New mum getting into running. advise please!

Welcome to running! It can be a great lifetime sport and help you stay healthy and fit long past the time your peers are slowing down due to old age.

First, get some good running shoes. A running shoe store is a good place to start because they are used to helping novices. The #1 mistake most beginners make is running in shoes that are too small. If you wear an 8 in most shoes, you'll probably need a 9 in most running shoes. So don't worry about the size. Make sure that your running shoes are big enough.

Second, instead of trying to run a mile nonstop, use the run-walk-run method. You'll find a lot of YouTube videos and websites explaining it. Basically, instead of running nonstop, you run for a short time... say, 30 seconds,... and then walk one minute... and then repeat. Gradually as you get fit, you increase the running time while keeping the walking time at one minute. So, you'd be at 30 seconds /1 minute, 1min/1min, 2min/1min, 3min/1min and so one up to maybe 5 to 1.

You will progress faster than trying to do the whole run nonstop. Your running form will be better because you'll recover enough during the walk portion to run with good form. Beginners typically get tired and start to shuffle or run hunched over. Worse, they "train" their bodies to run that way.

30 minutes of run/walk every other day is a good start. Over a few weeks, you should progress to 5-6 days/week alternating a "hard" day with an "easy" day. At first, a hard day might be 30 minutes and an easy day would be no running at all. When you're running 6 days a week, a hard day might be 45 minutes at a faster pace and an easy day might be 30 minutes at an easier pace.

That's all you really need to do for the next three months. Best of luck and enjoy your new hobby.

This is smashing! How would the particular type of surgery I'm on the mend from affect my running?

If you run double threshold with that surgery, your perineum will rrrrip until your cacca and peepee fuse into a single drip.

Stay happy poopy!

Sounds like you have been embalmed. Alternate run walk and use the wrappings to mark your way so you don't get lost in the maze. Run like you stole something and walk like an Egyptian.

I'll try to sum it all up for you.

6 days per week running. Monday easy (+ strides), Tuesday workout (tempo work progressing to 5K specific work as the big race day approaches), Wednesday recovery run, Thursday medium long run, Friday rest day, Saturday long run, Sunday recovery run.

Of note - don't blast your long runs. When you're ready for the marathon then you can incorporate long run workouts, but keep these easy for now.

Progress your long run distance. Nick Willis famously runs 18 mile long runs as a miler. You're going to be running 3x that distance. But some think overall volume is more important. This is a tough question.

Don't race your tempos - comfortably hard!

Remember the priority for recovery days - blood flow and some extra aerobic stimulus (make them very easy).

Don't make your 5k-pace intervals too fast. There's a place for 3k-pace work, but if the goal of the day is working at 5k-pace, make sure they're not too fast.

Don't be a Strava hero! Stay humble, let your race results speak for themselves. Easy days easy.

Have a plan if you're attacked by a dog.

If you get out kicked at the finish of your big race, and turns out you were a little sick on race day, don't mention to any media. It'll just sound like an excuse.

Stay away from food trucks, particularly those serving burritos. Things will only get complicated. Trust me.

Don't lead from the front, but also make the pace honest.

Have a strong mental frame of my mind. You can do this. I can see you already rising in the fields of...wherever you might live.

Miles matter! Unless you have an arc trainer.

Oh, almost forgot. Just run, baby

For some reason I doubt that you are a gal at all. Are you the guy who started the wokewife thread?

It’s spelled “testes”

Just do the couch to 5k and park runs. You'll get lots of advice there.

I'm 100% FEMALE!!!!

1. Start blasting EPO ASAP.

2. Invest in two pairs of Alphafly 3's, the greatest running shoes ever made. Run one pair for easy days, another for interval sessions.

3. 20 minutes of static stretching before every run.

4. Aim for 50mpw in your first week, 75 in the second, then 100 in the 3rd and hold it until your race.

5. Drink lots of sugary sports drinks every day to carb load before the big race.

6. Run with painkillers, if you feel some pain during a run it's important to STOP, pop a few pills and carry on running. Following the training programme is paramount.

Good luck!

Google "couch to 5k" and follow a plan you like. You have admirable goals. Keep pursuing them.

Ok, I have plenty of painkillers from my bottom surgery. But what is EPO? Is it some kind of breathing regimen?

Oh, I see it is evening primrose oil. Thanks, I'll try it!