Running Tips, Lesson 1: Equipment

First off, let me say that these are things that I found helpful and wanted to pass them along. They might not work for you, but they did for me.

First thing: don't go out and buy 500 $ worth of gear. You don't need it, and if you decide later that running isn't for you, you'll just have a whole lot of running gear sitting in the closet. Besides, if you are out running all decked out but don't know how to run, you'll look silly. Only go out and start buying more pieces of gear (shorts, shirts, ...) when you're at a point that not going out for a run doesn't occur to you. Wait till you get all fidgety if you're not running 3+ days a week.

Okay, having said that there is one important piece of equipment that you might want to get early on: shoes. At first when I was running I was going out in my nike hiking shoes and having a bad time: my knees hurt, my hips hurt, and I was getting bad pains in my side. Then I went out and got some asics, and everything was wonderful. But that's not how you get shoes. Go to a running store and tell them that you'd like to get some shoes and want their help. Now, the next thing that they should say is (and I'm not kidding): "take off your shoes and socks. Roll up your pant legs". They'll get you to walk up and down the store and look at how you walk. If they just go "humm, well, these are on sale", that's a good reason to believe that you are not in a running store and time to get out of there.

Okay, so you're walking up and down the store and looking like a fool. No worries. This is how they will pick the shoes that are right for you, and that's why you're there. Now, I have some serious pronation for my feet, so I ended up getting asics foundation 4's with some super feet (which I now wear in all my shoes). That's what worked for me. Also cushy socks. I'll figure out the brand name, but they're good.

Next lesson: breathing.

Listening to: Shawshank Redemption Soundtrack - Duetto Sul'Aria (Berlin Opera)