The Treadmill Is Your Friend...

I am not like a lot of runners you may read about.  I have never, ever been any kind of athelete.  Sure, I played baseball and soccer and basketball as a boy, but really only because it was a social convention for American boys; it's just what boys were supposed to do.  I was never good at any of it.  And I hated to have to run.  Physical exertion has never, up until now, been a "thing" for me.  So I'm not too proud to admit that it was really, really , REALLY hard when I first started running.  My chest hurt, my legs hurt, my feet hurt, my head hurt. and I was dizzy during and after my workouts.  I know now that was probably a bad thing and that I was probably...scratch that, I was DEFINITELY working too hard for my fat little body and my tired little heart.  Looking back at how I felt after those first few "runs," I realize now I should have slowed down just a tad.  The sad thing is that I wasn't going very fast to begin with.  I'm talking maybe 2 miles in 25, 30 minutes.  When I tell you I was out of shape, I am telling you I was WAAAYYY out of shape.  I was in such bad shape, I had to strap a Camelbak  to my back just to go 2 miles.  So how did I get past it? Perseverance.  I would love to tell you there is some magic formula, but there's not.  You either want it or you don't.  For me, for the first time in my life,  I wanted it.  But even at that, it was hard to keep going at first.  The key word for those of you who are starting at zero like I was is: DISTRACTION.  It is all about distracting your brain and your body.  So when I started running, I started on a treadmill.  If you have access to a treadmill, I highly recommend you start off there.  You can set your pace, and you can easily track your progress.  It is inside, so there are no excuses for temperature or weather.  But more importantly, it offers ample opportunity for you to distract yourself.  When I first started running on the treadmill, I did so ith the help of SportsCenter, my iPod,  and my Amazon Kindle.  I set the Kindle on the treadmill and  adjusted the font so I could read it while I moved, I cranked the iPod up to max, and put closed captioning on the T.V.  This way, There was always somewhere for me to take my brain when it got tough.  I could tell myself, "Just one more song," or "Just one more page and I'm done," or "Just let me get through this story on Albert Pujols."  And after that one more song or one more page or one more Pujols story (can’t enough Albert Pujols news…please, please, please re-sign with the Cards!), I would look down and see that if I pushed just a little harder, I would have gone farther or faster than I ever had before.  And before I knew it, I was running 3, 4 and 5 miles regularly.  And my pace was quickening.  I also recommend starting off on a treadmill because you can set your pace, whereas if you run outside, it is very difficult for you to pace yourself and you can get yourself hurt very fast, with no progress made.  Additionally, the treadmill will help reduce injury in those early days because it is going to be cushioned, or at least offer more cushioning than the asphalt, which means you will have more opportunity to strengthen your muscles and bones before you push yourself too hard.  So if you are thinking about beginning running, only you knows what's best for you.  But for me, the treadmill made all of the difference in the world.  And when the time comes, you will likely want to transition to outdoor running, as I have.  For the last couple of months, I have been running almost exclusively outdoors, only using the treadmill during inclement weather or if I need to squeeze a quick run in after work.  But in the beginning, I don’t think I could have gotten as far as I have without first taking those baby steps on the treadmill.