Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Advice for a Newbie

The other day, my sister-in-law asked me for some advice. She mentioned that she'd recently lost a significant amount of weight (yay!) and had registered for a 10K (sweet!) in April. She wanted my advice on walking/running shoes, tracking devices, etc.

I'm far from an expert on these things, but I offered some advice anyway. :-)

As I was thinking about the advice I sent her, I thought, "Hey! I should post this to my blog." I'm not sure if it's helpful or not.

Or even if it's good advice, but here is what I told her.

My best advice for running shoes is to visit a local running store. When you go in, just tell them you are new to running. If it is any kind of reputable store, they will do some kind of fitting for you - measuring, analyzing your gait, looking at your arches, or some variation of these. They will recommend a few for you and then you can choose whichever is most comfortable. They may even have a treadmill for you to test out the shoes on.

As for tracking gear, I don't have a lot of experience. I have an android-based smart phone with an app that I really like for tracking. It's called Cardio Trainer. You can track all kinds of different activities. Also, I am on Daily Mile. It's not real time tracking, but its great for social interaction and tracking all your workouts. I think it's fun and encouraging when people leave comments.

My only other big piece of advice is to find a running group or friend to run with. Lots of local running stores offer free running groups. I think the benefits of running with someone else are phenomenal.

What do you think? Good advice or bad? What advice would you give to someone just starting to explore the wonderful world of running?

Twitter → @EnjoytheCourse
Instagram → enjoyingthecourse
Facebook → EnjoyingtheCourse
Google+ → Enjoying the Course
Pinterest → clarindad


  1. This is all excellent advice, especially finding a group to run with. Makes it more fun and can really help expand your running knowledge as well as finding all sorts of new friends you wouldn't otherwise meet. I started out running alone and was ok with it, but once I stumbled upon a group it brought on a whole new dimension.
    Finding a local running store also made a big difference. The small local ones especially are passionate about what they do and many of the employees are dedicated runners themselves.

    1. Exactly! I think also small, local running stores aren't really that much more expensive (at least in my experience) than bigger chains. Plus, the experience and level of service and knowledge generally outshines any big sporting goods chain.

  2. Such good advice - I feel like in anything have the right tools to succeed makes all the difference.

    1. Absolutely! The right tools can make or break even a runner. :-)

  3. Good advice. I try to recommend a running store that has a guarantee, like Road Runner Sports 90 day period. I've had to take a pair of shoes back that I thought I loved in the store, but not so much once I got them home. They were GREAT about it. And always buy a shoe that is comfortable for YOU and not just a brand your friend buys. Everyone's feet are different! And ask your store if they have a running group - some do!

    1. That's awesome about the guarantee. I don't think my local store has that, but I'll be shopping for a new store once we move. I'll definitely keep that in mind. And bonus for running groups!