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If your new year thing is taking up running, here are the most important bits I have learned which might be useful for someone. Or not. Whatever. (That's not me in the gif FYI)
No one cares what you look like, or what you're wearing. Seriously. Be more Phoebe.
And on that note, the only two things you really need to invest in are some decent shoes to run in and a bra (if you need one). Bad shoes (or no bra) will mean a bad experience. Don't do it.
If you're starting completely from scratch, don't put too much pressure on yourself. Pick a goal - whether that's 1 mile or more, or a certain loop near your house and run/walk it until you can run the whole thing.
If some days you're low on motivation think: you never regret a run.
The first time you take the leap and run an actual race (when we can etc etc) some people's first question will be "what time did you do?" It Does Not Matter. You ran a race. Feel free to tell them that.
The only real way to run faster is to...run faster. It can be as simple as running as fast as you can for 30 seconds then walking 30 seconds, and doing that until you can start jogging the "rests".
Injuries will happen but the best shot you have at preventing them is through strength work. Squats, lunges and that, as well as the dreaded core. Dull but important. A bit like voting.
Hills are a bitch. Hey if you want to walk them, walk them. Or a good compromise is to decide to never walk up one, but let yourself walk when you get to the top.
Podcasts. They keep your brain occupied and help the miles tick by.
When we get to that point again, running communities are incredible. I have made so many brilliant friends through @parkrunUK/ @highburyparkrun, @rundemcrew, @TrackMafia_ and more. Feels.
Finally, enjoy it. Running changed my life.
