RE: Running Bears
Viral Mehta
The first organized run for the Running Bears will be at the Coyote
Hills Regional Park in Fremont Sunday Nov 4 at 8am.
Directions:
>From Hwy 84 at the east end of the Dumbarton Bridge take the Thornton
Ave/Paeo Padre Pkwy exit and go north 1.1 miles to Patterson Ranch
Rd. Turn left and go 0.5 mi to the entrance kiosk, continue another
1.0 mile to the parking area for the visitor center. We will meet in
front of the visitors center. Bring some cash, they charge for
parking.
Important:
Please let me know if you plan to attend. If no one tells me they are
coming, I won't drive to Fremont to run by myself.
Ben Chong
Step 1: Talk to your doctor about wanting to start running. Do a
check-up
Step 2: Go to a specialty store to get a pair of running shoes that
are adapted for your feet type. I tend to go to runningrevolution.com
in Campbell
Step 3: Figure out a warm up and warm down routine. Google's your
friend here.
Step 4: Use Excel to create a run schedule starting with 1/2 mile and
increasing by 1/2 mile/week. If you are going to run a race, consider
running at least 3 times a week. Again, Google's your friend
Tips: use a local high school track. Or a local park (use a GPS to
figure out the distance).
Ben
Melanie Harris
Just joined. Been running a long time, competitvely and now for fun. I
probably can't run any of the runs n=in the near future, but hopefully
once this semester is done.
Viral, I second everything Ben said. Check with Dr. first ( Ialways
forget this step-good call). My favorite running store is MetroSport
in Palo Alto, the owner Ron is great. Runner's High in Menlo Park is
okay.
As for starting running, I always recomend not running non-stop for
any period of time. You need to build your body up to the pounding,
and then do non-stop. I have helped new runners in the past with this
workout and also found it really helpful when coming off of certain
injuries.
1. Do NOT run everyday. Run at most every other day to start. 3-4 days
a week is good.
2. Run at a pace that would allow you to talk to somoene and not be
out of breath. If you go too fast you will feel miserable on your next
run. This is building your base, speed comes alter if you want it.
3. Start with 20 minutes total of activity. Run 1 minute and walk 1
minute alternately.
4. Once this feels comfortable, move up to 2 mintues of running and 1
minute walking. Each time you feel good, move up your running stretch
by 1 minute until you can run the full 10 minutes comforatbly and
continuosuly.
5. Be careful to increase mileage slowly. If you add too much too
soon, you will be putting yourself at risk for energy.
6. After you can run 20 mintues continuously, just add a few mintues
to one of your runs that week. They don't all have to be the same
time. Never add more than 10% of your total weekly mileage from that
of your prior week's runs.
7. After you biold up to running more than every other day, try to
take 1-2 days off a week for mental and physical rest.
8. Stretch AFTER every run. Do not stretch cold muscles.
9. Be aware of what your body is telling you. Be conscious of
discomfort versus pain. Repeated pain in the same spot means rest and
see the doctor.
10. Have fun! Do it with a friend!
11. Dirt trails with no more than slight hills are great to start
with. the only thing I would disagree with Ben is about starting on a
track. THe surface is not as soft as we would like to think and the
fequent turns can promote certain injuries if your body is not used to
it. Besides, this is your opportunity to explore the Bay Area!
Feel free to contact me with any questions.
Melanie
Viral Mehta
Jessica Clayton
Nike used to have beginner plans on their site, but I can't seem to
find them now. www.runnersworld.com is a great resource to find tips
and training programs. They have a specific training area for
beginners too: http://www.runnersworld.com/subtopic/0,7123,s6-380-381-386-0,00.html
How is it going so far?
Jessica