Running Around

I've been running as a goal now for 3 years. For that first year I walked every day with the idea that I'd lose weight before getting into running in order to avoid injury. That was a pretty good idea! Except I still got injured (lol). Years of sitting at a desk and not doing any weight lifting or exercise had left my muscles and tendons weak and vulnerable to injury.

Here are some things though that I've learned so fary. I still have a long way to go! But I am more durable now from when I started:

• Run every day. It sounded impossible when I started but I've learned so much from having to work out how to run no matter the situation or my injuries or my energy.
• Listen to the body, not the watch. I started with MAF Method and low heart rate training but have evolved to just listen to how my body feels. I no longer worry about the "gray zone" and just go by feel and enjoy my runs.
• Fasted cardio is good; eat something though to make runs easier. A banana seems to do the trick about 20 minutes before heading out the door.
• Eat protein! Lots of it. And the best is cottage cheese with a tablespoon of whey protein isolate (90% protein) about an hour before bed. Muscles just soak all that up and feel better by morning.
• Don't medicate for pain relief. The pain is a signal to listen to! Pain tells you what is happening. Ibuprofen or other NSAID medications just prolong the injury and likely will make it worse since you won't know to take it easy.
• Don't bother icing injuries. Unless it's really bad like a twisted and swollen ankle. Better to elevate, wrap it in a heatpad, and then start the next day with a really light load to test it out. Stop if pain is more than a 5/10. Keep going and progressively harder if a 3-4.
• Run your own run. Don't compare yourself to other runners. Whoo-boy! This is a hard one but definitely makes your running less enjoyable if you see someone older/heavier/etc. able to run faster or longer than you. They probably have been running much longer. Or they have good genetics! Or ... you just need to work your own plan and trust the process of growth. You will get faster or stronger or both. You may decide you like trails and hills and don't care about speed.

Not sure this helps anyone but myself. It's good to plant a stake in the ground for later so you can see how far you've come.