Cardio sucks. Bottom line. Like, I don’t know one person who absolutely loves running for an hour on the treadmill. Or chilling on the elliptical. Like I am snoozing thinking about it….
Although, there is something different about running on an open road, on a beautiful day, in a new city or on a new trail. Running for me is very therapeutic.
I haven’t always loved running though.
Because, well frankly, running is hard. This is because you’re not always in a beautiful place & it’s not always cool perfect running weather. None-the-less, a few years ago, my New Years Resolution was to get into running. I have always thought that runners had the most amazing bodies, plus I hated my stationary cardio, so I told myself I was going to learn to love it.
So I did. & I do.
How I Got into running
First and foremost, I made a commitment to it. I told myself that I would try to run the Bear Trail (the trail around Baylor, that is almost 3 miles) every Wednesday. I didn’t want to make the commitment to run everyday, because I knew I would start to dread it, instead of looking forward to it.
At the beginning I walked/ran, but I didn’t walk if I didn’t have too. I truly tried my hardest to run the whole way. So every week, I ran more & walked less. If I stopped at one street light one week, I would make my self go farther the next. Once I could run the Bear Trail with ease, I started extending my runs by making my own trails.
By doing this once a week for a year, just getting out there and trying, I went from barely being able to run 2.7 miles, to running 5 with ease. I truly fell in love with it. It turned into my personal time.
But, I am a very dedicated person. Once I tell myself I am going to do something, there is very little going back.
So, if your someone who needs somebody to tell them what to do, here I am. This is something I have been doing recently to get back into running, because the pat few months I have definitely replaced running with spin, it’s just been so hot out. But now that the mornings are cooler, I have been getting out there & getting my morning runs in!
If you are a true beginner, try this plan instead!
STARTING OUT
Walk 5 minutes
Run 10 minutes
Repeat 3x = 45 minutes
WITH PROGRESSION
Walk 3 minutes
Run 12 minutes
Repeat 3x
More Progression
Walk 1 minute
Run 14 minutes
The point is, that every week, you should walk less!
&&& yes, for anyone reading this & thinking “ughhh shouldn’t she be telling them to do more HIIT?? HIIT burns more fat, not long distance running!”. I agree, HIIT is fantastic. But I believe a nice long run is for the soul. I’ll do a post on HIIT in the future.
But honestly, my best advice, is to just get outside early one morning & run. Run as far as you can. This doesn’t mean sprint, it just means go at your own pace, and accomplish your goals.
Happy Running
xo,
Lauren