Why This Blog?

Hello Running World!

I thought it would be a really good idea to start a blog for people who are either new to running or just want to know how to get started.

I am a (46 year old) new runner ... having never ran any distance my entire life ... OK .. maybe not my entire life ... I did do the 400m and 800m track and field fun run in Grade 7/8, but, that is the extent to my distance running.  Other than having to "sprint" to those quick meetings I was potentially late for, or "sprinting" to the bathroom from a parking spot far away from them .. that is the full extent of my running career.

You may ask yourself, how is it after all these years, did I finally sign up for running?  Well, it was more of a "catch 22" situation where I gained quite a few pounds between getting married and having two wonderful children and I was in the situation whereby I couldn't exercise because of the weight and I couldn't get the weight off through many yo-yo diets in order to exercise.  I finally took the plunge, after much consultation and research with hubby, that we would go the route of the Dr. Bernstein Diet and Health Clinics so that I was medically supervised during my weight loss program.  This finally allowed me, after losing an initial 12 pounds, to begin a real exercise regimen.

I then decided I would try to do a 5km walk/run (and it was mostly walking at this point) when I was about 6 weeks into the program and had lost that 12 to 15 pounds.  I did lousy, time wise, but I felt very empowered and proud of myself for just signing up at the last minute (my husband was also running the 5km in the same race, but, of course, as a long distance runner that his is, he was done almost half an hour earlier .. lol).  At this point, my thinking was that I could actually run a race with a bit of training.  This race happened in late August of 2012.

I still did not lace up any runners to do a real running program at this point, I just basically hit the treadmill at the gym to see if I could handle the stress this new exercise program would put on my body.  After losing another 10 pounds I could then get back on my bike and begin doing some kilometres on it as a preparation to further endurance training.  Once I felt comfortable with having done some form of training and exercise, I knew I was ready to get out from behind the sidelines and work toward being a confident runner at the start line.

Thus, my quest to learn how to run and enter races had begun ....

And, this is where and why this blog was created.  I have seen many running sites/blogs that seem to be more dedicated to the seasoned runner or marathoner and not really set up to help those individuals who really want to:  learn how to run all distances, how/when to pick the right shoes and training techniques.  Although that is just a short list of what can be discussed, there are many more to help all age levels that will just be added on as the need arises.

I hope I can help those individuals who are looking at how to begin and looking at diet and exercise from the viewpoint of someone who has been in that same exact position.

If you have any suggestions for topics, please let me know and I will be happy to incorporate them into the blog :)

Enjoy and remember, the first step of wanting to better yourself is the most important and that is the step you have taken today, by finding out all you can about running/exercise before hitting the pavement.