If you are new to running you will find that it is often difficult to drag yourself out of bed, struggle into running clothes, shove down a bit of carbs and protein and trudge out the door.  Then you are left standing there wondering why you got out of bed when it is already hot and humid at 6:00 in the morning.  It takes even more effort to start moving your legs as you meander down the street contemplating about how fast you should go.  As you round the corner, you eye the end of the street and suggest to yourself that it is a great place to turnaround and head back.  However, you manage to convince yourself otherwise and remind yourself that your goal for the morning was 3 miles.  At mile 1 you reconsider the 3 miles and make the final decision to turnaround.  You see your cozy home in the distance as you reach mile 2.  As you walk up the driveway and enter the air-conditioned environment you are relieved, yet disappointed.  You gave up too soon and didn’t reach your goal.  How will you ever finish a half marathon?

All beginning runners have experienced this situation.  As with any task, activity or sport, it takes time and committment to do it better.  Not only that, it takes the “want.”  You have to want to do it.  I know it sounds funny… I mean, who really wants to power through 3 grueling miles?  I guess it is a different kind of “want” that really implies something that we know is hard to get, but feel like we “want” to work through the challenge to reap the rewards.

You do the right thing by signing up for that half marathon and then moments later you wonder what you were thinking.  How will you bring yourself to wake up early enough to beat the heat?  How will you be able to function after expending all your energy?  How will you keep yourself from getting bored on a long run?  At that point it all just seems crazy.  Yet, you try it out.  You run a few times (or at least attempt to run) and then you tell yourself that it isn’t working.  You get mad at yourself for spending money to register for a half-marathon, but that isn’t enough to keep you in the game.  You just quit.

Is that it?  Is that all you have?  Some of us just need a little external motivation.  Yeah, it is hard to start running on your own.  You feel alone out there on the pavement and think that no one else understands how you feel about your attempts to gain confidence in running.  Little do you know that the person you pass along the way is feeling the same way.  Well, they looked like they weren’t struggling to put one foot in the other, but they were.  It looked like they weren’t finding it difficult to breathe, but they were.  It looked like they could go on running for hours, but all they really wanted to do was run straight home.

Running takes committment and sometimes we find it easier if we hold each other accountable for making it work.  A group of people with the same goals in mind can work together to carry you through the rough spots and cheer you on during the victories.  Yet, the group is another kind of committment.  If you want to benefit from the group, then you must join the group.  That means becoming a part of the group and showing others that you are dedicated to the group.  You are an individual, but the group acts like a unit.  You are there to be supported, but you also have a job to be the supporter.  With the group, you will make it to the finish.  We can’t be so sure if you choose the other path that is bare and isolated.  It is possible, but that takes a different kind of dedication.  And why not make lifelong running buddies?  You don’t have to do it alone.

I’m sure you already know the answer to my question.  Unless you totally think I am just a selfish person (gee, I sure hope you don’t feel that way).

Why do I bring this up?  A woman at the gym approached me today and we started talking about the crazy people who take the Cardio Sculpt class right before they participate in the Bodypump class.  Then, she turned towards me and looked me directly in the eye and asked me if it seemed obsessive to work out 2 hours a day, 6 days a week.  I immediately thought about myself and my own addictions and told her “absolutely not.”  She obviously found the right person to ask.

Then she continued by asking if it was selfish to work out so much, especially when you have 3 kids.  Once again, that was my story in a nutshell and I once again told her “absolutely not.”  Of course you can’t just make that kind of statement without backing it up.  So, I said “what about the moms who spend 2 hours a day scrapbooking or the moms who browse the internet for 2 hours?”  (okay, more specifically I am referring to the facebook addicts here).  Oh wait, what about the moms who read the Twilight series over and over again?  There is absolutely nothing wrong with those hobbies (I, myself, have partaken in some of these activities), but the point is that nearly everyone has a hobby that they enjoy.  What’s the difference if you are at the gym or if you are curled up in your bed with a book?

