What mistakes did you make as a newbie runner?

Wan to meet up and make a couple of new mistakes?

You can call me Hector

I started running at 14 years of age in the 1980s, so I have been running for 30 years now. My school had no xc or track so it was just me running some road races on my own. I had no one to advise me because the only other runner I knew was a friend of my dad's who had been a pretty good master's runner and triathlete. Back then, the only resource I had was RW and their little booklets you got when you renewed your subscription. The biggest mistakes I made were due to my naivety.

1. I trained for my first marathon during a summer and didn't take any fluids because I heard they would upset my stomach. I ran some 14 and 16 milers in the dead of summer and could have had heat stroke or dehydration. When I finally ran my first marathon (Erie in 1993) I didn't drink until 20 miles.

2. I thought it was okay to run a time trial two days before a 10k race. I didn't know about tapering. I might have run a minute or two faster if I was better rested.

3. Every run I would run as hard as I could, even my longer runs.

Hi Mismo -- is it possible for me to use this in a story, as well as get your real name & how long you've been running? Feel free to email me at ekelly89@gmail.com.

Hello -- is it possible for me to use this in a story, as well as get your real name & how long you've been running? Feel free to email me at ekelly89@gmail.com.

Erin Kelly wrote:

Hobby joggers? I run a 3:20 marathon and am a certified run coach. I'm sorry you can't embrace the power of the running community, but I am only trying to help others.

Y'all hear that? She's "certified". You're a blogger.

Also, you're a good half an hour from being SUB-elite. I don't know that I'd be flaunting that as some sort of badge of honor.

Not running 100 MPW at the beginning of my running career.

-Arman Tanzarian

1. Did zero summer training heading into my first cross country season.

2. Gave myself a nickname fashioned after famous US runner at the time.

formerD1 wrote:

Darn it's that Jones boy! wrote:

D1 if you know so much, then you should be trying to help people, not tear them down. You have much to learn!!!

Yes, I'm trying to help. That's why I'm saying, the LAST thing a newbie should care about is form. Simply getting out there, enjoying the sport and starting the journey to a lifetime of healthy living and exercise, that's what matters.

If you're a newbie and you're caught up on form or gear or proper dieting for running, man you've got your head on wrong. All that comes much later when you want to start seriously improving.

D1 is a Ahole, but to be fair he is an Ahole that actually makes sense.

Making vicious cycles of monster workouts and despair.

Trying to sharpen too fast with intense monster workouts close together all before even the first race.

Getting scared that I sucked, when inevitably , I couldn't run well on what should have been recovery days anyway!

and of course, getting injured.

Letting someone subject me to a gait analysis and sell me those crappy SuperFeet insoles.