Lots of people, including myslef, start running because they want to loose weight. Becuase running is probably one of the hardest cariovascular exercises you can do, for most people it is an very good way to burn calories and start shedding the weight.
You need to remember that healthy eating should be part of your weight loss program because you will only loose weight if you burn more calories than you consume. So, for example if you loose a pound in wieght then you have to burn around 3500 calories, which means you should think about running AND healthy eating to loose wieght efficiently.

If your running, like mine, turns into a more serious sport for you, then you could consider racing in 5K or 10K races, or even look into training for a half marathon or even full marathon distance, which is 26.2 miles. I’d recommend that you first start building up you weekly training program and see if you can run up to around 10 miles. Of course the longer distance you run, the slower your pace should be.

Anyway back to healthy eating! Runners sometimes start to eat more food and load up with too many calories, putting on weight even though they’re training! If you think you might be falling into this trap then have you ever though of keeping a food diary? The best thing you can do is look at how much you’re eating, when and where.

The other main point with running to loose weight is that you really need to run on a regular basis. By regular basis I mean every day if you can! If this isn’t possible, certainly to begin with you will need to ensure you rest adequately between training runs, then I suggest 3 times a week or more.

Finally, after your body becomes used to your training program and you’re finding that running 5 miles or so, 3 times a weeek is fairly comfortable for you, you need to start mixing up your training. A good way to do this is to introduce speed training to your routine – this sounds like more pain!? Speed training is essentially running very fast for short period of time, having a similar short resting period where you jog or walk, and the run very fast again for the same period of time. You should repeat this process so you are running fast for 4 or 5 times, resting inbetween each fast run. This is called interval training, and it will help you burn more calories, plue increase your slower, long distance running pace, over time.

Recreational running as the name suggests is leisure or fun running. Though running has been around for as long as the humans have existed, recreational running has become more common in today’s world. Where as some people have made recreational running part of their lifestyles most of them have still yet to get started. Knowing the benefits of recreational running is a vital part in making the decision whether to pursue it or not. Before we look at how to get started with recreational running, here are some of the main benefits:

•Promotes healthy lifestyle, helps in losing extra body weight

•Reduces life related stresses and brain fatigue

•Refreshes and relaxes the mind hence the whole body

•Improves the general body strength, endurance, power and stamina by building muscle
•Can lead to competitive running sometimes

•Boosts the immunity of the body (most people who engage in recreational running rarely get sick)

•Great form of entertainment

These are just a few of the benefits, but the next question is how can someone with no prior experience start recreational running? Here are some of the helpful tips to help you get started and continue to make it part of your lifestyle:

1.Do your physicals: – Seek medical advice from your physician to make sure that your health status can allow you to pursue recreational running. It is especially important for people who are overweight to consult with their physician to ensure that they are physically able to run or jog without over stressing their body systems.

2.Find a trainer or coach: – Once you have been cleared by your physician, you need to sit down with your trainer or personal instructor who will advise you accordingly. With the help of your trainer or coach, set some realistic goals. Your trainer can help you decide on the right training shoe and tracksuit. Remember to start slow, it is really tempting to put too much on your plate the first time and not be able to get started. Most people get discouraged early in the process as a result of taking too many steps at one time. One step at a time is all you need and before you know, one step becomes a mile and a mile eventually becomes a couple of miles each day. Your goals should not become an obsession; but rather they should just be motivating factors. Remember recreational running should be fun and entertaining not a job.

3.Join recreational running friends, groups or clubs: Unlike other recreational sports such as indoor games, recreational running is more challenging physically and mentally. Having other people with similar or same interests around is significant for progress. This is especially important for support when the going becomes more challenging. It is also easier to achieve your goals if you treat recreational running as a social activity, after all you are having fun with friends. If for some reason you can’t find others to run or jog with, you can always take your dog for company, he/she will really enjoy doing that and it is great for his/her health too.

4.Participate in fun competitive races: One good goal to include in recreational running is to compete on fun road running. This is a great motivator for both beginners and experienced recreational runners alike. Running or jogging and finishing a 5 K, 10K, half marathon fun race is a wonderful experience that only the competitor is able to explain. There is something special about running with hundreds or thousands of other runners. By this point, recreational running will have become part of your live.

