*waves the newbie wave*

[yvi]

Hi there!

I am new! And also semi-new to running. Semi because I tried it both three and two years ago, but it never really stuck. But this time it will ;) My boyfriend and I want to get fitter and to get us motivated we set a date for us: mid-June at one of the city races: me doing 5K, him doing 10K. So after I hand in my Master's thesis tomorrow, I am going to buy new headphones, download the Couch25K podcast and start Wednesday morning.

Any fellow newbies here? Or if you aren't, how did you start and what helped you through in the first few weeks?

Comments

[gnomad]

Welcome! I am a semi-newbie. I ran my first slow 5k last June and now I'm running as part of triathlon training.

I think the thing that has helped me the most is HR training as part of the tri training plan I'm following. We've been building our 'base' for the past 2 months, which means staying in low, low heart rate zones for the whole workout. I shuffle along at pathetic speeds and get passed by grannies with walkers, but it has taken a lot of pressure off of me to go faster than I should (and get injured). And now that I've been doing it for a while I'm starting to notice that my pace is getting faster even though my heart rate is staying the same, which is way cool. Yay aerobic base! \o/

So, yeah, starting slow is my main advice. Good luck! Keep us updated on how it's going. :)

[yvi]

Wanting to start slow is why I am refusing to train with my boyfriend - while he is as out of shape as I am, I just know he will run faster in a week or two. So in order to not overdo it and to not get demotivated, we will train separately and only play squash together once a week or something :)

I am a semi-newbie. I ran my first slow 5k last June and now I'm running as part of triathlon training.

Wow, congrats!

[blnchflr]

I'm pretty much a continual beginner - this, that and injuries, not to mention excuses, get in the way, so I always seem to be starting from scratch.

Am I reading you right that you're running a 5K race in about a week already? In which case you're way beyond anything I do :oD

[yvi]

Ack *edits* No, I meant to write June. Three months will hopefully be enough to at least be able to finish :)

[blnchflr]

Lol, I was thinking we must have very different definitions of "out of shape"!

In that case, since my biggest problem is getting off my ass, it helps me to tell myself I just have to do a short run. Tiny little run! Then as soon as I go to put my shoes on, I'm usually ready to run longer than that.

(I have only been doing very short runs this winter (2.5K), though, but it's still more than I have any other winter, so I'm hoping I'm not starting quite so from scratch as usual.)

[ilanarama]

I'm far from a newbie, but I just wanted to give you a big encouraging wave!

[zing_och]

What helped me:
- fixed times for running (for example tuesday and friday in the mornings, which is what I was doing last year for a while; now it's at noon on fridays and another date I still have to establish - maybe tuesday morning)
- a running buddy! I've run alone for the longest time, but I definitely run better, longer and have more fun when I'm not alone.