Here’s my first post on how to start running.

So you want to start running? Or maybe get more into a routine…
Maybe you think running is for the birds 🙂

Why run?
Well, for the calories burned in an activity, running probably burns close to the most in a time frame of activity. It’s healthy for your heart, easy, and actually fairly cheap.

It’s cheap!
All you need is a pair of running shoes (I highly recommend you get them fitted appropriately with a running store like ‘Jus Running’ or ‘Foot RX’ to avoid injury).
And if you’re a female, a good supportive sports bra.

You do NOT need running gels unless you’re running over 7-8 miles (you don’t need Sports Drinks either unless your sweating with physical activity lasting over 90 minutes)
You do NOT need to carry water with you unless you’re running 9-10 miles or more (if even then)
However you do need to stay hydrated, concentrating on this 1-2 days before a run
You do NOT need an expensive watch, or pay for running apps (although they are nice to have and have their benefits, you don’t need to pay for additional things)
You do NOT need the top brand, expensive athletic-wear. I have supplied my running drawers with shirts from goodwill, yard sales, free shirts from events, cheap deals in the off season and other discount stores. Then use my race shirts for running shirts!
You do NOT need to run many miles to be a runner. All runners start from scratch at the 1-2 miles and slowly build up. Start with run walk intervals and slowly build them up to run more than walking over time. Do this 3-4 days per week.
A great program is the Couch25k program. http://www.c25k.com/

Download mapmyrun to your phone (or another similar running app). I like to carry my phone on runs with me in case of an emergency anyhow, but using the app, uses the GPS on the phone to correctly calculate my location, distance, speed, and time.

Also, you can download the c25k program onto your phone as a free app 🙂

I say this shouldn’t cost any money, because hopefully you can find a place to run outdoors (unless you already have a gym membership or a treadmill at home) and hopefully you can find time to run (even if it’s at 5:30am like I’m doing) to run without paying for childcare.

Good luck! Here’s a start! I’ll post more later.