5.Take breaks to recover: I am sure you trainer or coach is knowledgeable enough to include breaks in your training program. The body needs to recover in order for it to make any progress. The principle behind improving your performance in any sport whether recreational or professional is “recovery and adaptation”. The simple explanation of this principle is, training stresses the body, but recovery enables it to recover and adapt to the new level of stress. So the more you train the better you become as long as you recover and do everything else right. Ideally, you can rest 1 – 3 days every week depending on your level of training and your goals. It is also significant to take a complete rest once every few months and do something else like swimming, playing tennis or anything else you enjoy doing other than recreational running.

Other key points to take into account for successful recreational running include:

•Eating healthy: always stay on top of healthy balance diet. It will only help your progress if you eat right, you don’t have to worry about counting calories.

•Hydrate always: Remember almost 75 percent of our bodies are made up of fluids. It is always healthy to drink as much water as possible. This can be supplemented with sports drinks or 100 percent juices. Avoid drinking carbonated drinks if you can, they only help to dehydrate your body.

•Supplements are vital: Mineral and vitamin supplements are crucial for your body’s well being especially when you are involved in recreational sport of any kind.

This is not an exhaustive guide to recreational running but it is a good starting place. There are numerous resources to find more information online. Start recreational running today and enjoy a new fulfilling healthy lifestyle.

Staying Motivated to Run

Do you have a hard time staying motivated to run? There are a lot of things that can affect your desire to go running. In f act, every runner, even those who are passionate about it, often experiences times when they would rather be doing anything but running. In order to stay motivated to run, it is important to understand that a lot of these “reasons” are actually just excuses. And excuses often indicate a simple lack of motivation.

The good news is, these issues are very easy to overcome, especially if you understand all that running can do for you. It improves your health and your mood and is very good exercise. When you feel as if your motivation for running is not as good as it can be, use some, or all, of these tips to get you going.

Understand Why You Like Running

After you get back from a particularly successful run, get a piece of paper and write down exactly why you love running. Keep this list in a safe place. Now, when you can think of a million things you would rather be doing, read the list. Use it as a way to inspire you and get you out the door.

Prepare the Night Before

If you go running in the morning, lay out your clothes and shoes the night before. Sometimes, it is difficult getting moving in the morning. When you are groggy, the last thing you want to do is shuffle around for your clothes. If you make the process of getting dressed simple, you will be more likely to stick with it.

Train for an Event

Sometimes, having an event to train for is a great motivator. It doesn’t need to be a marathon. You can pick something a little less involved, like a 5K or a 10K. Select an event, choose a training program, and stick with it. If you want even more to shoot for, choose a running event that is a benefit for charity. Not only will you have a goal to help you stay focused, but you can also help raise money for your favorite charity.

Find a Running Partner

Some people like to run by themselves because they enjoy the solitude. However, others have a difficult time getting motivated unless they have someone to run with. If you need to run with people, you can either find a running partner or join a running group. It can be fun to train with others, especially if you all share the same goals.

Run With Music

Music can also be very motivating. If you have a difficult time concentrating during your runs or if you have chosen not to run because you think it is too boring, try bringing some music along with you. Choose something that is upbeat and lively so that it will help you move more quickly.

Wearing proper shoes for different types of running is vital. There are three different types of shoes that should be worn. For easy days and long runs, daily trainers work fine. For tempo runs, hill workouts, and races longer than 10k light weight trainers are the best choice. For track workouts and races shorter than 10k racing flats work great.

Daily trainers are the shoes that you will run the most mileage in. Make sure that your daily trainers are comfortable. I believe that all shoes should be comfortable right out of the box. The daily trainers that I wear fit so great that I am not afraid to run a 20 miler the first time I wear them. Shoes that need to be broke in are probably not the right type of shoe for your feet. Find out what type of foot that you have and then only purchase shoes that fall into that category.

Light weight trainers are great shoes for faster paced training. For tempo runs and hill workouts light weight trainers are the ticket. Light weight trainers have adequate cushioning and support to protect your feet and still are light enough for faster paced running. Be careful when buying light weight trainers. Make sure that you purchase the correct type for your type of feet.

Another great thing about light weight trainers is that they are light enough and stable enough for longer races. I personally wear trainers for half and full marathons. My own experience has been that my feet never hurt after half marathons, finishing a full marathon everything hurts. I would still recommend wearing light weight trainers for these race distances.

Racing flats are very light weight, usually less than 9 0z. Be careful with racing flats, finding the correct fit is extremely important. Don’t always purchase the lightest pair that you can find. I prefer racing flats with some support and cushioning. A few ounces of cushion and support are always better than becoming injured just to save 10 or 15 seconds in a 5k.

