If you know me in real life, you know that I don’t particularly like working out and that I hate running. That’s why it was such a huge deal for me when I found Cyclebar (and thus, spin classes) and fell in love. Unfortunately, once the pandemic hit, spin classes were no longer an option. And now that the studio is open again I’m not comfortable going back–for a number of reasons, not all health related.
So I knew that I had to find a way to keep myself active and moving. Especially since I no longer have a commute that gets me walking around. I tried a few online workouts and even found some that I really enjoyed but nothing that I could stick to in a real way. I have a lot of friends who are runners and who have tried in vain to get me on board for years, but I never really saw the appeal.
But last week I decided to finally bite the bullet and try running. (It helped that I had snagged some new workout gear at the Nordstrom sale and we all know that new gear makes working out better.) So I downloaded the Nike Run Club app and gave it a try.
Okay. I am still not amped about running. But I do really enjoy this app and tracking my individual runs and then my cumulative miles. It’s very motivating for me to see how many miles I’ve run since I started on this new experiment. And allegedly the guided runs are great, but I haven’t figured out how to download one to my watch yet so I can’t speak to that.
Before I went on my very first run I asked for advice from friends on my Instagram story and people had some really great advice that I’m sharing below. Just in case you’re like me and are finally inspired to (or begrudgingly resigned to) start running.
- start slow and do intervals of walking and running
- use the couch to 5k program
- go early to reduce the number of mask-less people running
- invest in good shoes
- stretch before and after
- eat within half an hour of finishing
- make sure you’re wearing clothes you feel comfortable in
- make sure to cross train since running is hard on your joints
- go slow until it feels too easy, then level up
- listen to something you’ve already heard, but still find engaging
And I’ll end with an encouraging comment that a runner friend of mine said to me after I mentioned that I’m very slow (like, this is really jogging if I’m being honest): no one notices your pace expect for you. Any run (or jog) is better than no run.
Have you started a new workout routine since quarantine started? Do you have helpful running advice? Product recs? Let me know!
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