What Shoes to Wear

If you don’t have the proper running shoe it will affect your ability to run. It is important to make sure the shoes you are running in are meant for running. If you use shoes not meant for running it could hurt your feet and cause other various problems.  Having shoes that aren’t meant for running could also cause you to run slower because they may be uncomfortable to run in and they may weigh more than your average running shoe.

When you are running you shouldn’t use shoes that are meant for different sports like basketball or shoes that are just meant for everyday use, you need to make sure that you have running shoes. Most stores have running shoes and they aren’t hard to find. Running with shoes that aren’t meant for running can cause injuries or blisters and just make it really uncomfortable to run, especially if you are running really far distances. You may be able to last a mile in shoes that aren’t built for running but it would be very difficult to try to last eight miles and very unenjoyable.

There are many different brands of running shoes that you can purchase that should work for your running style and fit well so it will be really unnecessary to wear different types of shoes for running then wearing running shoes. There are different stores that specialize in selling running shoes and that can help you find the perfect shoes for running. If you are unsure what shoes you should buy for running I would suggest that you go to one of the stores that specialize in selling running shoes and they should be able to help you find the perfect match that will work best for your running style and that will fit best on your feet.  

Having the perfect running shoes that will work best for your style and feet is the best way to make sure you are enjoying your run. If you run with shoes that aren’t built for running it can hurt your feet, give you blisters and just make your overall running experience unenjoyable. (355)

Form

            If you want to be able to run your best times in cross country or track it is important to try to perfect your running form. If you have a really bad running form it could really affect your times and could even affect your health by possibly causing injuries. Having bad running form will slow down your times because it can take more energy and is less efficent.

            In order to perfect your running form it is imporatnt to know what qualifys as a good running form.  A good runnign form normally includes having storng arms where your elbows go back and forth and your hand goes about to your waist when you swing your arm back. You also want to make sure you are bringing your knees up high enough but not to high and you don’t want to point your toes in or out when you are moving your feet.

            If you have your toes pointed in or out when you are running, it could lead to injury. Running with your toes pointed in or out would probably affetct your shins the most and may cause shin splits, injuries or other problems with your tendons. Having different types of shoes could also help with how you move your feet when your running and help you aviod injury.

            While some bad running form may lead to injuries not all of bad running form does, especially when you have bad arms but having bad running form could slow you down when you are running. If you swing your arms a lot or move your shoulders while you are pumping your arms it will take up more energy. With less energy it will affect the end of your races especially if they are longer races. Moving your shoulders while you are moving your arms is also less efficient then if you actually have good arms when you are running so having bad arms will also slow you down and make you run worse times then you could be running.

            It is important to have good running form if you want to run the best times possible for you in cross country or track. Your cross country or track coach can help you with your form and give you pointers on what you need to improve on. Some people have always had good running form but for others it takes a lot of time and effort to try to improve your running form. But if you are able to perfect you running form it can help you to run better times.

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Team

           Running as part of a team in either cross country or track is a good way to meet new people who have some of the same interests as you. The same interest being that they are crazy and enjoy running long distances like you do.


            Most of your teammates on your cross country team or track team enjoy running because they are out for that sport but there may be lots of other similarities between the activities that your teammates also enjoy. For example a lot of the runners on my cross country team enjoy knitting. I also enjoy knitting and some of my teammates have started a knitting club. The knitting club is open to anyone at school but the majority of the people who participate in knitting club are also on the cross country team. Your teammates will also understand the problems that runners face like always wanting to eat a lot. There are still some differences between what the different cross country runners enjoy but you will find differences between you and any of the friends you have.


            All the great people on my cross country and track team are one of the main reasons that I continue to do the sport and one of the reasons I show up to practice every day.  Cross country and track practice can be very hard and difficult and having great people on your team that you enjoy spending time with helps to make the experience so much better.


            Having other people on your team who join you with some of the things you enjoy doing also helps to motivate you. If I wasn’t in cross country or track I probably wouldn’t run every day like I do when I am in the sports.  Because you are part of a team you don’t want to let your teammates down so that motivates you to work hard so you don’t let down your team.


         So basically joining an athletic team is not only a great and amazing way to do something you enjoy with other people who also enjoy it but is also a great for meeting new people that share some of the same interests as you do. If you get the chance or have the time, I suggest you join a sports team or club that interests you because it presents you with an opportunity to not only get to do something you enjoy but also a chance to meet new people who could end up being your best friend.
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Running Music

                I really enjoy listening to music. In fact I am listening to music right now as I am writing this post for my blog. I also really enjoy running, obviously because that is the topic of my blog. It is great to be able to combine two of the things that I really enjoy, running and listening to music. Running can be boring and so listening to music while I run makes it more exciting.

                Running and listening to music can also motivate you while you are running. Since running can be boring especially if you are running long distances or running on a treadmill, listening to music can help motivate you to run longer because it gives you something else to do when you are running.

