I can remember in middle school going to a skating rink. All the cool kids had their roller blades and I had my dorky, four-wheel rent -a- fungus skates. I had no idea how to skate. No one in my family could skate. No one in my extended family could skate, but I wanted to learn and was determined to make it work.
I saved my money and bought a pair of rollerblades. I started by standing a few seconds, quickly followed by a bruised tail bone. I got back up and tried again. After several hours and bruises later, I started to get the hang of it. Within a few weeks, I was skating backwards, jumping steps and killing brain cells. It was like riding a bike. Although I would not jump steps now, I found it easy to get out and skate after 6 years with no wheels under my feet.
I am the type who will do something for several hours / days in a row until I master it. You can't do that with the guitar. When first playing I was lucky to play for 10 minutes before my fingers quit working. It takes weeks, sometimes months to develop a good sound and requires a day or two off to let my fingertips heal. Too much time off though, and I have to start from square one, with bleeding fingers and short practices.
Running is the same way. You must take time to allow your muscles to heal and strengthen. It does not come overnight. The last thing you want to do is injure yourself and start all over. Running is much more than just tying your shoes. If you want to do it right, do it right the first time. When I first played a "D" chord a few months ago on my guitar, I learned the wrong way. I played it wrong for three days and spent over two weeks trying to unlearn it and play it right.
The same will be if you start running without the proper instruction. If your going to run, do it right. Otherwise you will be sitting at the sidelines. I hope to help you along and will do my best to provide some helpful tips for you, but there are other great websites and resources out there. Everything from good shoes AND socks, to your diet can greatly influence your running experience. I hope to cover many of these areas in future posts.
As many of you read my first introduction and post, I trained and completed a 1/2 marathon trail race in less than three weeks... and also I wrote that I would not recommend it unless it was a one-time deal. For most reading this, it will not be a one time-deal, even if you think it is. Once you experience the rush, the adrenaline and accomplishment of completing a race you never imagined, you will want to do it all over again.
I wanted to know that I could still do it. When I signed up, I had no idea it would lead me to starting a blog, training for a future race next year or inspiring others to go for the gold. Now that I see its true purpose, I want to make sure runners who follow this blog will train properly so they can reach their goal. I am no expert so please do extra research before you get started.
Now is the start for the long haul. Now is the beginning to find out how far you can really go. Now is the hardest part of your entire training program... getting started. Running less than what you know you can do.
Why? Because your body needs to catch up with your spirit. Your lungs need to catch up with your muscles and your entire body needs to adjust. Start with less and work your way up to more. The next mile and pushing yourself will come, but the hardest part for now may be holding back. It may be doing twice the amount of stretches and half the amount of running.
Are you ready for a change? Are you ready to lay it on the line? Lets begin.
