Run, Forest, Run!

Wellness presentation by Scott Scholes, Running coach and enthusiast

Running 101Decide what you want to get out of running

PleasureFitnessCompetitionSpeed without competitionLongevitySore knees

Be evaluated by physician if you’ve been a couch potatoRun by time, distance, &/or speedTalk to yourself (or someone else) while you run (lactate threshold)

More Advanced Runners

Do an honest evaluation of yourself and your runningDo training related researchMake a planW.I.N. (What’s

important now!)

Have fun

Don’t overdo it. Running too fast, too far or too often in the beginning can cause burn you, soreness, or injury

Recover, recover, recover “The body does not get fitter through exercise, it gets fitter through recovering from exercise” Peter Keen (Chris Boardman’s coach)

Learn to dress for the weather

Pull over cleats or screw shoes

Running vs. walking shoes (choose running)

Listen to music

Use the fitness trail, TF trail system

Consider a heart rate monitor

Consider a GPS

Stretching (You Do the Research!)

See Complete Running Guide

6 Biggest Mistakes

1. Doing too much too soonWhenever starting a new activity such as

running, it is important to ease into it.  Do not make the mistake of going to far to soon or running too fast before you are ready.  Ease into a training program by gradually building up both your distance and your running intensity or pace. 

2. Ignoring recoveryRunning is an intense exercise that requires

you take great care of your body to reach your full potential.  In order to alleviate the aches and pains involved with running, beginners need to pay special attention to recovery.  Recovery starts in the cool down.  At the end of any workout it is important to do a cool down by either doing a slow jog or walk for about 5 minutes after your run. 

3. Not wearing proper shoes and equipmentWhile it may be true that there are no barriers

to entry in running such as high tech and expensive equipment, it should be noted that there are some basic pieces of equipment beginning runners should acquire early on in their running endeavors.  The most important piece of equipment for running is a proper pair of running shoes.

4. No goals or planCreate a goal and come up with strong reasons

why you want to run and achieve this goal.  Running is very challenging. When the going gets tough many will quit.  But if you have a strong goal and a well thought out plan for how you can achieve your goal then you are more likely to stick to the intense exercise of running. 

See: S.M.A.R.T. goal setting

5. Learning to properly paceProper pacing can help the new

runner avoid the slow down or forced walk.  By learning to run an even pace, new runners will have a much more enjoyable experience with the sport.  Not only can running a slower even pace help the runner finish without walking, but by running even pace the whole way the runner is more likely to have an overall better time!

6. No variety in trainingOne of the keys to success in running is variety in

training.  One of the easiest ways is by running different courses.  By running different courses on your different runs you will add variety to your training with hills, flats and possibly even surface conditions.  Running different courses can help prevent injury since different surface, hills and flats will work all your different running muscles.

Daniel McLaughlin, www.runaddicts.net

Resources for RunnersPrint

Better runs! (great book for all types of runners)

Once a runner (novel about a competitive distance runner)Running Research News

Webwww.coolrunning.com (general running information)

www.active.com (general running & other sport information)

www.completerunning.com (general running information)

Local/StateTeam Weenie (local group) email - billgreene64@hotmail.com

Magic Valley Runners email - info@magicvalleyrunners.com

www.spondoro.com (Idaho running/endurance sport event calendar)

www.idahorunningcompany.com (calendar connected to Boise store)

www.bandannarunning.com/home (Boise store)

Thanks, Scott!

See you on the trail.