{"id":14999,"date":"2009-12-18T01:00:04","date_gmt":"2009-12-18T06:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/?p=14999"},"modified":"2010-01-26T15:04:51","modified_gmt":"2010-01-26T20:04:51","slug":"how-to-become-a-runner-part-2-making-progress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/12\/how-to-become-a-runner-part-2-making-progress\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Become a Runner: Part 2 Making Progress"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a title=\"runner\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/12\/how-to-become-a-runner-part-2-making-progress\/\" target=\"_self\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-15176 alignright\" title=\"runner\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/12\/runner.jpg\" alt=\"runner\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" \/><\/a>I&#8217;ve been writing recently about how to <a title=\"running for beginners\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/12\/how-to-become-a-runner-part-1-getting-started\/\" target=\"_self\">start a running program<\/a>. My first race was a 5K and at that time, I had no idea I would ever get into running and complete a 50 miler. Read my previous post about getting started before moving on to this section about kicking it up a notch.<\/p>\n<p>OK, so you decided to start running, you got your shoes and watch, you set realistic goals, and you&#8217;ve started &#8220;wogging&#8221; (that&#8217;s a jog\/walk combo). By now, you&#8217;ve gone out a few times and maybe you&#8217;re even jogging more than walking. It&#8217;s time to get a little more serious (just a little).<!--more--><\/p>\n<p><strong>Track Your Progress<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Keep a running journal. <\/strong>The proof is in the pudding, right? By documenting your workouts you will get to see how far you&#8217;ve come and whether it is time to ease up a bit or take it to the next level. You can buy running journals or just simply record in a composition notebook. Include the date, length of run, mileage if you know it, pace, and any thoughts or feelings you had. Review your log weekly. If you see lots of &#8220;tired, sore, and low energy&#8221; comments maybe you&#8217;re pushing yourself too hard. If you see encouraging comments like &#8220;felt great, had fun, and easy&#8221; then maybe it&#8217;s time to see what else you can do. Try a hilly route, pick up your pace, or stay out 10 to 15 minutes longer.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Find interesting routes. <\/strong>Part of running is staying interested and that means having variety in your workouts. School tracks can be simple and safe places for getting started. Do a lap of walking up the stairs when you feel ready. You can also alternate a jogging lap with a lap of faster pace running and even later sprint work. Trails also make fun runs. The terrain is easy on your body and you naturally go at a slower pace, which is perfect for beginners who need to hold back. Check out <a title=\"MapMyRun\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/08\/find-and-track-your-runs-with-mapmyrun\/\" target=\"_self\">MapMyRun<\/a> to find a route in your neighborhood or create your own, or check-out our list of the <a title=\"best places to run\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/tag\/best-places-to-run\/\" target=\"_self\">best places to run<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Gently Increase Mileage<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>After the first couple of months, your body has begun adapting to the running and it is time to increase your mileage if you want to. Don&#8217;t overdo it. I recommend to make one of your runs a &#8220;long run.&#8221; Bump up the mileage by 1-2 miles per week for a month, then hold it there for a few weeks. If you feel ready to increase again, go for it! So if you now have a three mile base, you can go up to 4-5 miles week one, 5-6 miles week two, 6-7 miles week three, and 7-8 miles week four! Before you know it, you went from 3 miles to 8 miles in one month. Be sure to take walk breaks as needed on those long runs.<\/p>\n<p>Remember that running is about having fun. Stay comfortable and safe out there. I hope to see you in a race in 2026!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I&#8217;ve been writing recently about how to start a running program. My first race was a 5K and at that time, I had no idea I would ever get into running and complete a 50 miler. Read my previous post &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/12\/how-to-become-a-runner-part-2-making-progress\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[2911,211],"class_list":["post-14999","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fitness","tag-beginners-guide-to-fitness","tag-running"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14999","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14999"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14999\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16735,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14999\/revisions\/16735"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}