Ways to Run

I will easily admit that sometimes when running, I get bored. Does this happen to you? The scenery is all too familiar. The play list on my iPod is stale. The thoughts about just stopping the repetitive motion of my running legs is ever so prevalent in my mind. It is these times that I direct my mind towards my body, after all the health of my body is the reason I'm running, right?




First, I pay attention to my feet. I tend to put too much pressure on the insides of my feet (pronation), so I make sure that when my feet strike the ground I am putting pressure on the outside of each foot.

Then I make sure my feet, and my hands are relaxed. I had a running coach way back when tell me to keep them both relaxed.

Moving up my body, I make sure my torso is over my pelvis and that I am not leaning forward. I think of my pelvis driving me forward, instead of my leg - this makes my hamstrings and glutes kick in. Yay!!!!

Then I check in with my shoulders and think about relaxing my shoulder blades down my back. This helps keep my arm motion simple and aerodynamic.

Last, I make sure I am not tensing my jaw. Occasionally, I will do a raspberry with my lips to help remove tension from my clenched jaw.

This body scan keeps my mind occupied, and I forget that I was feeling bored. Instead, I easily focus on just feel how great it is to run.

Now, I need to admit that I haven’t run all my life. I just started recently - suddenly I was the editor of a FitSugar.com and my regular workouts were Pilates, which is great for strengthening and stretching but it doesn’t get the heart rate up. Getting rate up to 80% of it’s maximum is really important for cardiovascular health. Check out this Heart Rate Calculator to find out your ideal heart rate. Using the Cool Running beginner work out I started running, simply by mixing it up with a walking.

You see, folks often start a new training regimen they go all out and often go too far. In pain, wondering why they ever tried to exercise, they quickly abandon their wonderful plan to workout regularly. This is the exact reason to follow The Couch to 5K running schedule.

The program eases you into running 3 miles by combining walking and running together. Over the course of 8 weeks you increase your running time and eventually run for 30 minutes straight - about the time it takes to run a 5K. It is a great way to start running and the schedule has you running only 3 times a week - so easy to fit into any busy life.

Now I love running, or at least the feelings of accomplishment and mental ease when I make it back home.

---

Are you interested in contributing to The Daily Tiffin? Drop us an email: blogmeeta@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing your ideas.

This Post was written by Susi May from FitSugar.com