Hi guys. Welcome back to my channel. In today's video, I'm going to be talking to you about
how I got started with running and kind of the things I'd wish I'd known before I started
running. I'm also going to give you my tips, tell you what gear has worked for me, what
apps have worked for me and anything I've learned so far. I've only been running for
four weeks but it's a big deal for me because I've never been very good at sticking to fitness
but I have stuck to it and more than that, I'm actually really enjoying it. If I go back
to the beginning, this all started because my friend Becky messaged me and she said she'd
signed up to do a half marathon and would I like to join the team and raise loads of
money for a read [inaudible 00:00:40] hospital.
When she texted me back, I was instantly like, "Nope. I can't do that. I am not a runner.
It's impossible." Then she said, "We've got six months to train. There's a team of us.
We can do this." I started to ask around a few friends of mine that are PTs. I asked
them if, someone had never run before, could they train up and run a half marathon within
six months and every single one of them was like, "Yes. It's totally achievable and you
can definitely do that." I don't know what came over me but I said yes and it's quite
a big deal because I've never had much confidence when it comes to getting fit outside of the
home. I'm fine to do my little hip routines at home but the thought of road running or
going to a fitness class really scares me and I think it's because from the age of like,
11, I was quite an early developer.
I was curvy very early and that meant that fitness was not only painful but that I had
to wear a bra and people would make fun of me and all this. I don't know, it's very silly
but that is, I just hated it being at school. I would try to get out of gym class. I was
so embarrassed. Yeah. I just really hated it. Now, I'm a little bit older. I am definitely
getting a little bit doughy around this area and it's just time to do something for myself.
My children are getting a little bit older. Whereas, I've always had a baby and I've not
been able to, well, I don't have a baby at the moment so it's time to do something for
myself.
I'm doing this. To start out, I thought, I'm going to train using the Capture 5k app. I
cannot recommend it enough. It's been amazing. Because I've never run before, it's a great
way to get started. You kind of walk for five minutes, then you run for a minute, then you
walk for a minute, then you run for a minute. It builds you up very slowly in intervals
of running and walking as well. I just finished week four so now I'm up to running five minutes
straight and then having a break and then five minutes, having a break and then next
week, we're going to be running eight minutes straight and then after that, it's going to
be 20 minutes and then it builds you up so you're running 5k in half an hour. It's a
great, slow way to do it. I cannot recommend it enough.
It also tells you little tips while you're training as well and it's actually been made
by the NHS. You just know that it's good for you and it's fine. I've really surprised myself
on it. I think, not only is it building up your fitness but I think the confident side
of thing has been a massive thing for me because it's also building up my confidence. The first
week I was like, "Okay, can I even run for one minute?" Then when I finished the first
week's session I was like, "Okay, I can run a minute." The next week was 90 seconds. Then
three minutes. Then five minutes. I know this sounds so small but it's massive for me because,
when I go on my little 25-minute run, I can do like two and half miles and that's quite
a lot for a non-runner and I burn 250 calories in 25 minutes. It's great. I actually think
that running, as a parent, is such a good form of exercise. The best thing about it
for me is that, as soon as I step outside my door, I'm working out.
I don't have to drive to a gym. I don't have to get changed or have to get into a swimming
pool or anything like that. It's like, I walk outside my door, it starts and I'm home in
25 minutes to half an hour. That's brilliant because I can find pockets of 25 minutes of
here or there. If I go out quickly, while Matt's at home with the boys before the day
starts or if I go out even once they're all in bed, I can quickly go for 25 minutes. If
you can get a running partner or obviously, I have signed up to this race and I have signed
up with a few friends so there's always someone going running. My really good friend who lives
around the corner with me, we've become running partners and it's actually so nice. It definitely
goes quicker when I'm running with someone because you're kind of chatting away and before
you know it, half an hour has gone.
Another app that I've enjoyed using is called Runkeeper. My friend Laura told me about it.
There are actually loads of apps that you can use to track how far you go, where you
go, how many calories, how long for and all of that. I like that this is just really simple
to use. It will just show you how many miles you have gone, or kilometers, how long for,
what your pace was per mile and then also, the calories that you've burnt. I've heard
loads of people really recommend the Nike Run app as well to do similar things. Now
onto gear. I have learned a lot about running gear in the last month and I've actually spent
a lot of money as well because some of it's quite pricey. You don't have to go pricey
but I did the stupid thing of getting some trainers that I really like the look of.
They're beautiful. I got them on A Sauce and I just thought they were amazing. I started
running out with these. Then by about week two I was like, "My knee really hurts." My
left knee. A few friends were like, "Have you gone to have your gait done?" I was like,
"What is your gait?" Apparently, everyone runs differently, everyone's feet are different.
Everyone needs more stability or less. You can go to places. I actually went somewhere
called Runner's Need. They will actually put you onto a treadmill, film how you run and
then slow it down and look at your feet. From that, they can recommend the best trainers
for you.
