Running cramp around the ribs (AKA stitches) can be caused by a number of things e.g. running too soon after eating, dehydration, running too fast and even landing awkwardly. If you eliminate some of these you may find they’re not such a problem, especially after you’ve run for a few weeks, although every runner gets them now and again. If you walk for a while they should ease but the proviso of seeking medical attention if you experience any ‘unusual’ pain applies. Good luck with Week 2 and the rest of the plan.

@liberated4life – For this plan run 3 days a week but always have at least a one day break between each running day.

@Mark – Glad you liked the plan. That 60 minute run isn’t far away! I can’t see your route as that website was not working when I checked.

@Sharon – It’s important a doctor confirms it’s safe for you to run, especially as you say your breathing is a major problem.

One common issue when people start running is that they run too fast and get out of breath quickly. I did this for some time but didn’t realise until I used a heart rate monitor and saw how high my heart rate was when I was meant to be doing an easy run. You don’t need expensive gadgets, just make sure you can hold a conversation while running. If you run alone then you may get some funny looks to begin with but this will help you get used to an easy running speed.

Warming up is also important and you’ll be a bit breathless when you start a session. A 5 minute walk before the run can be a help. A little breathlessness is a good thing as it means your working hard!

I’m not really the person to give weight loss advice although I’ll write a post soon on my partners experience combining a diet plan and the beginners running plan. Generally, weight loss requires a calorie restricted diet in addition to exercise.

@Melissa – Running can help reduce fat. All running burns calories while long, slow, aerobic running (as in the plan) can result in the body burning fat for fuel if you run for long enough.

I also recommend this website which is a great way to map potential and current routes for your jog, http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/

It provides milage, elevation and Google Earth, gps technology. I am always on the lookout for safe places to run. With the Google Earth view, you can determine which streets have sidewalks and wide shoulders. You can also bookmark the routes you create and add them to your “favorites” on Internet Explorer.

This is a link to a route I created, http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3959457. When you change the view to “hybrid” you will see a Google Earth view. The route takes me directly over a local lake and the view is amazing.

Thank you, BeginRunning, for this great running plan.

@railhead – There’s nothing like a challenge to help motivation! A 2 year marathon plan is a bit beyond the scope of a short reply here and depends on if you want to run all the way, run and walk or if you have a target time.

Once you’ve completed the beginners plan the you could start by doing 2 – 3 runs a week of 20 -30 mins with one long run per week. On the first month your long run could be 45 mins. The following month (or stretch this over a longer period if preferred) increase the long run to 60 mins. From here it depends on you goal but you could continue until you get to a long run of 90 minutes. Then you can consolidate for a period before building up distances slowly again. Eventually you’ll be doing long runs that vary in distance from week to week of between 10 and 20 miles. As usual, add on strength, speed and flexibility routines.

You’ve got a lot in your favour as there’s 2 years before the race, you were a great runner in high school and your only 35! For an easy to follow marathon plan The Non-Runner’s Marathon Trainer is good.

@subrata – Great question but I don’t have the knowledge to give you a good answer! A couple of points are worth mentioning though. If you’ve never done any running before then you want to build up slowly and the plan here will help get you started and improve your aerobic capacity. You need to be able to run continuously for 30 minutes anyway.

Since your targeting 1600m in 6 minutes you’ll be running faster than most people following this plan and you’ll have to deal with lactic acid a lot sooner than those of us following a sedate running program! Including intervals in your training schedule will help with this – e.g 4x200m with 100m jog recovery (run 200m fast, then jog for 100m to recover. Repeat 4 times). This is just a basic example and there are lots of different intervals and training plans. This website might give you some workout ideas but go easy at first as you can’t run if you get injured! You’ll also want to improve running specific strength so can include resistance exercise on some days too. Good Luck

9 weeks is a very short amount of time in hindsight. Good luck to all.

It’s important for everyone to check with their doctor before they start this running plan in case they have any health issues that could cause a problem. The plan can help people lose weight but would need to be used along with a healthy diet to have that effect. Again this is something a professional could help you with. I’m sorry I cant be more helpful but I don’t want to suggest something that might be harmful.

I think you’ve made a great start in taking responsibility for your health. With that approach I’m sure you’ll be successful in getting fitter and managing your weight if that’s needed. I hope your able to get some good advice and it would be great to get some updates on your progress. Good Luck!

@little nik – Good luck starting the plan, lots of people are nervous when they start regular running for the first time, so your not alone. Fitting the plan into your existing routine is a good idea as it should make it a bit easier – and every little helps!

@Bridgette I hope you continued to enjoy the program and got to where you wanted to be.

@Jen Great to hear from you again and thanks for the useful tips. I love the idea of matching parts of a playlist to parts of the route and you make some really helpful suggestions re motivation. As you say, it’s important to end on a positive note. It makes it easier to run the next time enthusiasm is lacking as you know your going to feel better whatever you’ve achieved. I hope your first 5km was fun.

@RAS Seems like your enjoying running and getting faster too. I find the hills always seem to be in the wrong place too! Doing other types of exercise really makes things interesting and I think it’s beneficial for improving general fitness/health. Thanks for the update and encouragement for those wondering if they should try the plan.

@Lurch Everyone is different so when you feel ready to increase then have a go see how you get on. I gave it a week before I increased but 2 weeks may be safer. If you want to wait longer then that’s OK too. If your increasing your running time then you may be comfortable trying more than 10 percent but as you say, you have to listen to your body. I increased by approx. 33 percent to 40 minutes, however after about three weeks of regular 40 minute runs I started to get some knee pain. The pain was down to biomechanical issues and some strengthening exercises and a physio dealt with that OK. In retrospect I should have been more careful and I had to stop running for a while .HTH and good luck.

In case this helps: I am 6’6 inches tall, at a normal weight and a non-smoker. I jog two of my 3 runs on the treadmill and the final jog I run outdoors.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Both from the author and any random guests who happen to read this question.

I’m 40 years old. I just ran my second 5K on June 19th. My first was May 1st. My goal was to finish around 36:00. My first was 42:00. I finished at 36:40, so pretty close to my mark. Even though I’ve gotten better at running a 5K distance in practice without stopping, on this particular race day, I did find myself walking a bit to catch my breath after a hill at about the 2.75 mile mark. (Who put that stupid hill in there anyway?) So I won’t beat myself up too much, but it makes me say, “Why didn’t you just keep going???” They say this running thing is mostly mental, and there’s another example.

I haven’t lined up my 5K for July yet but I will shoot for a time under 33:00. I’d prefer to hit under 30:00, but I’m not sure if I will get there.

Another positive side effect, weight loss. Before I started doing any exercise back in January, I was around 230 lbs (maybe 232, but I seriously have blocked that out so I don’t for sure and I wasn’t tracking my weight back then). I’m now at 212, so I’ve lost close to 20 pounds. I’ve bought a few new shirts, size L instead of XL, and a new belt… the other one didn’t have enough holes on the smaller side. I’m also getting more frequent comments from people about the weight I’ve lost, so this is very rewarding.

I have to admit, it hasn’t been all running, I run maybe once or twice a week for distance, but twice a week for an hour I’m doing a bootcamp style workout with a local group, and that has been great too. I’m eating better, smaller portions, but eating out is still a huge hurdle in my very busy life.

Thanks again for a great plan! You got me started on my way to “Maintaining a Healthy and Active Life” (as I like to say), and I can’t thank you enough. You have made a positive difference in my life.