Learning to run

I thought that running was going to be nothing more than putting one foot in front of the other and repeating.  If I kept running I would be faster each time and I could go continuously farther.

Nope.  There seems to be a lot more to it. When you run, how far and how fast you go are all things that you have to make a conscious decision about.  Even what shoes and shorts to wear when out there make a difference.

Now I know that most of us are never going to run 26.2 in less than 3 hours.  But we can all fulfill our potential.  To do that we need to make intelligent decisions about our training.  Do we run every night or every couple of nights? Do we have 2 or 3 easy days per cycle? How long is our cycle?  These are all things that we need to sit down and decide. 

There is a lot of good information out there.  There is a lot of questionable information out there as well.  I listened to the podcasts over at mojoforunning.com and found them very helpful. They explain things in a simple enough way that I could understand the theory behind it and was able to apply it to my schedule.

Also don't be scared to post questions on your favourite running forum.  Most of them have a beginners area that more experienced people frequent to help us newbies.  Just think about the advice before taking it all to heart.  Will it fit in with your abilities and training?  Can you safely make the changes?  Maybe getting to the level where you can make the changes can be your goal.

Run smarter friends run smarter!