily drivers, and the old daily drivers go to the used shoes for african kids bin at the Running Room.
But get a pair that are specifically for running. When i started, I was heavier and the impact was tough on joints, so good shoes helps get past that a bit...

[Delphinus]

Oh man ... >4 year old shoes is a perfect recipe for more shin and knee discomfort... Get new shoes!! Small price to pay to protect your shins and knees..

[kien]

Lots of great stories and advice here! Everyone is different so we all have different methods to our maddness..
The take away theme though I think is that you need 3 key ingredients.

1. A motivating force to get you started. That could be your own personal will and desire to start, a family member, a race you've signed up for, a story, a goal or some bloke from a reefing forum.
2. Some way to measure your progress.
3. A motivating force to keep you going.

For myself I have run on and off over the past few years but have always lacked one of those ingredients so I frequently fell off the wagon. Last August I started running again because I was traveling so much for work which was very stressful. My fish tank was a zillion miles away so I needed a way to relieve that stress. One day I just decided to put on an old pair of running shoes and started running. I didn't run very far and it wasn't pretty but I wasn't training for anything so that was okay with me. I did this again a few days later and ran a little further. I took my shoes with me on my business trips and started running after work. Still not pretty, lots of huffing and puffing and I think the pedestrians were walking faster than I was running at times.

One day my wife said that I was getting faster. I was surprised because I wasn't tracking my runs so I had no idea. She just noticed that I was getting home sooner. I then decided to install a running app for my iPhone called RunKeeper. High recommend!! It is available for just about any smart phone out there. This was my ingredient number #2 that I was missing previously. I started to track every run and could easily see that I was getting faster and was running further. I still had no real goals set. I wasn't planning on running any races. It was just really cool to race against myself and pat myself on the back. You can see here that as I said, my first few runs were nothing to write home about.. http://runkeeper.com/user/Keener/activity/14376332.

After a while running became a chore and I was starting to lose motivation. Lucky for me that ingredient #3 came at the right time. Some fool on canreef was stalking me and watching my runs and started to run as well. They too tracked their runs with runkeeper and posted them. At first i was like, "okay, cool, he's running too." Then, the next thing I know the bastard goes and runs a half a marathon! That's a heck of a lot further than I have ever run. That motivated me to push my runs a little further.

So now I am stuck in an endless cycle. I go out for a run, feel good about myself only to see that my virtual running buddy has gone and run another half a marthon. Or, I'll be lazy and not run for a week only to see that he's run two half marathonds in that week! WTF?? So, I'll go out and crank out a 10K run in 50 minutes to show him who's BOSS!

To this day I still have no particular goals. I don't plan to race any marathons or half marathons. I just put on my shoes and run against myself, try to better my stats or chase my virtual running buddies. I never pictured myself as a winter runner because I absolutely hate the cold, but hey, if Brett can do it so can I :P

[Delphinus]

Yeah, good for you two guys for finding the magic to push yourself into running in the winter. I could not do it.