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Running lore - part 1 of 3
By booyaabooyaabooyaa | June 3, 2007
AKA What I would’ve told myself when I got this crazy idea to run a marathon
Recently two of my coworkers have taken up running and they made the fatal mistake of asking me for advice. What surprised me was how much I had to give. So I’ve decided to take this advice and turn into a series of posts of lessons I’ve learnt.
The first post which is the one you are reading now which is about the kit you’ll need to start running. The second post will consist of picking the right training plan. And the final post will be about injuries and how to avoid them.
Go slow
Spend a year building up to this event. Anything less will probably result injury usually just as your event is rapidly approaching. Some people are naturals and will avoid injury, but for the rest of us the likelihood of injury is higher, doubly so if you’ve never run before.
Running gear
If you’re going to start running in summer (I’ll cover winter in another post), you’re going to need the following items:
- Running shoes
- T-shirt
- Shorts
- Training log
- A sports bra (high activity level i.e. for running) if you’re a ladydee.
Yup that’s it, seriously.
Running shoes
The most expensive item you will buy is your running shoes. If you compromise on this you will either buy loads more shoes (false economy) or worse still injure yourself.
Do yourself a favour and visit a proper running shop. Be prepared to spend almost an hour with the assistant as you identify the type feet you have, normal, pronator (flat footed), supinator (high arched). Also think about if you want lots of support (could result in a heavier shoe). Listen to the advice the assistant has, but also don’t be afraid to challenge the recommendations. Also be aware that if your feet move around a lot you will blister. Tell your assistant your concerns.
Check out this link to see what types of feet and shoe support you need.
A good pair running shoes will survive between 400-500 miles. Ideally you want to look for the next pair when you’ve got about 100-200 left on the clock. You need to replace the shoe if you notice serious damage or if the support has degraded. I would advise you to always inspect your shoes before you head off for a run.
T-shirt and shorts
Don’t get seduced by all the high tech running gear out there. Your shorts and t-shirt will suffice. Men, you may want to invest in tight (lycra) shorts to keep everything in place. Sure the high tech gear is great, it will keep the moisture away from your skin, but at this moment in time you don’t need it.
Training log
You need this to help keep you motivated when you’ve had a rough patch, plagued with self-doubt or got injured. Also it’ll help you track the mileage on your shoes.
You can either use website(s) like runningahead.com or fetcheveryone.com. Or if you’re lo-fi you could get a real training log from your local running shop or bespoke one from personallogs.com
If you decided to use an on-line training log, the two I have specified have a route planning tool that allows you track the mileage of your running routes.
Optional extras
Here are some nice to haves, but are no means mandatory:
- Speed Distance Monitor (SDM)
- Running socks
Speed Distance Monitor (SDM)
SDMs make running even easier, it tracks the mileage for you so you don’t need to plan out a route before hand, you just run. One of the cheapest SDMs you can buy is the Nike+ sports kit, this is cheap so long as you have an iPod Nano (and no it doesn’t work on any of the other iPods), it only costs £20 (GBP).
If you think it’s only for Nike shoes, have look at this post.
Nike have been threatening to bring out kit that doesn’t need the iPod Nano, but they’ve been doing this for almost six months.
I’m not convinced pedometer provide the same level of accuracy as true SDMs. Admittedly I’ve only got one (fitbug), but there’s a reason why they’re called step counters rather than speed to distance monitors.
Running socks
If you’re going to have at least one run which is 15+ miles you need to think about getting proper running socks. These socks don’t have blister attracting seams and often are double layered. I’m currently using Hilly Twin Skin and Wright socks. If you can get sports tape (very sticky tape with a peach mesh covering) try apply tape to the arches of your feet. I will provide more advice on avoiding chafing and blisters in my next post.
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