I personally would not recommend wearing racing flats in races longer than 10k. I have worn racing flats in a couple of half marathons and my feet were sore for days afterwards. Since I have worn light weight trainers exclusively my feet never hurt afterwards.

The most popular time to wear racing flats is during track workouts. The feeling of wearing light weight shoes during fast paced workouts is what makes racing flats so popular. I personally like to wear racing flats during all of my track workouts. There are others who wear racing flats only for a race. Choose which time works best for you.

There is a lot of discussion surrounding a person’s body weight and shoe selection. I am 6’1 and weigh 180lbs, so being a larger runner I still wearing light weight trainers and racing flats. I would recommend that each person decide for themselves if they want to wear lighter shoes.

I smoked my first cigarette when I was eleven years old. By the time I was thirteen I was smoking a pack a day. When I began to seriously attempt to quit in my early twenties I was often puffing down two packs, or nearly 40 cigarettes a day!

There were many unsuccessful attempts to stop smoking. I just didn’t seem to have the will power, the confidence, the strength to kick the habit. Living in New York City at the time, I watched joggers in Central Park with a lump in my throat. Running seemed like something I would never be able to do. These runners seemed to possess such freedom, something missing from my life as I lay prisoner to the cigarettes and habits I could not seem to overcome.

In my early twenties, not only was I struggling with the addiction to cigarettes, but I was also struggling with what to do with my life. I had a couple of bartending and secretarial jobs but with nothing more than an Associate’s degree, it didn’t seem likely a big career lay before me. Feeling lost, and often confused, an Aunt of mine suggested exploring the field of Physical Therapy. Her friend had just completed his degree. He liked the work and jobs seemed plentiful. I knew nothing about physical therapy. As I began to investigate the possibility, I was, little by little, taking the steps that would change the course of my life forever.

I went back to school to meet the academic requirements. I started volunteering at different hospitals and facilities to get a feel for the work. Once I decided on the path, my commitment had been made. Yet I felt hypocritical. How could I step into this field of health and wellness and be a smoker? How could I inspire others to take care of their bodies when I was sucking down cigarettes like candy?

Running was my way out. So I started, slowly and painfully. I didn’t quit right away. When I first started running I was still smoking. The first thing I did when I finished a run was light up. This went on for weeks, a little running, a lot of smoking. Finally the moment of truth arrived. This conflict of running and smoking was living in my body and mind. I could not do both. A choice had to be made.

I chose running.

Quitting was still hard. And my first real success at quitting didn’t put the habit behind me completely just yet. I applied to Physical Therapy schools and didn’t get in the first year. After the initial rejections there was a ray of hope. I made the waiting list at Stony Brook University on Long Island. Even though I did not get in that first year I was more determined than ever to reapply. I had invested everything in this decision to be a physical therapist, including my health. So I retook classes and upped my efforts.

I was accepted to Stony Brook University the second time around. The summer before university started, I lived on Fire Island cleaning houses. I was running every day on the beach and was up to 6 miles. I felt so strong. I even placed second overall for women in a 10K race at the end of the summer.

My dirty secret was I had started smoking again. I was so embarrassed. Here I was running, this supposed health nut now. Everyone I knew thought I kicked the habit but I would sneak back to the house from the beach to smoke a cigarette. I was so afraid of all the changes and uncertainty before me; moving to Stony Brook, starting school, being a bit older than most students, feeling insecure about my capabilities, that the cigarettes provided a comfort, a solace that only a smoker, or addict could understand. What would people think of me if they really knew how scared and insecure I was? I was so afraid of appearing weak.

There were a number of stops and starts before completely leaving cigarettes behind me and running the New York City Marathon helped me to never look back.

I decided to run the marathon in February of 1990.

The start of my training in February, until the actual race in November, took nine months. This period of gestation saw myself emerge from one who felt powerless in their addiction to cigarettes to one who had the power to do anything.

One of the biggest obstacles to training for the marathon was overcoming the resistance of my own mind. Of course the body needs conditioning to ready it for 26 miles but it was my mind that wanted to stop well before my body. I can’t do this anymore…enough….it hurts….I’m tired. Overcoming the resistance of my mind through training for the marathon has served me in so many aspects of my life.