Yet, that wasn’t the end of the conversation.  I proceeded to tell her that she was setting a good example for her kids by staying active.  That is when she told me that she had lost 105 pounds.  That is just amazing and more power to any woman who has lost weight!  We aren’t as lucky as the guys when it comes to that kind of challenge.  She stated that she was worried about not being there enough for her kids and of course, like any parent, she fears they will get mixed up in the wrong crowds.  I told her that her activity would most likely have the opposite effect on her kids.  She is the role model that they need to have in their life and they will hopefully follow in her footsteps by participating in sports or joining local clubs and organizations.  This is what our kids need to do in order to stay busy and out of trouble.  Well, that is my plan anyway (I will let you know how it works out in 20 years).  I know my focus is athletic activities, but it really doesn’t matter how you stay involved (community service, arts & crafts, dance, music, nature expert, etc.), it’s the involvement part that shows you are an active member of society and this sets the good example for your children.

Okay, so that wasn’t my last point to make.  You see, I feel it is truly important to do an activity you enjoy because it makes you feel happy.  When you feel happy, you tend to share that happiness with those around you.  You are improving your own personal well-being as you do so.  So, I might miss out on 2 hours with my kids while I take a class at the gym or go for a run, but I return a much better mommy so that the hours that I do spend with them are extraordinary (okay, not all of the time, but at least I am better able to cope with the downsides to parenting so that I can relish in the upsides :).  Since I started running I noticed that I am less stressed, have more energy and  just feel so much better about myself.

So, is it selfish to run?  Absolutely not.

Okay, so someone recently mentioned that running was a form a torture.  Therefore, why would I torture myself?  Hmmm, that is a good question.  I guess the easiest way to answer that question is to say that I don’t consider it torture.  Yeah, sometimes I test my limits, but I still keep coming back for more.  If you ask me, I think that I could torture myself in worse ways.  I could sit in traffic for hours during a long commute to work or I could jump out of an airplane with nothing but a piece of fabric to bring me safely to the ground, or better yet, I could stay inside all day with my three girls (okay, okay… I love them very much, but parenting isn’t ALL fun and games :).

No, running is actually the opposite of torture for me.  It is like going to a tropical island and sitting on the beach drinking mai tai’s with no one else in sight.  Seriously, it is pretty much a vacation for me.  I did just mention that I have three kids!  It is one of my few escapes from reality.  I don’t have to answer to anyone but myself and I have the freedom to go where I want to go (well, except for when I have to succumb to the dreaded treadmill).  Not only do I run to escape, but I run to feel good about myself in health and mind. Surprisingly, I have more energy on the days when I run and I just feel that sense of accomplishment when I finish a really great run.  Running has just become a part of who I am.

Everyone has their reasons as to why they choose to run.  Some people start running to lose weight.  I have to say that it worked for me after all three of my pregnancies!  Running burns twice as many calories than walking the same distance (actually, it burns more calories than most other activities, especially when you get into that interval training).  Some people just have a goal in mind, like finishing a half-marathon or a full marathon (maybe it is on their bucket list) and they train to finish.  Those goal-oriented runners may stop running when they have reached their goal or they may continue setting new goals (totally happened to me).  I think that running can actually become very addicting.  Hey, at least it is a healthy addiction (smokers tend to have issues running… something about not being able to breathe).  Running is something that you can take with you far into your later years.  You gotta love it when the really old couple passes you at mile 18.

Running is a great way to make friends.  During most of your runs, you should be able to sustain a decent conversation with someone who is running close to your own pace.  It is easier to run when time seems to fly by as you discuss your aches and pains, recent running gear purchases and upcoming races.  This naturally creates more happiness in your life and can bring you from a low to a high.  The other great thing about running is that there are so many events centered around the activity.  Just in Jacksonville, for example, there are races nearly every weekend.  Sure, it can get spendy, but at least you can choose a few great races each year.  It also gives you an excuse to travel to new locations.  And can you believe that they now offer running races on certain cruise lines?  I was just excited to have the opportunity to run through Disney World before the park actually opened to the general public… and we even went backstage :).

