Heather Fell: Are you new to running? If so, then I hope you're enjoying the freedom and
simplicity of just heading out the door and getting your dose of exercise. Now, that way
we're not getting technical today, but if you are just starting out or you're coming
back after some time off from running, you could be making a few small mistakes. I'm
going to be covering the common ones, and the great news is, they're all super easy
to correct. [music]
Speaker: Are you guilty of having slightly lazy feet? Do you hear them scuffing through
the ground? Well, it is easy to think that maybe that's a more efficient way to run,
because you're not wasting energy lifting your legs up really high. It could actually
be limiting your running ability, and also obviously the risk of tripping over roots
and wearing out your shoes. Other than just saying, "Well, pick your feet
up more," there's a few things you can do to help. Start off with a bit of a jog warm-up
as you would normally, and then put in some blocks of high-knee. 10 to 20 seconds of either
on the spot or going forward gently of really high knees and then have a nice recovery of
30 seconds or so, do that again, and repeat it a few times. When you come back to normal
running, it should feel really easy to lift your feet up just a little bit higher.
Also, steps and hills are a great way because you basically have to pick your knees up high.
Again, when you come back to running on the flat, it should feel super easy.
[music Heather: It's super tempting to head out too
fast. You might have really fresh legs, be excited just to go have your run and leave
the house. Maybe it's a little bit cold when you step outside too. All of that combined
can end up in you running too fast too soon, and you really need your body to have time
to adapt. If anything, you want to actually be building throughout your run.
It's better to start off slower and get faster, you'll enjoy it a lot more. There's nothing
wrong with even heading out the door just walking for the first few minutes until your
body gets going, and then you can find your rhythm. Remember, if the pace feels really
easy at the start, probably you’re going to feel a little bit harder by the time you
get to the finish. Think about the whole length of your run when you're starting off.
[music] Heather: This one does take a little bit of
planning, getting your eating and drinking correct around your running is vital. Too
much too soon, and then you're likely to feel sick or get a stitch. If however, you've not
hydrated or eaten enough, you could feel really dehydrated or maybe even a little bit weak
and not able to complete your session. It isn't complicated. It does just require
a little bit of pre-thought, and I'm afraid I can't give you any exact numbers of when
to eat and what to eat because all of us have very different digestive systems and we can
be more used to going running after a meal than others. If I had to give a really ballpark
figure, I'd say from a normal meal, two to three hours, until you could run at the earliest.
If you just had a snack, then maybe 30 to 60 minutes depending, obviously, on what it
was. Let's say, you want to head out for a run, but you're really hungry, then a good
snack could be something like a cracker, maybe a banana or some toast with nut butter. Anything
that's fairly dry and simple that your body can digest.
Then there's the whole side of hydration. There is no point in suddenly realizing that
you're really thirsty before your run, downing a pint of water and it's just going to be
that glugging around in your stomach and probably give you a stitch and it won't have absorbed
and be helping you in any way. It's very key to make sure you stay hydrated
throughout the day. If you're doing a short-run, you shouldn't need any hydration, but as soon
as you get home, do make sure you rehydrate to replenish anything you might've sweated
out. [music]
Heather: On the same topic, carrying water is another subject that divides a lot of runners.
Just from observation, I tend to see more beginner runners actually heading out and
carrying water with them, than I do experienced runners. Why is this? Neither is going to
need hydration more than the other in any particular reason. I know we get hydration
drummed into us daily of how much we should drink, like X amount per day.
Like I've already said beforehand, you need to make sure you're hydrated before you go
for your run. You shouldn't need to be topping it up if you're just doing a 30 to 40-minute
easy jog. Obviously, it's going to be very different if you're running in extremely hot
conditions or if you're going for a long run, then that's another matter.
For now, when you are starting out, leave the bottle at home so you can concentrate
on keeping yourself nice and balanced and relaxed, and not having to have one thing
in your hand. It's one less thing to worry about.
We run with our legs, right? Yes, of course, but our arms still play a large part in assisting.
