Don’t Make These Common Beginning Runner Mistakes
The basics of running are easy to learn: basically you need comfortable shoes, a sports bra if applicable, and consistency. But sometimes we make life more difficult for ourselves than we need to. Here are some of the biggest mistakes new runners make.
Treating practice runs like racing
If you think you can finish today’s three-mile practice run faster than you did last week, you’re wrong. Yes, you will run the same distance faster in the long run , but that doesn’t mean you’re constantly trying to beat your elapsed time.
Running to beat the time is called a race . And we’re saving races for race days, whether it’s a local 5k you paid money for or a small race you run against yourself every month or two.
Think of the race as a test. Training means learning. Spend a few weeks running at a slow pace (or better still, following a training program) and then race to test your speed.
Think walking is the opposite of running
If you start with a run-walk program like a 5K couch run , you can start thinking of your workouts as running intervals interspersed with “walk breaks” that aren’t running.
But when it comes to fitness, walking and running are the same thing, just at different speeds. Imagine yourself on a treadmill, increasing your speed: 2 miles per hour is a slow walk; 3 miles per hour is a normal walk. Somewhere around 4 miles per hour you will be walking so fast that it will be more natural to put your feet up and jog instead. 5 mph is a slow run, 6 mph is a fast run, and so on.
A fast runner can run their races at 10 mph (six minute mile) and their training run at 8 mph (8:30 mile). But a beginner who is racing at 5 mph may need to slow down to a brisk walk, around 4 mph, for their easy training “run”. It might still be a good idea to combine walking and running so you get some real running experience, so let’s say you walk at 3.7 mph and bump it up to 4.3 for runs. It’s still a very appropriate way to train! Walking is not a break at all, it is part of your workout.
And a few bonus bugs
Ultimately, the biggest mistakes you can make as a beginner runner come down to self-flagellation. It annoys you that you are slow, so you force yourself to move faster than you are ready. Or you think that anything that seems easy, like walking, shouldn’t count.
But to get faster, you need to train at a pace that matches your current fitness level. Most training runs should be done slowly enough to feel comfortable . While you’re at it, I’ll add a few bonus mistakes new runners often make:
- Running at heavy intervals with easy walk breaks , and that’s your whole workout. It will not teach you to run continuously. If you have to combine running and walking on your easy days, do a brisk walk and a slow jog.
- Never mix strength training with stretching, foam rolling, meditation, and other things that you constantly put off. It’s important to do strength training , even if you have to start small. Other things may be helpful but are not required.
- Wear uncomfortable shoes because someone told you that you need a certain type of shoes. The best shoes are the ones that are comfortable to run in .