How Do Geeks Get In Shape & 13 Tips To Get Started Running

I like to share my runs on Twitter and some of my friends reply often. This morning Mike Butcher said "Got any tips on getting in shape? You seem pretty good at it" so I thought I could share more and would love to hear how you get in shape. There are many geeks I know who care a lot about regular exercise, like Jyri who has shared many of my runs around the Golden Gate bridge, fidlr who runs too and tells me that "interval running" is called "wind sprints" in America or my colleague Cathy Brooks, Net who shared crazy runcasts like running on the Golden Gate bridge, Joi with his diets and various exercises and so many others. How do you do it? What tips can you share about getting in shape in general?

Here are some tips, very obvious ones of course.

1. start with friends. That is how I started in Paris, I joined an existing group of occasional runner friends there is nothing better than group motivation

2. start slowly even if you hate it, you will feel good fast, you can even start (or only) walk

3. do it regularly and do not aim at a performance, often is more important. I try at least 3 times a week

4. you are geeks, get gadgets to measure and share. I use a Garmin Forerunner 305 that posts to Google Earth and keeps track of your runs, I "collect" them around the world while some others prefer NikePlus I like it too but I need the GPS and the Heart rate monitor, more on this soon

5. change the type of exercise each time. Change the place to make it more interesting and change what to do. I alternate slow but long runs (over an hour) with fast paced "wind sprints" or interval training

6. practice interval training once a week they help pick up speed. If you only run at the same pace you will never progress.

7. feed your brain with audio podcasts as you run. I listen religiously to the BBC News, the Europe1 French daily news to warm up and then some tech music such as RLP Mix or ZeMiXX (just search in itunes) to keep the pace

8. if you feel like (or can only do) inside training on trademills the (paying but cheap) podcasts from itrain.com make the experience much less boring

9. eat well, I am not always the best at this but avoiding fat, bread, too much wine and sugars is a good idea, I am on it now... Ledretch has good advice on Seesmic. Honestly I am fighting with it daily as being french I love good food.

10. read blogs, books and the monthly press about running, it helped me a lot get tips and advice. I used to read running and the book "Courir" in France I have to find some in the US

11. learn why your max heart rate is and why it matters as well as other key parameters. Running seems easy but there is a lot you can learn to help your performance and preserve your health.

12. aim at a race, even if it is not for a huge performance, I followed a half-marathon training for a few weeks then ran two half-marathons, the 20km de Paris (would love to run them again but will be in SF) and the semi-marathon de Boulogne. I miss them the race ambiance is very cool and it pushes your limits. I ran at 13 km/h average for about 1.5 hour and I could not do it tomorrow without training. I would love to run a real marathon but I am far from being ready for that.

13. when you stop for a while, it gets difficult again, start slowly almost walking if need be and it will come back very fast

I am exactly at this point. I stopped running for a while and have recovered in about 4 weeks my breath and good feeling, now I have to pickup speed again. The most important for me is the feeling you get after each run, it feels good and helps not only your body but also your brain.

How do YOU get in shape? Would love your comments and replies to my video below.
How Do You Get In Shape?Thought like sharing a few tips, would love your feedback. Here is the associated post with all the links http://www.loiclemeur.com/english/2008/08/how-do-geeks-ge.html