Wednesday 20 October 2010

Wanna Run?

My friend ran the London Marathon on Sunday April 23rd, 2006. I went to cheer him on and I was so inspired! I loved the crowds - the runners and supporters. I LOVED the atmosphere. At this point, I was not a fan of running... at all!

I used to run 100m and 200m in secondary school (remember I was slim when I lived in Lagos). One day I was asked to run 400m, I will never ever forget that day (I told you - I'm a drama queen). By the 250m mark, I was practically crawling and panting. After that day, I accepted that running longer than 200m was not for me.

So... back to the present (i.e. the past - 2006. Lol) - On Tuesday April 25 2006, on a high from my friend's marathon, I registered for a 5k charity race. the thought of running non stop for 5000m was so scary! That was 20 times the 250m that I almost collapsed running when I was almost 10 years younger!

I'm proud to say I ran that 5k all the way. I also ran a few more 5ks, 10ks and 2 half marathons. So trust me, if someone who couldn't run/jog more than 250m ended up running over 21,000m (a half marathon), YOU can take up running and stick to it.


This was my training plan for my 1st week as a complete beginner:

Day 1 Rest
Day 2 Run 1 min, walk 1 min. Do 10 times
Day 3 Rest
Day 4 Run 2 mins, walk 4 mins. Do 5 times
Day 5 Rest
Day 6 Rest
Day 7 Run 2 mins, walk 4 mins. Do 5 times

I remember my first run, 1min felt like forever and the 1 min walk seemed to fly by. I struggled this 1st day but I kept going week after week. What really helped me was I had a blog which I updated weekly and I got so much support from people. That's actually how I met my friend Vickii who, although she can be annoying sometimes, I think is an amazing person (I hope she doesn't see this!).

So if you're very new to running, try the above for your first week. Your jogging pace doesn't matter, just as long as you are not walking at a leisurely pace. If anyone is interested, every week I will post the 2nd, 3rd, etc weeks.

Good Luck!

TIPS
1. Warm up before your run, aim for 5 minutes - power walk for a couple of minutes then slowly increase your pace.
2. Always stretch... always. I'm working on stretching videos and will upload asap.
3. Strength training is an important part of your exercise regime but it's best to approach new things with baby steps :)

8 comments:

Unknown said...

You think I'm an amazing person! You love me! You love me! Lol it is here in writing in black and white, you can never ever ever pretend you don't love me again!

I was even worse than you, I was never able to run! Ever! When I started this same training plan that you're putting up, by the end of my 1 min run, I was dying to walk but I stuck at it and by the end of the 6 weeks I could run 30 mins without stoppping, and the rest, as they say is history! So anyone wanting to start running, follow Adura's plan -trust me, you'll be there before you know it!

Adura O. said...

LOL! This was a long post, trust you to see a short sentence with your name in it!

Afropinay said...

Great Post! I wouldn't even say I am a running pro (even though) Ive been running 10K lately but I clearly remember Feb 2009 - I used to be soo scared to run, anytime my trainers would say "running session" I used to hate it, now I love it soo much & feel so good after the run.
Everyone runs at their own pace & that was what I learnt :)

Ayo said...

Will give this a try from tomorrow and see how it goes.

Ms zee said...

Ditto , I remember joining the running room in 2006 and Adura you inspired me :) the first 3 weeks were hell Hell I tell u but hey I completed my first 5km October that year, broke both ankles and last year completed a 10km in very very bad time but I wanted to tell me I could still do this. I am registered for the Canadian Arthritis Association run or walk 10km in China - the great wall and I cant wait super excited :)

To all the other ladies and gents on the program you can do this :) super duper proud of you all, dont let the setbacks affect you - its hard initially but once you get past the hurdle it is smooth sailing all the way :)

1511th said...

Thank you MsZee, I actually feel inspired already. I love running when I do run but the challenge is getting out of bed or back from work to run!

Sometimes my amazing friend - Vickii would wake me up each morning to go running with her and it helped a lot (at the beginning). Thanks ever so much friend!

Ok going to try this running plan, thank you

Ms zee said...

just checking in , how is everyone ?

1511th said...

Good Morning,

Thanks Ms zee. Week/healthy eating going well thank you.

you?