Run Your Ass Off: The Complete Beginner's Guide to Running

By Kevin Hill

The straight-talking, no-nonsense beginner’s guide to running. Features everything you need to start running towards a more active, slimmer, happier you. 

It will take you from your very first steps out the door to your first 5k race and beyond, as well as give you the encouragement and necessary tools to run your ass off in both a physical and literal sense. All you need is a pair of trainers to get started.

So if you want to get fit, drop pounds, take up a new enjoyable activity and see running as a means to achieve that, there are only two steps you need to take…. read this and run for it!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Little Blue Books
• Release date: Jan 12, 2017
• ISBN: 9781386004585

Book preview

2

A Bit About Me

Firstly, I don’t come from an athletic background.

I enjoyed some team sports in school yes, but never relished laps of the pitch, or sprints in training. (Who the hell does?)

The mental image I had of a ‘runner’ before I became one was this: a tall, lanky wraith-like speedster who looked sleek and lithe, with about 5 percent body fat.

To my mind, a runner was an exceptional athlete - and a world apart from the kind of guy I was. Back then I was busy enjoying a different side of life, one that involved little to no athletic pursuit.

I also thought such demanding physical activity would take away from life’s enjoyment rather than give it, but how wrong I was.

Running changes everything … for the better.

I’m forty two years old and I’ve started fifteen marathons (finished 14 - it’s a long story), run four ultra marathons of up to 50 miles each, and countless 5ks, 10ks and half marathons, so I guess the evidence is against me, but my mentality hasn’t changed.

I still don’t think of myself as an ‘athlete’.

I don’t run because I’m the sporty ‘type’ or whatever. I run because I have become a runner and I love it.

In my late thirties, I’d reached a point where I was overweight and at my most unhealthy.

I found myself in Australia for a few months and the good weather and outdoor lifestyle prompted me to get active. I hadn’t done much that way since I’d left school fifteen years previous, so my Grade One Decision Day didn’t turn into a five mile run or anything like it.

I ran for about a mile and a half and was exhausted, but elated. The memory of those first tentative steps along the road still makes me smile.

I had to learn from my mistakes along the way though: at first my shoes were ill-fitting so I got blisters, my t-shirt was heavy cotton so I chafed.

Additionally, I ran far too quickly, my feet slapping the ground like a clown, and my breathing was shallow and erratic.

I do a lot of things differently now, but those early ‘mistakes’ were not real mistakes either - learning as I went along has been half the fun. Setting new goals and the sense of achievement after hitting them, has been the source of a lot of joy and accomplishment.

The satisfaction of training for my first race, of finishing that race and doing well, gave a huge sense of well-being only equaled in my mind by having a well deserved post race/run meal without having to calorie count. Ah… the joys of carb-loading before a race and refueling after.

Shortly after starting I decided I’d like to complete a marathon, and so I embarked on another series of mistakes.

Over the following months I started to run three to four times a week, ramping up the miles and as the weeks wore on the distances got longer.

My long run became 12 miles, then 16 then 20. I did too much too soon and got to the start line feeling fitter than ever, but with sore knees and generally not in the best shape to embark on the unforgiving task of running 26.2 miles.

But I was determined and very stubborn. I ran the 2009 Dublin marathon in four hours and twenty-two minutes, sore but very, very happy.

By then I was hooked - I enjoyed the freedom of a run by the sea, or a hard long run on a Saturday, followed by guilt free goodies later that night.

It changed the way I lived, and as I did more races and my times improved, I started to make other changes; became drawn to food that I knew would only benefit my activity.

I gradually switched to snacking on fruit instead of my usual potato chips and chocolate, and I didn’t miss them.

Now that I run about 2000 miles a year, my weight has gone from 96kgs to 78kgs.

My energy levels increased and I started to feel very fit, began to do things that I once would have thought crazy. While on vacation I’d get up early and go for a run instead of laying in bed with a sangria hangover.

I’ve been able to get out and about in some beautiful places around the world and become intimately acquainted with my environment, even finding a new appreciation for it. Going for a run around your own neighborhood early in the morning as the sun rises can give a new perspective; in fact it can be life-affirming.

I ran my most recent marathon in Berlin at a time of 3:12 - over an hour quicker than my first - and the journey between the two has been as enjoyable an experience as I think is possible.

