StartRunning.com

I’m going to offer a piece of running advice that deserves repeating. Ready? Always run faster on the uphill. Again, always run faster on the uphill.

The uphill incline is like the Boogie Man to most runners. They build it up in their heads as a horrible and ugly creature. They fear the uphill, even though there is nothing to be scared of. Don’t fall for it – it’s a dirty mind trick that can easily be overcome. The uphill surface will not attack you in your sleep.

Uphill running, believe it or not, is my favorite type of terrain when it comes to training. In my early teens, when I first joined my high school country team, I used a long grassy hill near my house as a training tool. I would run up and down, backwards and forwards, sprinting and jogging, strengthening my leg muscles with unbelievable efficacy.

I’ve always used hills to give myself an advantage over other runners. In a race, when approaching an uphill, I already have it conquered in my head. While other runners are slowing on the incline, I actually run faster. By passing my competition in such a manner, not only am I physically beating them, I’m psychologically decimating them.

So what should you do to become a master of the incline?

1.) Think of the hill as your friend, not your enemy. When training, remember that it is there to help you become a stronger runner. During races, it is your ally in overcoming your competitors. Once you have learned to control your unreasonable fear of the incline, your running will improve dramatically.

2.) Find the biggest hill you can and tame it. If you’re a runner, you probably are well aware of the steepest hill near your home. Think of that hill as your personal trainer. Run up it at the beginning and the end of your session. If it takes you less than five minutes to get to the top, it’s not big enough. Do it twice, or three times if you must. Do you think it’s a coincidence that Rocky ran up the stairs of the Philadelphia Museum of Art at the end of his training montage? Of course not. That’s why he’s the champion.

I’ll say it again: Always run faster on the uphill. It makes you mentally and physically tough as nails. If you overcome this Monster Under the Bed that exisits in almost every runner’s mind, you can focus on more important things, like what’s for dinner.

 

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Breathing oxygen is an extremely important component of staying alive, right? Well, the same goes for running. If you’re not breathing properly, you’re running is going to suffer.

There are tons of theories circulating around the jog-o-sphere about breathing. Should I breathe through my nose? Should my breathing be rhythmic? Do I breathe deeply and deliberately or quickly and nonchalantly?

Put all that out of your head for the moment. The most important thing is that you breathe comfortably. Do what feels right. Your body breathes instinctively – even while you’re sleeping, your lungs and corresponding muscles are going through the motions. Running while breathing does not have to be complicated. As long as oxygen is entering your respiratory system, you’re doing okay.

How you’re running directly affects how you’re breathing. When I’m running fast, say a 7-minute mile pace, I’m breathing mostly through my mouth. Your mouth provides a much larger port of entry than your nose, and it’s the most effective way of getting oxygen into your system quickly. However, when I’m running super-long distances at a 10 to 12-minute pace, I’ll let my nose handle some of the intake.

Which brings me to my next tip: breathing through your nose is a great way to give your lungs a workout and increase capacity. Try this next time you’re on a long distance run: breathe in through your nose only and exhale through your mouth.Yes, it’s more difficult than mouth-breathing. But if you stick with it over the course of a few weeks you’ll notice that your lungs are retaining oxygen more effectively. Once you feel comfortable inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your mouth, try switching to all nose for a few minutes at a time. This requires more effort, but will strengthen your lungs even more. Before long, you’ll notice your breathing taking on a meditative quality. It will be automatic and out-of-mind, leaving room to focus on other aspects of your running technique.

Lastly, you might want to try belly breathing. I’ve found that if I periodically take very deep, voluminous breaths during long distance runs – I’m talking about a big ‘ol breath that expands your stomach to Buddha proportions – it engages my body’s core and helps circulate energy from toes to fingertips. Try it.

In conclusion, breathing comfortably is paramount. When you’re ready, try introducing some lung strengthening exercises into your workout. Start out with some light nose-breathing and work your way up, one breath at a time. In time, your breathing will become natural and intuitive. Good luck and be safe.

Listen to the podcast…

 

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Hey guys -

Here’s what we are lookin’ for.