Take walking, for example. When we walk, we naturally swing our arms. If you walk faster,
then you'll find the arm swing moves faster, but also a little bit farther. When it comes
to running, why do we sometimes feel a little self-conscious of our arms? What should they
be doing? How do they move? Why is that something that we haven't managed to find naturally?
Well, your arms need to stay relaxed while still assisting your running. That could sound
like a slight contradiction, because obviously if they are relaxed, are they doing anything?
Yes, you can rely on momentum to help with that forwards and backwards movement, which
will in turn help with the drive-through as you lift your legs up.
If we start off by looking at the hands, now, if they're relaxed, it's going to help through
the chain. You want to imagine if you just held your hands out in front of you now, they’re
just going to be relaxed. Your fingers are going to be slightly bent, like that. You
don't want to have them dead straight like a sprinter. You also don't want to have a
clenched fist because that could really build up tension.
Some people even find carrying something really soft and light that just helps you have that
gentle grip on your hands when you're running. Then you move up to the arms or the elbows,
I should say, and the forearms. You want to have a nice natural bend in your arms so that
your hands are going past your waist and your hips on every run stride, hopefully, in a
forwards and backwards motion. Any movement across the body is going to actually deter
from propelling you forwards. If you've got all of that right, hopefully,
it will ensure that your shoulders are already nice and relaxed as well as your neck. That
will then allow for you to get maximum oxygen into your lungs and really focus on your running.
[music] Speaker: Running is such a wonderful sport,
and the fact that pretty much all of us can just head out the door and go and do it with
very little equipment required. There is one piece though, I would say is totally worth
investing in, and that is your footwear. Buying a pair of running-specific shoes that offer
you the right amount of support and cushioning, will give your foot that comfort and can make
the whole world of difference to your run experience and your enjoyment.
[music] Speaker: It's easy to get 100% into a new
sport, especially something like running with this post-exercise endorphins. It can be really
addictive, but your body still needs time to repair, adapt, and get stronger. Therefore,
rest days are vital. Otherwise, you could run the risk of getting injured, maybe not
improving and worst of all, even falling out of the love for the sport.
If you are new to running, it's a good idea to start off by trying to alternate the days
you run. Have a run day, then a rest day, and continue like that. If you don't want
to do nothing on your rest day, then maybe try just going for a walk, or doing some other
kind of more gentle exercise so your body is still having that time to actually adapt
and get stronger from the running stimulus. [music]
Speaker: Do anything the same every day and it's going to get boring, but also when it
comes to running, you're going to see a plateau in your performance. I'm not saying all of
us have trails on our doorstep, but you can still mix up your normal run. You could do
a direction in the opposite way. You could change the pace or the time that you're running
for. There's lots of options when it comes to mixing things up, which will not only help
with your performance but will also help with boredom.
Then why not experiment with some new routes? You can get a map out at home and maybe have
a look and find some different parks, or even have a little bit of a Strava stalk of your
friends and see where they go running. Maybe go for a walk. There's options out there.
On that topic, do keep an eye out on our YouTube videos, because we've got one coming out very
soon on GTN, of how to actually plan a running rate.
I mentioned changing pace. Well, this can completely change a boring run into something
that just flies by. It could be as simple as doing some walk-run repeats and maybe run
parts harder than you would do normally, but then have a walk recovery. Find a hill and
go up and down that. Maybe it's walking fast up the hill, jogging easy down, or you could
simply put some music in and every time the chorus comes on, you run really hard, and
then you run really easy on the rest. There's lots of different ways that can just mix it
up and keep you loving running. [music]
Speaker: When new to any sport, you're going to make mistakes, and after all, that's how
we learn. Hopefully, as a result of this video, you'll be making less of those and you'll
be on a faster track to enjoying your running experience even more. If you've still got
any questions after this, then make sure you share them, leave them in the comments section
below and I'll do my best to answer those. If you have enjoyed this video, then hit that
thumbs up button and keep an eye out for the rest of our running content. We've got plenty
of that on our YouTube channel and also over on our social media channels.
[00:09:27] [END OF AUDIO]