                The music that helps to motivate me when I am running and that helps make my runs more exciting is faster, upbeat, happy music. If I listen to slower music it sometimes makes me runner slower because I will start to run the pace of the music. Listening to slower music can also be depressing.  I also like to listen to music that has the word running or run somewhere in the song. I like to listen to I Just Wanna Run by the Downtown Fiction, Runaway Baby by Bruno Mars or Run This Town by Jay Z.  

                Because it is winter I have been forced to run inside more because it is so cold outside. Running inside means that I have to run on a treadmill which is extremely boring so I always blast the music when I run on my treadmill. Without listening to music when I run on the treadmill I probably wouldn’t last ten minutes because I get so bored but because I listen to music I am able to runner for a longer period of time. My sister also likes to listen to music when she was runs on a treadmill. She will even sing along to the songs when she runs.

                Running and listening to music helps to inspire and motivate me to run longer and further. Without listening to music on some of my runs, I would be really bored and wouldn’t run as far as I would if I was listening to music. I really enjoy listening to music and running so I’m glad that I can do both at the same time.

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Running in College

            Now that I am a junior in high school it is important for me to start thinking about college because it will be here sooner than I think. While I normally tend to enjoy running track and cross country I’m not sure if I want to run cross country or track in college.

            Deciding to run in college or not probably won’t affect my decision of where I want to go to college that much because I’m not a very talented runner I’m more of just an average runner so I won’t get any scholarships to any schools to run for a college. I can still run in college though if I run in a club or something. Some of the old cross country runners that were on my team and are now in college run in clubs for their college and they seem to enjoy running in the clubs and it’s a good chance to meet new people so I may decide to run on a club.

            For those people who actually want to run for a college and are good enough to run for a college it can be a much more difficult decision to make. If I was a talented enough runner I would have probably wanted to run for a college. My sister is a really good runner and she has always wanted to run on a team in college. My sister was a senior this year and she was considering two different schools to go to and their running programs really factored into her decision. My sister was considering going to either University of Northern Iowa or Nebraska Omaha. She finally made her decision about a week ago to go to Nebraska Omaha because while both schools would have probably had about the same education she thought that Omaha had a better running program that would challenge her more than Northern Iowa would.

            Making the decision on where to go to college is really difficult but I also have to decide if I want to continue to run in college. I think that even if I don’t run on the team or as part of a club I at least want to run on my own so I can stay healthy and in shape and also just because I really enjoy running.

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Track Season

            The beginning of track season is only three weeks away for my track team and so I need to really start picking up my running. Three weeks really isn’t that much  time to get ready and in the last two weeks I have only ran three times so I really need to start picking up my running if I want to be in shape for track season.

            If you take off running for the whole winter, you will be really out of shape when track season comes around and it can be very difficult to catch up to everyone else when they have been running in their off season and you haven’t been running. The first month or two of my off season I ran maybe every other day which is pretty decent considering the weather made it harder to find times to run but I still would have benefitted from running more. The last month the number of times I have ran has dropped a lot and so I really need to use these last three weeks to get in shape as best as I can so I don’t start out behind everyone.

            To get in shape in the remaining three weeks until track starts I really need to be running at least six times a week. I also should be including some other activities to my workout. I need to work on strengthening my core and abs and I can also work on strengthening my arms and legs.  To work on my strength I want to also incorporate workout videos or use weights at the gym to go along with my running maybe three or four times a week.

            Now that I have planned out what I want to do each week I have to actually run and workout which is the hardest part. I always find it hard to get motivation to run because there is always something else I would rather be doing. Ever since I got home from Florida I got out of the habit of running and working out every day after school and I really need to get back into that habit and if I am able to do that I may be able to get in shape by the beginning of track season.

            It is important to make sure you run or do some type of workout before the beginning of track season. You don’t want to start behind everyone else who actually used their off season to make sure they were in shape because it can be hard to get caught up.  
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Why I Enjoy Running

                I sometimes wonder why I run. Running can be really hard and challenging and sometimes I would much rather sleep in or stay inside and sit on the couch and watch television but yet I still try to run every day and challenge myself by working hard and running cross country and track.

                Cross Country and track are the hardest sports that I have participated in and many people also agree they are one of the most challenging and difficult sports in the school. When I tell my friends that I ran six miles the other day for fun they are impressed that I can run that far and are surprised that I would want to.  And I even tend to question why I would want to run that far too.

                Running is challenging and difficult but I normally enjoy it for the most part once I actually start running. For me the hardest part of running is finding the motivation to run. I never want to run on my own because there always seems to be something else I can be doing. But once I force myself to go on a run I actually enjoy running. Running can be relaxing when I am stressed because it helps me clear my head and it is great exercise so I always feel better about myself during and after I finish my run.

                Another reason that I enjoy running cross country and track is because of the great people that are a part of my team. A lot of my friends are cross country or track runners and I enjoy getting to spend time with them even if by spending time together that means running.  All the great people I get to run with on my team helps to create a great environment  that helps me to enjoy running cross country and track.

                Even though track and cross country are difficult and challenging sports I still find them to be enjoyable most of the time. It can be hard to find motivation to run, I am able to enjoy running because it relieves stress and is a good workout. I also get to run with the great people that are on my team.

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