If you are a runner with some brains and have helped other people to start running,  or to get better at running…

Then we want you! If you’re a coach, blogger, you-tube video maker or all around prolific runner then I’d love to feature you on an ongoing basis at http://www.StartRunning.com

Just send me a persoal message and invite me as a friend and we’ll hook you up with a great place to put up articles and feature you on the home page!

SHABAMBO!
-Tellman

I woke up in the middle of the night screaming in pain, the muscles in my legs searing and taut. After pacing up and down my hallway for a few minutes I gathered myself. “I was sleeping!” I thought. “How could my legs burn so badly in the middle of the night like that?”

I was about 15, and I had recently joined the cross country team. I was running about 10 miles a day, which was more than I’d ever done previously. I approached my coach the following day and told him about my blowtorch-legs experience. Without saying a word he whirled around and went rooting through his duffel bag. He handed me a banana. “What’s this?” I asked. “It’s Mother Nature’s fire extinguisher,” he coolly replied.

Nowadays, as I train to run across the country to raise money for homeless youth, I realize that it’s not the banana’s bright yellow sheath that won over my coach so long ago. It’s the potassium.

Bananas are one of nature’s most potassium-rich offerings. To put it simply, potassium acts as a lubricant for your joints and muscles. It’s like oil in your car. Beginning runners should never pass up bananas when rolling through the grocery store, as each one of these little miracle fruits contains an average of 450mg of of this runner-essential element.

Think about it. Here is this wonderful yellow fruit. It’s inexpensive, easy to find and compact. You can buy a bunch and keep them on top of your refrigerator for up to a week. And if they spoil, just throw ‘em in the freezer and you’ve got the main ingredient for a tasty banana bread recipe.

It’s the potassium that will keep your muscles in good shape for daily running routines, but bananas are chock full of several other essential vitamins and minerals. Vitamin C, which helps your body fend off infection, is abundant in bananas. So is Vitamin B, which aids metabolism. Need more fiber to ease digestion? Bananas are fiber-rich.

But perhaps the biggest added bonus from our yellow friend is its natural energy boost. Bananas contain the natural sugars sucrose, glucose and fructose, which supply instant energy. No other fruit contains more digestible carbohydrates, which are quickly and steadily absorbed by the body during a workout.

So next time you’re at the grocery store, remember this saying: “A banana a day keeps the midnight screams away.”

-Tellman

 

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As far as I can tell there are 7, and only 7 ways to run…

1. Run Track

2. Run Cross Country

3. Run 10k’s

4. Run Half Marathons

5. Run Marathons

6. Run Ultra-Marathons

7. Run Barefoot

What’s your opinion?

SHABAMBO!
-Tellman

Yo Runner! – Here’s the dig…

We have over 400 members (and growing fast) but I want to improve the http://www.StartRunning.com site in a hurry!

What would you like to see added to the site to improve it.

Say the word, or respond to someone else’s comment below (video comments rock) and let us know what we can do to make StartRunning.com even cooler!

SHABAMBO!
-Tellman

check this – RunTellmanRun just made the front page:

http://www.reformer.com/localnews/ci_12864287

SHABAMBO!

-Tellman

Hey Guys – We broke 300 members at StartRunning last night so that is super exciting!!!

But not quite as exciting as what happened a few weeks ago with Sir Richard Branson (you know, the BILLIONAIRE  dude that started Virgin Records, Virgin Air, Virgin Mobile and all the other Virgins!!!)

Check out this vid where I got to hang out with him on his Private Island — we were talking all about my Run Across the USA that is coming up soon and I’d love to get you involved – it is gonna be awesome. Check it.

Donate 5 clams for the cause:  http://www.RunTellmanRun.com/donate

SHABAMBO!
-Tellman

Hey guys,

invite your friends to join start running.

We are growing completely organically at this point (haven’t even sent out to any of my email lists yet) but we are up to 68 members and more and more are joining every day!

We have people posting in the Forums and joining our Groups.

AND there is a ton of activity with people creating their own blogs! That is awesome.

We even have folks posting in the daily milage forum – check it out!

Anyway, invite all of your running friends (or people who want to start) to come in, ask questions and interact with other runners.

SHABAMBO!
-Tellman

Ok, if you have any running questions, then you can ask them here by responding to this blog post.

You can ask ANYTHING that has to do with running! OR you can go and interact in the forums and ask questions here

SHABAMBO!
-Tellman