Friday Five (linkup): Five Running Tips

i’m linking up with the DC ladies Courtney, Mar & Cynthia again this week for the Friday Five Linkup to tackle the topic of running tips! i promise i’ll stick to just five, hard as that might be!

ONE: get fitted for shoes. this has made a huge difference for me, especially as i started running longer distances. stores like Fleet Feet, The Running Company, Jack Rabbit, etc. all have great systems in place for gait analysis and will fit you in shoes that best suit you. i would have never ended up running in my beloved Asics had i not had this done, so i’m a believer in this.

TWO: set goals for yourself. believe you can do it even when you feel like you can’t. when i first started running as a teenager, i dreaded running a mile — but i wanted to run. that’s what kept me going. no matter how hard it seemed to become someone who loved running, i was determined to do it.

i ran for years without setting goals and never pushed myself past my comfortable limits of 3-5 miles at a time, but when i decided to change all of that, i truly fell in love with running and made my own internal transition from “a girl who runs casually to stay in shape” to a runner who defines so much of herself by what she’s learned from those pavement-pounding sessions. goals like running for an hour, or running a half marathon, or pushing myself even when it seemed impossible, or eventually running a full marathon, all seemed like pipe dreams to me at one point — but putting in the determination and hard work and sweat and tears necessary to accomplish any daunting task is so rewarding once you’ve nailed it.

THREE: buy fun running clothes. because why the heck wouldn’t you?! i love neon sneakers and brightly-patterned leggings and all that jazz, and so many companies make super cute workout clothing these days, it’s basically an incentive to run!

like these Nike running tights, which i’ve been eyeing for, like, ever. they just make you want to run.

FOUR: choose your music. if it’s just you and the road for a while, chance are you’ll want some sweet beats to keep you going and motivate you. i always run to music, and i love finding new music for my running playlist and get stoked to hear the songs when chugging along. while i know some of you are just fine (or actually prefer) running without it, music is an integral part of my runs & i love putting together playlists.

FIVE: drink all the water. not just while you’re running, but throughout your days, too — especially if you have a long run planned the next morning or just finished one. i live in constant fear of being without water (i always have bottles and cups and whatnot lying around on every surface within reach, it’s quite a hilarious obsession) and sort of freak out a bit internally if i can’t access it at any given moment, so for me, running with a water bottle on my long runs (even though there are water fountains scattered all over the path, which is such a nice aspect of the Hudson River route here on the West Side of NYC) is a must. if you’re gonna run, you need to stay hydrated. runner’s dehydration is a super real and awful thing (trust me, i’ve so been there and lost entire days after a race to the misery). guzzle that ish.

i could totally keep going with this post but this is the Friday Five, not the Friday 6,783, so let’s just end it here, hmmm?

hope your weekends kick off fabulously, friends! run happy, be happy, enjoy the sunshine, have a drink, go on a great date, hit the beach, hug someone you love. i intend to do allllll of the above.

Whatcha doing this weekend?
Any running must-haves for you?
Give me new running songs!!

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