tips for a beginner

Suggestions -

Since you are just getting started, don't fall into any hype about expensive running shoes. Any cheapo running shoe will be fine. Like if someone was a beginner at tennis, no need for an expensive racket, just get any basic racket and enjoy 👍

Also if the couch to 5K program doesn't have strides, look up what that is and do them 1-2x per week.

i disagree. my experience it's best for a noob to start with well chosen middle of the road equipment. i agree, not too fancy in case they decide they hate it. but not so cheap it's unreliable, ineffective, uncomfortable. you then might confuse hating the shoes you bought, and their effects on your legs, or injuries, with hating the sport.

so to me do some research and buy a solid pair of well reviewed shoes with some good cushioning. your legs will thank you, and then you decide from comfortable running whether you like the sport.

to me the more likely outcome if you buy some $50 trainers with no cushion is your legs ache or you hurt something and you blame the sport. and someone who is new is more likely to start out getting sore and beat up initially. why make it worse.

My advice is get the hell off Letsrun forum

Ideally find some like minded friends and do at least some of your runs together.

It's way more fun to share the experience

re couch to 5k, i'd particularly favor walk/run type schemes. at first you may be only able to run so far/long at a meaningful speed. you are better off with quality work over a limited distance or duration, perhaps steadily pushed out a little more, than a slow plodding jog you can't improve. and then the walked rest lets you recover. to me it's better to run 50 yards then rest -- actually with some oomph -- than to plod through a slooooow mile. you might get to the race distance faster but at no speed at all.

after all, the normal progression of race runners is your competition distance increases with time as you get older. we don't start out running 5ks or 10ks. you might do a half mile run in elementary. they might only let you run a mile or 1.5 mi until HS hits. so we built up the legs and heart and lungs to do it, over time.

my advice is play the long game and don't take some rapid progression in a training plan literally. instead, use the plan more as a guide. as levels rather than literal weeks. week 1 is then level 1. if it says run 30s then rest x, do that. if you are exhausted, maybe just do that a few weeks. wait to go to level 2 until you're handling level 1 well.

to me that is how you avoid becoming some plodding 40 min 5k runner who shuffles through the race slowly. is you start with the short stuff -- almost stride length runs like he's saying -- slowly build up, and then progress along when you can do that part at more than snail's pace without feeling like yakking up.

and when you feel that's mastered, then on to what the plan says for week 2. and so on. and that's confidence building and gets you fitter but in a more real way.

when i restarted running, my approach was to mix up workouts and sometimes just add to the reps instead of the distance. so instead of doubling distance, maybe do the same distance but a few more reps. or do the new distance but only as many reps as you can stand at first.

last, to avoid injuries, only run so many times a week, and if you add more running workload or distance, keep the additional bit a modest increase. rule of thumb i was always taught was no more than 10%. that feels constrained but the game is to stay healthy and ready to do the next run.

counter example, my mom loves to quickly ramp up to 5 miles of walking and every day of the week. then within a month her knee or back hurts and she's shut down for weeks. the idea is to get in, do a workout that tires you some and your legs feel it, but you rest up a couple days, it's not too much, and you're ready to rock on the next day. that may feel silly but you're still running each week which is winning. as is steadily working to the goal.

re my shoe point, one way to go about it is price comparison shop, or buy the nice stuff but a year or two older version (but new). sometimes it costs $150 new, but someplace has it for sale $120, and in a year when the new ones are out, the old version is $90 or 100. and it's a good shoe that was maybe shoe of the year 2 years ago, just not the new version snob favorite.

that's how i go about it. not the most expensive $200 model. one of the middle cushiony models, and maybe last year's version, and at the cheapest price for that version i can find in colors i like.

Thanks for the advice. I've got a pair of hokas, would they be considered good running shoes, or should I consider getting new shoes?

unfortunately most of my friends live on the other side of my city, so it's not feasible to run with them, at least not on a regular basis. I'm pretty sure parkrun organises events in my city sometimes though, That might be an option once i'm confident enough in running.

Hokas are fine.

Just get in the habit of running regularly. I'd say aim for 6 days per week, but if you have to work up to that, that's fine.

Try to focus on developing good form and think about it when you run. What works best for everyone is different, but I think a lot of new runners don't really know what to do with their arms. Try to avoid side to side motion, keep the hands around hip level, and focus on pulling the arms back (then letting them fall forward, no punching). A lot of new runners also overstride and lean forward too much. Try to take about 3 steps per second keep your torso relatively straight (a slight forward lean is okay).

A lot of people have problems with knee injury early on, maybe do some exercises to strengthen the quads (eg lunges, squats, leg extensions).

Any shoes made for running that are comfortable are fine. But don't use your running shoes for anything but running, or they'll wear out pretty fast.

The couch to 5K programme is a great programme that gets you used to running gradually, interspersed with walking. But don't be afraid to tweak it if that helps.

Once you're up to running 3-4 times a week for say 20 minutes each time you can start logging mileage or time on your feet. I kept a running diary in a notepad (on paper) and found it massively beneficial to see my progress as the weeks went by. It really helped a lot.

I was returning to training as an adult after years out and this approach really suited me.

Tips:

- I agree with the advice of getting last year or the year before's model of a decent running shoe. You save money and the colourway doesn't matter at all. Wear clothes that you're comfortable in.

- Don't rush with your training or push it too hard. The focus is time on your feet running rather than anything else. I'd do almost all of your running at an easy/steady pace until you get more time under your belt.

- Maybe have a goal/aim for the future in a couple of months, like completing a parkrun or running a time trial. Then you can repeat that from another couple of months on.

- The most important thing is injury prevention so don't do anything outrageous in training.

- Make sure that you hydrate well and eat decent foods after to enhance recovery.

- Enjoy your running and vary your routes. Build up gradually. Once you start tracking your mileage you can see the improvements and use that as motivation too. Good luck and enjoy your running.