Speaking of running, have you noticed a lot more runners on the road recently?  It's not surprising - it seems like a lot of people pick up running when it starts to get a little bit cooler.  You see a lot of them around Halloween and Thanksgiving, and then by Valentine's Day you stop seeing new runners and just see the really tough ones who wear shorts, gloves and a hat when it's fifteen degrees outside. 

I started running last year around this time, but right after the Providence Heart and Sole Women's 5 Miler that Zola Pierterse won I sprained my ankle.  My sprained ankle turned out to be a torn tendon.  Then my torn tendon turned out to be a stress fracture, and I was in a cast for a few weeks.  Since then I've been cleared to run again, but it's incredibly hard to get back in the saddle - it's been like starting a really balky lawnmower with a pull cord.  I'll get up early one morning and run, and then not do it again for two weeks, then get up early and get in my shoes and everything and sit around reading my e-mail until it's too late... you get the picture.  It's hard to get into a routine once you've lost it, and it's demoralizing to have to start over at the very beginning again, and it's scary to run after an injury.  Even if you're doing everything you're supposed to do, it's hard to shake the fear of getting hurt again.

So, I'm starting again at the beginning, and I'm challenging you to start with me!  I'm going to get serious about it again.  I'm going to run with my dog, who definitely needs the exercise.  I'm going to start waking up early again, and eating breakfast again, and I'm definitely going to lose the ten pounds I gained after that cast got put on!  I'll tell you how I'm going to do it (which is exactly how I did it last time, so I know it can be done.)

Bazillions of people have started running with the Couch to 5K program.  (That's right, bazillions.  Look it up.)  That link goes to a collection of resources to help you succeed - you can see the program, get it in other languages, read some inspirational essays about it and get podcasts that will help you do it.  The Couch to 5K program is a self-motivated 9 week program designed for the absolute novice.  You only have to do three workouts a week, and in fact you should NOT do more - the rest days are when your body gets better at running.  You start out doing intervals and work your way up to running continuously.  You can run by distance if you have a track handy, but in my opinion it's much easier to run by time - for example, in the first week you do 20 minutes, alternating 60 seconds of running with 90 seconds of walking.  You can do anything for a minute, right?

And here's the secret - I tried to do this three or four times over the years and I failed every time, because I was doing it with a watch.  I don't know about you, but if I know I only have a minute left, that minute is the longest minute that has ever cooked a bag of rice.  That minute lasts for six eternities, and I am probably going to give up before we are done with that lousy stinking minute.  What you need to do is get an mp3 player - it doesn't have to be a fancy iPod, a $20 model will do - and download one of those podcasts at the link above.  Then you don't look at your watch.  You run when the podcast tells you to run.  You lose track of time and you concentrate on your running, and then sometimes it's actually a surprise when it's time to walk!

The other secret to actually going all the way?  Now, right this minute, register for a 5K.  That's 3.1 miles, and I know you don't think you can do it if you've never run before, but you can!  Here's a schedule of South Carolina races for the rest of this year.  Last year my goal was to run Cold Winter Day, which is a 5K in Forest Acres the day after Christmas.  It was my first race, and it was awesome!  I didn't run the whole thing (I was recovering from a sinus infection, so I walked some) but I still had a great time.  And of course, my mother beat me and won a medal, because that's what she does these days to embarass me.  When I was a kid she'd embarass me by calling my teachers and telling them I had to sit at the front of the class because I couldn't see from the back, and now she humiliates me at races.  She started running at the same time as I did, by the way, and she's 68.  What's your excuse again?

The fact is, if you have a concrete goal and you've already sent your money in, you have a lot more motivation to keep going.  A lot of people get really excited and gung ho the first few weeks, because they see a lot of progress - it's a real thrill to watch your body adapt and learn to do something it's never done before, and the change in the beginning is dramatic.  After a while, it's getting easier, and you've been doing it for awhile, so it's easy to take a day off, and then be too busy the next day, and suddenly you haven't run in a few weeks.  A specific event (that you've already paid for!) keeps you motivated.  Plus, it's a lot of fun - you feel like a real athlete when you pin your number on, and the other runners are so nice.  I don't know what it's like in the front of the pack, since the only time I ever see the front of the pack is when the real overachievers run the course a second time for more of a workup and come up behind me, but back in the back people are amazingly supportive and friendly.  There's a real cameraderie among runners.

One more secret - come to the Periodicals desk and look at our running resources!  Maybe it's obvious to you that we've got a lot of books on running (we do, of course - 796.426) but have you thought about our magazines?

Runner's World is a really fantastic magazine - it's got a lot of stuff for the beginner and the advanced runner.  Every issue is crammed with gear reviews, nutrition information, advice, exercises and human interest stories.  A lot of content is online at their Web site, including some nice little utilities like a "what do I wear?" calculator where you can input what it's like outside and get suggestions on whether it's cold enough to wear pants. 

Women's Running has kind of a weird history - it used to be Her Sports + Fitness, which seems less like a title change and more like a completely different magazine, but nobody asks us in Periodicals before they do stuff like that.  You wouldn't believe the paperwork.  It's directed specifically at women runners and includes targeted gender-specific information on preventing injuries, nutrition and other topics.  I'm glad to see it, since Runner's World has to split their clothing and shoe guides between men and women, and I don't want to see any ugly menswear when I go shopping for cute running clothes.

If you're feeling really ambitious, Triathlete is your magazine.  Why stop at running?  Wouldn't it be restful to get off your feet for a bit and onto a bike?  (No, probably not, actually.)  I like reading Triathlete because of the amazing people in it - it's awe inspiring to see what the human body can do!

So, I'm registering for Cold Winter Day again, with the goal of beating my time from last year (shouldn't be hard!) and I expect to see you there.  You get a t-shirt!  I'll be posting updates and more beginner running advice as I work at getting back into shape, and I'd like to see some comments on what you're doing!  Seriously, am I talking to myself here?  Comment!