6 most Googled Questions About Running.

1. How many calories did I burn running?

Apparently, the only reason anyone starts running is to lose weight.  And, make no mistake, running is a wonderful and simple exercise for burning calories.  The ‘off the cuff’ answer always given to the ‘how many calories?’ question has traditionally been ‘about 100 calories per mile’.

A more specific answer has to do with how many calories you burn per minute and that is dependent on how much you weigh and how hard you work.  Bigger people burn more.  Higher intensity exercise burns more.  You can find charts online to get a better answer for you.

I’ll add a couple of maybe important things from my experience.  As an experienced runner, my body has adapted to it and I don’t think I burn as many calories as someone less adapted.  I’m just not working as hard as a new runners.

That being said if I go out and run a hard tempo run or a set of hard intervals I notice that there is a much higher burn rate.  It just takes more fuel to work harder.

There is also a carry-over effect from running, especially if you run in the morning.  Your body continues to burn more calories after you’ve stopped.

And finally, the length of time you’re on your feet determines what type of calories you burn.  Again, generalizing, if you’re out less than an hour, you’re burning mostly stored carbohydrates.  If you get past the hour, and it’s different for different athletes, you start to burn fat.  That’s why you may see a big weight loss with longer efforts like marathon training.

2. Should I stretch before running?

Honestly, it’s up to you.  I used to religiously stretch and was convinced it helped.  I don’t so much anymore.  I’d rather run than stretch and I’ve become so accustomed to the running I don’t really need to stretch.  If I drop into a specific training campaign for a race I’ll stretch more just so I can recover more quickly and stave off injuries.

Many coaches would tell you to ‘limber up’ or ‘warm up’ before a hard work out.  By this they mean some form of dynamic stretching or other kinetic warmup.  Static stretching isn’t super useful when you’re cold.  A good compromise is to walk or jog lightly for a few minutes before your workout and then do your stretching.

It’s also useful to understand what stretching you need and what stretching you benefit from. Because we are all different.  You may discover certain hot spots that you need to focus on.  For me it was always Achilles and hamstrings.

3. Does running build muscle?

Why yes it does!  You are going to find that the muscles that you use in running get more fit.  This is obviously anything in your legs, but also in your core, meaning your back and stomach.

The, I guess, bad news is that if you’re looking to get on the cover of a fitness magazine for your classic Greek statue body, running is not the way to do it.  Running, long distances can take muscle away from your upper body.  If you’ve ever seen a good distance runner, chances are they are built like a skinny greyhound.

Personally, my experience is that while running will make you fit and strong, if you have a weird body shape it’s not going to help.

4. Should I run with sore legs?
5. Can I run everyday?

I’m going to combine these two questions.  They seem to be poking at the same point.  It’s an important point because most injuries, especially in new comers are from doing too much too fast.

There is no reason why you can’t run on tired legs or run every day.  But that’s not the point.  The way to improve your running and to get the most benefit from it is through stress and recovery.  You want to push the muscles and then give them a chance to recover.  Fitness isn’t built during the push part.  Fitness is built when the muscles adapt during the recovery part.

When I was younger I would run 6 or 7 days a week when training for a marathon.  That doesn’t mean I was pushing every day.  I would alternate hard workouts with easy runs.  I was still getting the push and recover cadence, just at a different level.

For some specific longer events, like ultras, the training requires you to run on tired legs because that’s what an ultra is.  That’s race specific training.  For a beginner I would keep it to 3-4 days a week.  Give yourself the benefit of recovery.

6. Does running get easier?

Some days it does.  Some days it doesn’t.  The biggest thing you can do to make it seem easier is to be consistent.  Don’t be erratic in your training with big surges in volume or intensity.  There are no short term fixes.  The rule applies here that you will tend to overestimate what you can accomplish in a month and underestimate what you can accomplish in 6 months, or a year, or two years.

A consistent, measured approach with lot’s of recovery will turn your running habit from a torture to a privilege over time.

Finally, don’t worry about comparing yourself to other people.  Not me, not the people on Facebook who seem to be so fit and happy.  This running thing is a gift to you.  It’s a personal thing that you can do for yourself that will bring so many benefits.

Don’t compare yourself to prior versions of yourself either.  Today is today and you are bringing the you that you have today with you.  (If that makes any sense) You can’t compete with a younger you.  You can’t compete with a skinnier you.  But you can show up today, and tomorrow and eve the day after with consistency and learn to love the gift.