The thing you need to do if it’s your first time running

Welcomeand welcome to the Beginner’s Guide to Running. If you have never run in your life or if you have an athletic background but have accumulated many years of being sedentary, this is the place to be. Starting with this article and in the next few I will tell you about how to start running from scratch, even if you have no preparation but only the willpower or curiosity to try. You made a brave and very beautiful choice. You chose to love yourself and respect your body. Over the next few weeks you will realize that a most effective way to make him well is to move him. We were made to move and, as legendary coach and Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman said, “You have a body: you are an athlete.” It is likely that several factors brought you here: the desire to get in shape, the need to find a personal and intimate mental space, the desire to challenge yourself and do something you had never done but, perhaps incomprehensibly, felt the pull of. Thinking about running is natural-it’s a throwback to when you were a child, to that sense of freedom and carefreeness you felt then. You have listened to a part of you that has been trying to talk to you for a long time, so you have already taken the right step, and as you know, the first step is the hardest. In this first phase we will not run yet but we will ask (and I will ask) you questions. They are used to figure out if you are in the mental and physical state to kick the sedentary habit and get moving. Ready?

Are you able to do that?

Let’s start with the most important question. Your answer will probably be “I don’t know.” Until you try you cannot in fact know if you will succeed but this is also an invitation to listen to yourself a lot, especially the first few times you run. Listen to your body, your breath, your mind. Sedentary living has accustomed us to listening very little: we only notice our bodies when something hurts. When I started my personal journey, I had never run, and I had no one to advise me (Runlovers did not exist yet!). At the time I used to swim but running is something else. I was lucky because I was not injured and I did not lose motivation right away. Because it’s easy for that to happen if you don’t take it the right way. If, however, you have already thought about trying you are building your personal motivation, and in the coming weeks you will realize how crucial having a purpose is. I would say, however, that if you have read this far, you don’t lack motivation, so let’s proceed.

Medical examination

To be certain that your physical condition allows you to run , you need to have a sports medical examination: a medical specialist must assess your ability to withstand certain exertions. For this it will analyze your heart and breath under stress by having you run on a treadmill or pedal on an exercise bike with electrodes attached to certain points on your body. If you are taking your first steps, this kind of examination may be superfluous: in Italy, for example, the medical-sports certificate is required only in competitions, but that does not detract from the fact that, especially after a certain age, having it is a good rule. You are not doing it to participate in the races but to face this new adventure with more serenity. In any case, the first steps (literally!) will be gradual, so they won’t put a strain on your physique.

Don’t just run: run and walk

I lied to you: I told you you would not run. True, however, I’m not telling you to just run but to run and walk, because awareness and gradualness are crucial in facing this new chapter in your life. You have to get back in touch with your body, your muscles and your breathing little by little, gradually in fact. Imagine sedentariness as a period of rest that has weakened your physique and made you distracted toward it. From today onward you must start talking to each other again; in fact: you must especially listen to him. Since you have to get to running little by little, the best way is to walk and alternate occasional easy run fractions. At first you will just need to have a pair of comfortable shoes, not office shoes and not heels, obviously. Lots of sneakers will do, the important thing to remember is that as your speed and distance traveled increases you will need to equip yourself with a pair of technical shoes. It’s time to exhume those oh-so-comfortable ones you only use when you go for long walks-they will do just fine. Welcome and welcome to an unprecedented dimension of your life: one in which you do things for no particular reason or for the things themselves. Until yesterday you were walking to work or grocery shopping while now you are doing it (running as well, in the process) for–to walk. You’re doing something that only makes sense to you and that’s beautiful, isn’t it? Next time we will really start running but for now I will leave you with this question: why do you want to do this? I don’t want to get into your business; I just suggest you give yourself an answer and write it down on a piece of paper that you keep somewhere. In the coming weeks you may come to wonder why you are doing this, either disconsolately or out of simple curiosity. In those moments, remember that piece of paper and go back and read what it says. See you soon, this time on the road and with the right shoes on your feet! (Main image credits: Newafrica on DepositPhotos.com)

THE GUIDE TO START RUNNING

1. The thing you need to do if it’s your first time running

2. Shall we start running?

3. What shoes do you really need for running?

4. How to always be ready to run

5. The tricks to make running less strenuous

6. How to dress for running in all seasons

7. How to avoid getting hurt by running

8. Seven tips for always wanting to run

9. To run well, you need to eat well and rest

10. Running faster and longer