5 Tips for New Runners: Blog-vember 2018

Blog-vember Day 7 2018 --Blooming Prejippie

5 Tips for New Runners: Blog-vember 2018

As far as we are concerned EVERYONE should have a fitness routine; something that will make you feel good and keep you as healthy as possible, so that you can enjoy your life more. This is especially true for us Rock Stars. Not only do you want to have physical stamina when performing, but you want to feel good and fit into those super cool rock star fashions.

Check out our Rock Star Shopping Trip at Eastern Market.

It’s for all those reasons and more (check out Bruce’s reasons why he began running for fitness) that we used to have a gym membership, bought a treadmill, and have begun running as a family.

The trick of this situation is that while Bruce has been actually running for three years, I have only recently begun running in the past year. Needless to say, I support him whole-heartedly, but I am not able to run right alongside of him. I am simply not there yet. However, I am moving along in getting faster and for longer. Usually, I offer his advice for runners, but this post is specifically for those who are new to running, but need to know some key insights to keep them moving in the right direction.

15 Tips for Better Band Photos --Blooming Prejippie Zine

1. Keep blinders on

While it’s cute to give the advice that we shouldn’t “compare one to the other,” it is good to look around sometimes to learn what others are doing and let that inspire you. (—Similar to what you are doing now in reading this post.) However, there may be a time—like in those beginning stages—where it might be helpful to simply get going and NOT to worry about what others are doing. By just getting after it, you will see what you can do BEFORE you start seeking out others’ advice (which can sometimes discourage you, if you don’t have a little grounding first).

For instance, when Bruce first started—nearly 3 years ago now—I was just not ready to run. I have been a walker my whole life, but I just did not want to jog or run. But almost 2 years ago, I decided that I wanted to push myself a little more and actually turned up the speed on the treadmill. If I had focused too much on how amazing Bruce was doing and compared my progress to what he was doing a year into his running, I may have stopped altogether, convinced that it was more of a daunting task than I was capable of. Instead, I had to just keep my head down, focus on my own dedication and progress, so that I could be proud and to keep me moving toward my next goal (which was to jog/walk my first half-marathon). I accomplished my goal (in October with the Detroit Free Press Chemical Bank 2018 Marathon). (add link) Needless to say, Bruce ran the half marathon while I walked it. He finished in half the time—which we knew would happen—went and changed and came back for me at that 4 hour mark. We were able to support each other, because we each had separate goals that kept us both moving in the right direction. But I had to focus on my own journey of getting faster and stronger and NOT how I was not able to do what he was doing.

Keep Creativity Flowing --Blooming Prejippie Zine

2. Stay consistent

If you truly want to move on to the next level of running fitness—for me, it’s moving on to be able to run even faster and longer—then no matter who knows, I have to keep to my schedule of daily training. (Before the half-marathon, I started doing 70 minutes on the treadmill a day in the morning—trying to get a feel for a slightly longer stretch of jogging.) It didn’t matter if Bruce knew about it or if my kids knew what I was doing; I was doing it for me, which meant that I couldn’t skip a day because I would be letting myself down.

My advice is that you must first be honest with yourself, so that you won’t pick someone else’s goal for you and/or won’t pick the goal you SHOULD reach for; you want to pick a goal that you feel passionate about. By choosing something that you WANT to do, it should make it just a little easier to push yourself even when you don’t feel like it and you will do your training consistently. I promise you—just like I promise myself—that you will see improvements if you stick with it and do it consistently.

3. Invest in gear

While I am not a proponent in spending money on equipment that you won’t use—yes, over 10 years ago, we bought a treadmill that ended up holding more clothes than folks “treading” on it, so I know what that’s like—I am a proponent of once you have made the commitment and have started taking some action toward a goal—like running—you will need to invest for the long-haul. In our case, I had to end up buying actual running shoes and running socks (which are terribly expensive). I realized that my feet needed the extra cushion and support, which would help me stay consistent with my goals, so they were worth it. It was an investment toward insuring my success with this running goal. Again, if you’re serious about it, first of all, get started doing it first; but, second of all, find out which gear is going to make it easier to stay focused and get whatever that is to support your efforts. It will help your mindset, by assuring you that you are serious about succeeding. Don’t be cheap, get the gear your gut is telling you would help you.

4. Have a long-range vision

My long-range goal is to preserve fitness and agility, so every day that I can hop out of bed with the creaking joints reminds me how far I have come. When I first started, I had to get up and out of bed in stages, so that my muscles would be alert and ready to receive me standing and moving. Now that I have my extended morning fitness routine—which includes some gratitude, yoga stretches, and sit-ups before my 70-minute treadmill jog—I am much quicker and hop out of bed almost immediately once awakened. I get up at 4, so that thought of sleeping-in occurs to me, but once I realized that getting up earlier than everybody else is MY therapy and secret to an awesome rest of my day, then I perk right up and head to put on my fitness gear.

Having the goal of jogging the next marathon with more energy and faster, and of keeping that sprightliness in my step makes it so much easier to stay committed no matter what. I remember that I can’t take a break, because my ability to feel great first in the morning will “take a break” too. Comparing where I was fit-ness-wise to where I am now helps me stay committed to staying flexible and agile for the future.

Here's Day Four of this 30 Day Challenge.

5. Enjoy the process

No, I don’t always like heading down to the treadmill at that God-awful time of the morning to do 70 minutes worth of trotting, but I do a tag-team by doing business-related social media posting at the same time. I have learned to not only make it work two-fold—where my personal meets my business—but I have also learned that realizing that an hour has gone past and that I am not winded is a blessing. I stop—in my head—and celebrate that small win before I crank it up for the next 10 to 15 minutes. I hold my head up high, because not only am I doing something great for my body, but I have also done something great for our businesses as well.

The bottom line is that I WANT to see progress in my ability to run faster and longer with running; so what if I’m playing a mental game of win-win with the businesses while I am doing it. Just so long as it is all getting done. That’s what makes the training a fun activity for me.

And, of course, I’m not saying that you have to do yours this way; what I am saying is that you need to find a way to make even the very process of grinding it out better. You are much more likely to stick with it, if you’re having fun along the way.

Vision Board D.I.Y. --Blooming Prejippie

Here's how we created our first ever vision board.

I hope all of this has helped you, new runners, who would like some “sage” advice. When I ran this by my inspiration, Bruce, he said that I should add that you should “Run Your Own Race” (which kind of echoes point number one).

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