Here's what I call "Filipe's Basic Running Primer"!
Step 1. Dedicate yourself to 45 minutes of cardio
Step 2. Run as long as you can
Step 3. When you can't run anymore, walk
Step 4. As soon as you have the tiniest amount of energy to do so, begin running again
Step 5. Repeat from step 3 until 45 minutes are up
Step 6. Repeat daily
Day by day your conditioning will improve. Things you can expect at first:
1. Shin pains - caused by microscopic bending in your shin. This is not a bad thing - it is an important precursor to bone growth and densifying
2. Lactic acid buildup - common and to be expected. Learn to love it, or suppress it with a perfectly safe product like SportLegs (I opt for the latter
)
3. Foot pain - pain along the arch of your foot or numbness in your toes is normal after a long bout of running. Make sure you have a really good pair of running shoes -- not taking this precaution can lead to foot, leg, and back problems.
4. Tired breathing - this is the primary limiting factor in aerobic workouts and is to be expected until you get conditioned
5. A weighty feeling - again, conditioning and form. Until you have these down, you'll feel a little clunky bouncing around like that
Day to day, improvements you can expect include:
1. Reaching those 45 minutes isn't quite so bad
2. You're not breathing as hard, and after the workout, you don't breathe heavily as long (your body builds up, quite literally, "oxygen debt" during cardio workout when your oxygen demands outpace your ability to take it in - this will improve)
3. The pain becomes a badge of honor
4. Your fat is melting away
Of course, one unfortunate side effect of endurance cardio is that you will begin to burn muscle as soon as your carbohydrate substrates are depleted (so, usually after the first 20 minutes of endurance exercise).
Alternatively, you can try
HIIT - but that doesn't make so much of a "runner" as a "sprinter", which in my mind are to different sides of a coin.
