Hellz yeah! Take it easy, do your best, don’t be afraid to walk if you need to, maybe listen to some music but not too loud. It’s going to be great!
Look up couch to 5k, it gives you a schedule of runs with walking breaks designed to get you to running for 30 minutes straight without overexerting yourself.
Focus more on endurance than speed. You can always worry about getting faster after you've built up a baseline.
Limber up before and stretch well after. Your morning self will thank you. Drink lots of water. Good luck!!
If it really beats your ass try something low-impact like swimming, biking, or walking for a while.
One thing I really like about my experience exercising is that it sort of regulates the diet for me. If I don't eat well or just eat in a way that doesn't jive, it's reflected in how I perform. Same with sleep and hydration, I sort of get a feel for what helps me go harder, faster, stronger.
From my view, if you run at all, truly any way to run where you end up exhausted, you'll have done great. Just do it a couple times and you'll intuit what's holding you back. You have a smart body and awareness to boot. If you have things that you eat and do that are clearly no-nos, maybe phase them out. But for me, when I realized I was obsessed with martial arts, I stopped doing everything that got in the way. If you end up liking running, I bet the same thing would happen.
Congrats on the plan!
My advice is to run on grass the first couple times if you can. It reduces soreness—especially shin splints.
When I used to run I preferred dirt/gravel trails and racing flats. Lightweight shoes and a more natural gait are more important than cushioning imho.
- don't obsess over numbers
- run on grass or dirt
- chewing gum keeps your throat wet
I hated running in the Army, but I did find that doing a long hike/walk with a weighted backpack (once or twice a week) actually helped me work up endurance for longer runs and timed runs.
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When you can get a good rhythm going, it can get very zen.
I think it's a good alternative. The Tactical Barbell conditioning book turned my brain onto the aerobic side of endurance work and they recommend long rucks as an alternative to long runs.
Also helped to strenthen my core (i've had a tiny bit of lower back issues since high school) a bit. Running was sometimes is incredibly rough on my back.
The best advice I ever got (for me) was if I feel like I'm just beating myself up then slow down (that is, run slower but don't walk).
The other advice I came across was to do long, slow, steady state runs for at least 30 minutes to work on the aerobic energy system (unless you're purposely doing sprints or more HIIT stuff for some sport goal or whatnot). One's aerobic energy system is what is used the most and should always be the strong base that every human has. You can probably go forever on just your aerobic system, it's like the human super power (cause every other animal has to stop and rest).
Start out slow. When you're first building up distance it can be a good idea to alternate between running and walking. It's easy to burn out if you get in the habit of running as hard as you can every time, so take it easy. Also pay attention to form and avoid heel-striking especially.
Personally it's the best antidepressant that I know of. I've found that it's a good way to "burn off" anxiety, if that's something you also deal with.
Remembering that thing that allows you to
postget into that mindset. Something like a key or a trigger. Maybe you could write it down or something.It definitely helps for depression, but don't heap excessive expectations on it. There are no miracle cures. It should be one important part of a program which may include spending time with friends and loved ones, therapy, medication, etc.
