When I first started running it was to lose weight.

Like a lot of people once I decided that was what I was going to do, I went full out. Dieting and exercising like crazy.

Even though I don’t do New Years resolutions, it was January when I started that journey. I was surrounded by others that were doing the same thing.

I didn’t know anything about running, so I never went at it enough to injure myself. That came later when I was training for my second half-marathon and I suffered a stress fracture.

It can be tempting to go all in with anything we do, but doing so with running can break us down and cause injury.

Dave (the hubs) loves to go all in with everything he does. Whether it’s smoking meat, getting into a new sport or whatever…he buys everything that goes with the new “thing”. Even if he only sticks with it for a few months. Somewhere in the house is all the handball stuff he insisted he needed (along with the membership to a handball club that he literally went to 3 times).

Luckily we run together, so I keep him accountable. Full disclosure- I ask him whenever I decide to tell a story with him in it, so he knows I’m sharing this side of him with you, lol.

In running, we sometimes want to get to a certain point quicker than our bodies can do it.

Especially for those of us who are older. We want our bodies to respond to what we want to do as if we are the age in our heads. That isn’t to say we can’t do great things with those bodies, we just need to smart about how we go about it.

Start Where You Are, NOT Where You Were

If we used to run when we were younger, the urge is there to think we can start right in to where we were. This can be true even if it hasn’t been that long since we stopped running.

Start where you are. Not where you want to be, not where you think you shoud be.

Act like a rookie for a bit, and build back up to your base.

This is especially true if you are coming back from a prolonged illness or injury.

The great thing about this approach, besides not getting injured, is that this gives you permission to start slow. That’s much more motivating than failing to reach where we once were. We get to start fresh.

Sign up for a 5K (if there is one…writing this in COVID times) and find a training plan to get there. By then end of that, you will have consistently trained and will be ready to start making goals for the runner you become then.

Too Much is Too Much

Our bodies are built to adapt so when we teach it to run the right way, it goes pretty well. When we push it past where it is currently capable of being, it WILL stop you in the form of injury.

Whether it is a stress fracture that can take you out for a few months or knee issues or a popped tendon, our bodies are good at letting the brain know its reached its limit.

The strategy of gradually adding more mileage or time is for our benefit…we build our fitness up, adapt…which happens during rest and then get better. You can certainly push and push but eventually you will be stopped by your own body.

So look at rest and recovery and gradually building up as keeping you running instead of keeping you FROM running.

Doing too much can lead to burnout and overtraining which leads to burnout and overtraining. Vicious cycle. It not only affects you physically, but mentally as well.

I had a burnout a few years ago and almost had to stop marathon training because I was taking on too much. I had all the symptoms and had to finally admit that I needed to cut out one of the training days completely (the plan had me running 6 days a week).

Now, you may not be training for a marathon, but think of your start to run journey as YOUR marathon and get in the mindset that if you stick with it and build up gradually you will be more apt to be a long term runner instead of giving up and quitting because you burn out.

I’m NOT Trying to Hold You Back

Not really.

As you get to know your body, you will be able to figure out what it is capable of…and you will be able to adjust up to the next level.

Learning that takes some time, so just enjoy the build up for now!

If you are just starting, check out the RRCA 30-Minute training plan. This will help you get to 30-minutes of constant running.

The plan builds up slowly and steadily. Which is perfect.

I Have a Good Base, Now What?

Once you get to a place in your running that you would like to be, what are next steps?

You can start to incorporate different running workouts and/or start planning to race. Not everyone races, though, so don’t see that as a holy grail or anything.

This post talks about structuring your running goals, and this YouTube video is sort of about running resolutions (because it was the new year)…but it is actually about goals as well.

One of the great things about running, you can do you!

If you have any questions about starting to run or next steps, you can reach me a sherry@wrinkledrunner.com.