Newbie Notes for the Beginning Runner

If you're reading this and thinking about hitting the road as a runner, these are some beginner's tips I've learned through experience.

1. See your doctor first. Its safer, smarter and a good thing to do. I have a series of standing appointments with my physician to hold me accountable for my lifestyle changes and to touch base. When you see your BP, resting heart rate and cholesterol numbers become amazing, you'll be thrilled. It really works. Plus, she gives me a sticker for being good and I feel like my five year old son!

2. Consider doing this is conjunction with nutritional goals. My Weight Watchers meeting is filled with runners who swear that joining WW made a huge difference in their athletic performance. I concur. Oh, and one of those nutritional changes that counts is drink a lot of water. What corporations now call "hydrating," we used to call "drinking." Whatever you call it, it's important to do if you're working out.

3. Don't be a moron and go out there thinking you're the next Bruce Jenner or FloJo Joiner. You're not. You're never going to be. Running farther and faster than ever before on day one is a big mistake. You'll burn out, hate running, become injured and the whole she-bang will be over. For lots of us, going for a 12 minute jog is a good starting point. Its how I started. And for me it was more than hard enough. What you'll find is that 12 become 15 and 15 become 17.....Pretty soon a 5K is no big deal. But that takes time. Patience, grasshopper.

4. Don't be afraid to walk. Lots of runners have a macho thing about toughing it out. I personally am not a big walker. But lots of folks find that walking when you can no longer run and then running again is a great way to make it work. It's still exercise and it still "counts."

5. Do NOT use weather as an excuse. I live in Chicago. I run year round. If my husband (who runs daily) and I can both run year-round, so can you. If its winter, wear 4 layers of clothes. You'll be fine. My best run this winter was the 8k I did the morning after an ice storm.

5. Do NOT use your mood as an excuse. There are lots of ways to blow off a fitness plan. Indeed, the number of ways is infinite. Here's the deal: You lay down the law that fitness is non-negotiable and that's the end of the discussion. I schedule my runs in my palm pilot--they are as important as dentist visits, meetings at work, and everything else I manage to do. That's the deal. If you wait til you're "in the mood," you'll be waiting til the cows come home. Just lace up your shoes and go out the frackin' front door. If you're really filled with dread, make yourself a deal: "I'm going to run for five minutes. If I still hate it today, I will stop after five minutes." You know what, once you're out there, you'll find yourself adding five more "as long I'm out here anyway." And pretty soon the run is done.