Sure, some people just don’t like to run.  I just hope that they at least gave it a good try before they came to that conclusion.  You really need to do it for 6 weeks, 3 times a week, before you can say that you don’t like it. However, I will say that I don’t like jumping out of an airplane before I actually try it because I will never bring myself on to an airplane with only a parachute strapped to my back.  No thank you.

Now it’s not a question of knowing what to do, it is a matter of getting my body to actually do it.  As far as coaching goes, this may be one of those “do as I say and not as I do” topics.  Or, here is what NOT to do.  Okay, okay,  I don’t think I should give up too soon (because you shouldn’t either).

So, I decided to sign up for a free class on good form running.  How could I not?  I had been told that I have poor form on many occasions and I have seen the countless race photographs depicting my uncanny form in motion.  At least I am a teacher and I know that if I want to help others learn I have to continue to improve as well.  Therefore, I will share with you what I learned.

There are basically four important factors to remember when keeping good form during running: a straight posture, striking mid-foot, a slight lean forward and a cadence of about 180 steps per minute.

1. Posture:  Stay relaxed, with your feet straight ahead and shoulders down.  The elbows should be locked at 90 degrees and your arms should not cross your mid-section at any time.  Your eyes should be focused straight ahead (okay, if you have tripping issues like me, then glancing down every now and then is reasonable).  Always keep your knees slightly bent in order to absorb the shock of impact.

2.  Lean:  Lean from the ankles and not the knees.  A slight lean forward allows gravity to help you and you don’t work your calf muscles as hard.

3.  Land on your mid-foot:  Do not land on your heel or your toes.  The leg that is trailing behind should become parallel to the ground.  If you keep your knees flexed and land on your mid-foot, then this allows the muscles to absorb the impact (instead of your bones).  You should practice before you start running by marching in place.

4.  Cadence:  Try to aim for 180 steps for minutes.  This takes time and practice to figure out.  You can use a stopwatch and count the number of right foot strikes for 20 seconds and then multiply by 6.  You should barely hear your feet hitting the ground.

So, they decided to videotape us before providing us with any of this information.  Then we had to replay it for everyone to see so that the instructor could point out what we shouldn’t be doing.  Just let me tell you that at least 90% of those folks were landing on their heal.  A big no no!  I was one of those people.  Not only does this leave us prone to injury, but it slows us down (and causes other issues like my knee knocking and flailing legs).  If you land on your mid-foot underneath your body, then you are better able to propel yourself forward with the momentum (and greater surface area touching the ground).

Another issue noted in the video was that the runners tended to crunch up their shoulders and keep their arms high. The shoulders should be relaxed and you should swing back and forth using your forearms (which reduces the rotation of your upper body… a movement that causes you to bounce too much so you put energy into going up and down instead of forward).

Yep, so there I was with all of this information wondering how I was going to put it together.  It seemed to work okay when I ran alongside one of the instructors.  I was actually pretty excited and thought that it wasn’t as hard as I thought.  Then I said thanks and headed out alone for a 4-mile run.  So there I was, focused on standing straight with a slight lean, swinging my forearms while trying to relax my shoulders, focusing on the mid-foot and counting my steps.  Whew!  Way too much to focus on at one time!  I decided to try one step out at a time.  First I would think about my posture, then I would move on to my arm swing, and next on to my feet… and you get the point.  Well, I am not really sure how it worked out because when I returned back to the first step I think I was already back to my old habits. On top of that, I was going so SLOW and it was making me frustrated.  I finally made it back to my car more tired than I have been in a long time.

Okay, so I didn’t see results overnight, but I am at least smart enough to know that it just doesn’t happen that way.  I think I will try to work on one piece at a time over the next few runs.  I would recommend the same for you.  It was slightly embarrassing watching myself run on video (especially in front of the whole class), but I learned a lot about my running form.  Now I find myself slowing down in my car if I see someone running down the street so I can check out their form (yes, I’m sure they think I am a stalker).  I plan to videotape myself in about a month to see if anything  has changed.  If it helps, then great.  If not, then it just wasn’t meant to be.  It should always be about what feels right for you and leaves you injury-free… everyone is different.