You will want to follow some kind of plan on your running journey, especially if you are a new runner.  This will help you decide how much you should be running. It will help build up your endurance. This approach ensures that you don’t train too hard as a beginner.  If you go too hard too fast, it can lead to injuries and burnout. This is where many people end up giving up on their running dreams before they even really get started.  As you gain more experience, you will need new plans. These will help keep you challenged. They will prepare you for your next goal.  Maybe you have become really good at running a 5K. Now you want to improve your time to a sub-30.  Maybe speed isn’t your focus. If distance challenges you, then aim for a 10K, Half Marathon, or full Marathon.  All of these situations will require a training plan to get you there, just like when you first started out. 

When choosing what type of running app or plan you want to use, you need something that works for you. It should also keep you motivated.  It may also depend on what type of equipment you plan on using.  If you just have a smart phone you may a printable PDF that you can follow each day and then use your phone’s stopwatch to track your running time.  I have a free 1-month printable PDF that you can give a try.  I tried to add what I have learned so far as a beginner runner to help you get started.  Another option is an app that uses your phone’s GPS for tracking.  I am not sure if all of the apps have this option.  So far in my training I have used coach to 5k, Fitbit, Garmin and Runna. 

Something that can help you a lot with your training is a fitness watch.  You can find some fitness watches online that are relatively inexpensive that will work to get you started.  I would recommend one of these watches. Use it until you gain more experience and are certain that running is something you want to continue.  Once you have that experience, you will know what features you want in a watch when you decide to upgrade. Starting out you will just needs something that helps you track your time, distance and possibly heart rate. 

When selecting a good fitness watch, look for ones with built-in GPS. Avoid those with just “connected GPS” that uses your phone.  If you get a watch with its own GPS, you don’t need to take your phone on your run. This allows you to run phone-free if you prefer.  Another thing that is good to have is a heart rate monitoring.  This is good for checking your effort levels and making sure you’re training in the heart rate zone.  Optical heart rate sensors (on your wrist) are the most common. However, you can pair chest strap options for even better accuracy.  Battery life is something else you will want to watch out for.  Once you get into doing long runs, you will need a watch that can keep up with you.  You will want something that has at least 8-12+ hours of GPS battery life.  You will want to make sure that your watch fits good and is comfortable.  Some watches are heavier than others, so you will want to take this into account.  Lastly you will want to make sure it has the features that you are looking for.  Some example features are pace suggestions, interval timers, race predictor, Vo2 max estimate and race recovery.  Check out my article ‘What is the right fitness watch for you‘ and features to help you pick the best option for yourself.

Sometimes it takes a bit of trail and error to find what plan and watch that works for you.  I started out with coach to 5K which I thought was a great app. It is really good for someone who cannot run for more than a minute or two.  Once I got comfortable with running a 5K, I decided it was time to move on. I wanted something else that would challenge me a bit more.  I had an old Fitbit so I decided to move onto that. The Fitbit watch that I was using was very old and ended up dying on me.  I enjoyed using Fitbit. If my husband hadn’t gifted me a Garmin watch, I may have stuck with Fitbit.  Once I got the Garmin, I started using the training plan on their app.  For some reason I really just wasn’t meshing well with this plan.  I kept getting confused on when I should start running faster, slow down or stop.  This was probably just a me issue, but this is the reason why I decided to switch to Runna.  The Garmin app was free. It worked great with my watch. However, I think that the Runna app is a bit more intuitive.  It does cost money. To me, it was worth it. It works just as well with my Garmin watch.  If you would like to try Runna out, you can us my code RUNNAXXPMHFR to get two weeks free.

Ultimately you will need to decide what apps, plans and watches work best for you.  There is a lot of options out there and it is easy to get overwhelmed by it all.  Start out with something free or relatively inexpensive. Gain more experience, and then you will know what type of training you want to do. You will also know what the best equipment will be to get you there.  Then upgrade to something that meets your needs. I am so excited for you and your running journey.  You are gonna kill it.

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