Because no matter what we set out to do in life our mind will always get in the way of our growth and development. Our mind wants us to stay the way we are. Our mind wants us to feel safe and secure. There is nothing wrong with feeling safe and secure and certainly we need to feel safe and secure within our self to be able to venture into new territories.

But when we are attached to safety and security we become paralyzed to rise beyond the limitations that safety and security imposes on our life.

We need to develop our will in order to rise above the habits that limit us. For me running has been one of the most beneficial practices I have embarked on in my life and the New York City Marathon is one of its high points.

There were moments that felt like I couldn’t go on. Heading over the 59th Street Bridge on to 1st Avenue in Manhattan felt like climbing Mount Everest. You don’t realize how much of a climb a bridge is until you have run 15 miles to get there.

There were moments of inspiration. The streets of Brooklyn were full of crowds and music. Approaching 8 miles I heard the theme from Rocky playing. My heart pumped harder, my stride was stronger, I felt the power of running.

There were emotional moments. The race starts in Staten Island, 25,000 people running over the Verranzano Bridge. You can actually feel the bridge vibrating under your feet from the power generated by so many runners. At this point it is just you and the rest of the runners, each in their own race, with you yet against you in some way.

Heading into Bay Ridge Brooklyn the streets were so thick with people cheering, yelling and high fiving, it was incredible. I felt this overwhelming outpouring of love and support, especially in contrast to the relative silence of the bridge. I couldn’t hold back the tears. I was running in a sea of love and it felt beautiful.

There were moments of enlightenment. At twenty three miles, heading into Central Park for the last time, I knew I would finish the race but I had to stop for water before I could go any further. I suppose it is what people have called the wall. This was my first stop in the race. I had been taking water, pouring it into my body while still in motion. This time I had to stop before I could go any further. I drank water and started running again.

Shortly after that I saw my mother, brothers, sisters and their respective spouses. They were holding a banner high that read… KAREN, YOU DID IT! I still had three miles to go which at that point felt like it could have been another twenty-three. I didn’t want to disappoint them.

At twenty-four miles I went to a place I had never been to before. It was if everything within me; body, mind, heart and soul, shifted to some other inner gear. I was running….and it was effortless! EFFORTLESS! I had been running for three and a half hours now and I felt like I could have gone on forever. I was light, floating, higher than any substance has ever taken me. I rode that high for weeks.

And throughout the whole race I felt the love and support of my friends and family, cheering me on, in every borough, screaming for me as if I were some running star.

Those memories live within me forever. The accomplishment of running 26 miles is a reservoir of inspiration for me even 17 years later.

And I am still running, for over twenty years now. Although I never ran another marathon that moment still lives in me with inspiration and awe.

At 46 years old, there is no desire to run 26 miles again; at least not in one shot. I am grateful my body is still able to run, on the beach, in the woods, on the streets, in my travels. To be able to spend time outdoors, to breathe in fresh air and clear my mind serves me in all aspects of my life and is the blessing that running brings to my life.

I am grateful for the vehicle of my body that keeps on running.

Exercise is good for you. Being fit will help your whole body feel better, including your migraines, right? So why did your headache specialist just tell you to drop out of this weekend’s 10K if you want to be able to go to work on Monday?

A regular exercise program is a great migraine deterrent, but it needs to be the right kind of exercise. Many workout types put a real strain on the cardiovascular system and scientists have linked migraines to vascular problems in the temporal artery, among other potential causes.

Migraineurs who want to sweat need to warm up, slowly, for about fifteen minutes prior to any strenuous exertion, whether it is exercise or home repair. Skipping this warm up is nearly a guarantee that a migraine will be interrupting your plans later in the day.

While any exertion can be good or bad and each migraineur is different, there are a few types of exercise that are notorious for bringing down the head.

* Aerobics: high-intensity aerobics classes are a trigger for many women, especially when the cardio-pounding workout is paired with loud music.

* Biking: Whether it is competitive cycling or spinning class at the club, this is a major trigger for many.

* Running: Any kind of running that involves hard-core exertion, especially endurance events like marathons and triathlons.

You may be able to keep doing these things, especially if you really enjoy them, but you need to think about toning down the endurance aspect. Cycling should be for pleasure and exercise but not competitive. Replace high impact aerobics classes with dance, yoga, or free weight aerobics. Reduce the distance you run and see if it helps with the migraines. There is no reason a migraineur cannot be fit, just do not run yourself into a migraine.