I went and I did that and they said that I actually needed these trainers. I mean, I
didn't love the look of them as much but it doesn't matter. I needed mid stability because
my left leg when I run, this foot actually rolls in a bit as I run so I need a little
bit more stability. It was just really interesting and they have been really good since I've
been going out running in this. My knee is definitely hurting less. One huge thing is,
give it a go. See if you can keep it up for a couple of weeks like I did. Then if you
think, yes, I'm going to do this. This is going to become a hobby, definitely go and
run on a treadmill and get someone to tell you which trainers you actually need.
I was surprised when I bought my trainers as well, that they put you up half a size.
I'm a size five but you need to run in a five and half. It's just little things like that.
I had no clue before I even started running. There's a few other things in terms of gear
that I wanted to talk about. One is a good sports bra. You will definitely need this,
especially if you're a curvy girl. My absolute favorite one is from Victoria's Secret. I'm
definitely going to go back and get another one of these. I find sports bras so tight
that they're really hard to get off after a run. I love that they have ones that just
zip open.
This one is double support because not only has it got that bit but it also has that inside.
It's like a bra and a thing. It's like double the support. I really love the Victoria's
Secret sports bras. In terms of active wear, I really like the A Sauce 4505 range. I've
got quite a lot of stuff from there. Then I actually treated myself to some really pricey
Lululemon running leggings. My friend recommended them to me. She was like, "It's like running
on air." I bought them but they were 100 pounds. They were really expensive. They're great
though. They've got pockets down the sides so if you need to put your phone or your key
or bits like that, you actually have a place to put them. I really do like these. I also
got myself a lightweight running jacket, which is really good.
Living in England, it's never that warm so I normally go out... I start in my running
jacket and then I come back with it tied around my waist because, obviously, it gets hot.
If you have active wear that doesn't have a pocket, this has been amazing. It's called
a flip belt. Again, one of my friends recommended it to me. You just put it around your waist.
It's great. It stays in place but it also has pockets so you can put all of your belongings
in it. You can put your phone, your keys, your bank card. Anything you're going to need,
you can have it around your waist. It's not until you go running and you're like, "Where
do I put all of this stuff when I don't have a bag?" A flip belt is brilliant. Comes in
loads of different colors. I just got gray because I knew that that would go with everything.
I love that.
The last thing I wanted to show you guys is, I got some headphones. I got the type of headphones
that sit on your ears but not in your ears. It's kind of like near your ears. You can
actually wear these for the race that I'm going to do. You need to be able to hear your
surroundings obviously, with traffic and things. You need to be careful. Little ear buds like,
what are they called? Air Pods or whatever. They just fall out. These are good because
it goes around the back of you and then it hooks there but you can still hear. I got
these and they were discounted and a friend recommended them to me. I'll link everything
in the description down below if you do want to find it.
I'm really enjoying it and I've totally surprised myself. I think that's why I'm making this
video. I've wanted to go running every day but every app and PT all tell you that it's
important to have rest days. When I do have a rest day, I'm itching to get back out there.
I think the main reason why I am also enjoying it is because it's the first guilt free time
I've had to myself since having children. I'm a mum of three and I feel guilty when
I work. I feel guilty when I do anything for myself. When I go running it's like, well,
I'm doing it for my health and I've signed up to this race. I've got a big goal in sight.
I don't know. I don't feel guilty.
Half the time, it's only 25 minutes. I'll leave the boys playing football in the garden.
I'll come back, they're still doing the exact same thing. They haven't really noticed. It's
not that hard to squeeze into my life so far. Obviously, these are smaller runs. When I
start doing bigger runs it might be harder. Since I've started running, it's had a really
positive impact on the way I eat. I think because I can see how many calories I'm burning
on the apps, when I go to eat something bad, it's literally like, that's a lot of running
to burn that off. It's really made me think more about it. I've got really into using
an app called Myfitnesspal. I'm sure lots of people have already heard of this. I feel
like I'm the last one to get onto it.
It's super simple to use. You can input the food that you eat but you can also just scan
the products and it will know how many calories are in it. It will tell you nutrients. It
will tell you all kinds of different things and you can also input your exercises. I've
been doing this thing that has really changed my mindset and I'm going to tell you guys,
just in case it works for you as well but, I've always been quite good at budgeting and
finances and I've always worked two jobs because I'd earn more money and then I could get that
and you know, I've always been quite good. Never really had loads of debt or anything
like that. The way that I now look at calories is like a budget. I have a budget of calories
each day and I just have to plan out how I spend the calories like what I eat. I can
exercise and earn back some money, calories. I hope this is making sense.
Basically, I'm actually eating 1,300 calories a day at the moment because I am kind of losing
a bit of weight. If I'm getting to the point where I don't have many calories left in the
day, I'm like, I could go for a run and I could earn back 250 calories and then I can
have an ice cream. That's kind of the way I'm thinking. I'm thinking of it like money,
really. I don't know if any of that made sense but I hope it does because it has literally
changed the way that I think about food and stuff like that. Yeah. Anyway, I am rambling.
I hope you enjoyed this video. I hope it was interesting. I will of course, keep you updated
on my training and I'm running my half marathon in October so wish me luck. Yeah. Ask me any
questions you have, in the comments down below. I am still so new to this but I've really
wanted to share my passion for it so far. I hope you enjoyed it and I'll see you in
my next one. Bye guys.