Runners -- how did you start?

I will be having surgery in a couple of weeks.  Along with surgery, I want to adopt a more active lifestyle.  And I've always been intrigued by the "runners high."

To those of you who run now, how did you get started after surgery?  How did you go from not running to making it an important part of your life?  I want to be one of those people who runs but getting there from where I am now seems daunting without a plan.

I started running after I got bored with walking. Then I started challenging myself on how far I could run without stopping. Then I started setting goals on how fast I could run a 5k. But it all started with a walk to the corner.

First I walked.  Then, I run/walked and now I run.  I think the key is to make a commitment and follow through.  Make small goals and big goals and go for it.  Don't compare yourself to others.  Be consistent, be gradual, always do more!

Thanks for the suggestions.  Sounds like I just need to get moving!

I also started walking 5 weeks post op, then doing walk/run, then running. I joined a running club (Montgomery County Road Runners) and it really works for me to have structured training plans/goals as well as a group of people *****ally embody the running lifestyle. Good luck!

Thanks!  Yours is a story I find particularly inspiring because, judging from your posts, you really seem to have embraced a new lifestyle.  Great job!  Right now a running club sounds SO intimidating to me but I have started to look into beginner groups in Alexandria. 

It would have never been on my radar to join a club, but I trained for my first half thru Team Challenge (raising money for a passion helps with motivation!) and a coach there really believed in me and saw "the runner" in me and encouraged me to join MCRRC. The have a saying "a place for every pace", to give you an idea of how inclusive some clubs can really be. I've heard good things about Washington Road Runners too, so I'm sure you'll find a group that makes you feel good!

In a word? Painfully lol. I'm still pretty new to running and only recently have I really committed myself to it. There's a program called "Couch 2 5K" that is awesome (and free!). It gives you intervals... you walk X minutes then run X minutes and slowly increase the time. It gives you specific increase increments. Also, if you're going to run outside, use a running app on your smart phone (Runtastic or Map My Run etc) so you can keep track of your time and see it improve. Good shoes are CRITICAL. Nike Free might be all the rage right now but nothing in the world beats Brooks. Asics are a close second. Consider getting fitted for them at a running store. I got my Brooks on sale at Sports Authority for like $60. They aren't the design I wanted but I couldn't afford $110+. Great thing is they're also good for cross training exercises since they are so supportive all over.

My body hurt so bad when I first started. Like OMG soooo bad. And I had been exercising 5-6 days a week for several months prior to starting! I thought it was going to be pretty easy since I was already in pretty good shape. BIG FAT NO lol.

Thanks, kaytie!  I've done other types of exercising in the past but have never stuck with them.  This running thing...well, I'm determined to give it a real go.

Getting fitted for running shoes is HUGE!  I wear a 7-7.5 in regular shoes?   8.5 in a running shoe.  You're supposed to have a lot of room in the toe box. 

Brooks are sweet!  I became a Newton girl later.

Yeah, my 10k conditioning is a thing of the past.  Two major surgeries since then.  All I can do is start over again.  :)