…Way back when I started running back in
‘Why am I so bad at this? When does it get easier? Is my body even built for this? Do you sell a pill to help this process along at all?’
But the only thing that would come out of my mouth is “My knees always hurt, and I am not sure if my shoes are good.” Those nice people pointed me to some good shoes, and my running and part of my ego were saved. If only I got better shoes from the get-go, it would have made the whole process easier and less painful. But I guess if running came to be any easier, I would not be doing what I am doing now. So there. Here are my top 5 mistakes that I made, and hopefully, you will learn from.
Bad shoes: Yes, see above. I also ran those shoes into the ground and they may have disintegrated when I was done with them. This also led to knee and hip pain that I sometimes blamed on the extra 10 pounds I was carrying around. Nope, just that my shoes were expired and I needed new ones. (I was also very cheap, so dumping 100 on shoes every 6 months hurt my soul a little.)
Bad bra: When I started running, I wore 3 sports bras on top of each other. I still bounced, but I couldn’t breathe. I finally found a “proper” bra for my DD’s and my life, girls and running were much happier.
Didn’t run with people: My running buddy was a yellow walkman, a PIxies cassette tape, and maybe the radio from time to time. I didn’t know anyone who ran, so I went out solo. I even trained for my first marathon by myself. Yes yes, I know I can be funny and charming, but after 13 miles, I am no fun to hang around with and my mind was not very friendly. When I moved to Seattle I found a group to run with and it made all the difference. There is a time for me, myself and my music, but I’ll take running with people 90% if the time.
Stopped running after I ran my goal race: My big goal was running a marathon. It took me 2 solid years to do that. Once I crossed that finish line, I found the couch and stayed there for about 8 months. I now tell people to sign up for a race as soon as your done with your BIG race. Something small and fun to remember why you liked running in the first place.
Ate all the things: I consumed everything and anything with the idea that “I am a runner now” and that extra weight that I wanted to drop just kept adding up. This one I am still working on this, but now I am better about trusting my hunger levels before eating, and not out of fear that I “might” be hungry later. It’s only 100 calories a mile people, if that’s one of your goals, those are the numbers. So that’s 1 mile for 1/2 of an IPA. All about priorities!