I have quite literally run my ass off and boy does it feel good! I run for the scenery, the endorphin high, and that feeling of a job well done after a sweaty three-mile jog.

It’s why I love running and why I want to help you fall in love with it too.

So if you truly want to make some changes that not only help you feel healthier physically but mentally, then read on.

You won’t believe how easy it is.

3

First Steps

Starting Out

Running is one of the more simple forms of athletic activity. Don’t get sucked in by the industry-led hype.

You don’t need expensive gear, although good footwear needs some attention, which we’ll discuss later.

For many, taking up a new hobby is difficult enough without layering extra equipment-related complications.

The hardest step is often the first one out the door when you’re tired after a long day.

Everybody is different, but chances are when starting out most of us can’t just shoot off down the road on a five-mile stretch.

Therefore when I say ‘run’ I mean putting on suitable clothing and footwear and heading out the door, doing a short jog and then taking a walking break and repeating the cycle.

Start slow and easy, run every second day or a couple of times a week, nothing complicated, just get out there. It is also important not to over think it either.

If you have a complicated plan dictating to you it’s easy to lose motivation. If you have a simple plan to just get some distance under your belt, you can head out and get in a mile or two, rather than suffer the guilt of keeping to a ‘plan’.

You’d be surprised how many times you’ll go out with a low minimum requirement in terms of distance or time and end up feeling good and get a little more done, leaving you with an extra feel-good factor.

So don’t be too ambitious from the outset. Go easy on yourself. And please, please, don’t beat yourself up if you skip a couple of days.

The easiest way to convince yourself that you can’t be a runner is to convince yourself that you’ve ‘failed’ because you missed a day, or because you walked half your planned route.

Just try to enjoy the journey and don’t look at running as something that you need to do, rather as part of a new long term outlook.

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The Devil Inside

Like I mentioned earlier about kids trying new foods, it’s widely accepted that it takes 30 days to form a habit, so keep that in mind when you’re trying to get in the groove. Take it slow and steady as your body and mind adjust and accept this new request you are making of it.

When I first started I didn’t suffer for lack of motivation- I’d been smoking, drinking and eating the wrong things for far too long. By then, I was ready to give something back to my body for all the abuse I’d inflicted.

But not everybody feels this way.

We all have individual voices inside our heads: the often-conflicting voices of; ‘you don’t need to do this tonight’, ‘do it tomorrow’, ‘people will think you look stupid’.

These inner voices are powerful - we can never really switch them off, but we can ignore them.

Negative thoughts often lead to a negative outcome. It may sound simplistic, but by making a conscious decision to not listen to that devil on your shoulder, you are already one step ahead.

A strong mental attitude and answering negative thoughts with a positive answer immediately makes a massive difference to willpower.

I’ve had many cold wet Irish evenings when the noise of wind and rain outside summoned the anti mojo devil: ‘it’s too wet/windy/cold’, ‘Just skip it and do a bit extra tomorrow to make up for it’.

The best way of dealing with those demons is accepting them and having a quick response. So when your inner devil says ‘leave it till tomorrow, you had a hard day at work’ the response could be: ‘Maybe I’ll just change clothes and then decide’.

The simple act of putting your running gear on without thinking too much beyond that act can be incredibly helpful in beating the demons.

I can honestly say that of the hundreds of runs I’ve completed since I started, the vast majority have left me feeling far better post-run than pre.

PMA (Positive Mental Attitude) is a powerful tool in defeating those demons. Teaching your brain to focus on positives rather than negatives is a skill that will stand to you, not just when jogging out the front door, but in life.

After a while of taking this attitude, it gets easier to overcome them. Though those pesky demons will rear their heads again during hard training runs and races, which we will discuss in a later section.

Another useful tool in keeping you honest early in your endeavours is goal setting. It’s good to have something to work towards; hitting little milestones can help reinforce a healthy PMA.

These goals can be anything; jogging for three minutes without stopping; running your first mile non-stop or perhaps a bigger aim of following a training plan over a number of weeks, such as a couch to 5k or C25K.

The C25K is exactly what the name suggests; a simple plan to turn a complete beginner into somebody who can run five kilometres (or just over three miles).

Whatever your goal, keep it in mind every time you lace up.

4

Motivation

So, what attracts you to the world of races and running shoes? There are