Hill - Run Your Ass Off: The Complete No-Nonsense Beginners Guide To Running

T here are a gazillion books out there about beginners running, couch to 5k, marathons for dummies etc.

So why should you read this?

Because it has one very simple, no bells-and-whistles promise; to help you Run Your Ass Off.

As a reformed couch potato, I want to help spread the real truth about running: you dont have to be fit or athletic, and you certainly dont need to be size zero.

All you need to do is stand up and take that first step out the door.

T he Comfort Zone

I will show you how to change your outlook and gain a new way of thinking about exercise and diet.

Trying something new can be difficult; life is busy.

But some of the best things in life are often the very things you were once apprehensive about. Sometimes you have to step out of your comfort zone to broaden your horizons.

Running is no different.

A child often needs to taste a new food up to ten times before they will accept it; adults can be the same about running.

Many of us cant just do it once and think: Great, now Im a runner. We need to give our bodies a chance to adapt.

Just because running feels a bit alien or a little challenging in the beginning doesnt mean its not worth pursuing.

G oals

Just to get it out of the way, this book is NOT about targets; there are way too many of those in life already. Instead it will focus on doing things at a pace that suits you.

Notwithstanding, there are those - myself included - who prefer to have some kind of fitness plan to follow.

When people get bitten by the running bug they strive to improve: setting goals and making plans can be key to achieving this.

So while there will be no enforced targets, there will be some advice on making personal plans and goal-setting for those who require them.

But remember there is only one simple aim to start: put on suitable clothing and footwear, head out the door and keep putting one foot in front of the other until you get back.

You dont even have to run every step. A walk-run strategy is actually preferable to start with.

B urn it !

Well also focus on the relationship between exercise and food in a common sense, non-scientific way.

Help you understand how your body deals with food types with tips on how to tap into your own bodys ability to become more fat-burning than carb-burning, and ensure your running helps weight-loss.

This will enable those who have always stumbled from fad diet to fad diet to change things in a truly sustainable way.

T he Tarzan Mentality

Another focus will be state of mind.

Its hard for most non-runners to understand, but there is nothing better for your mental well-being that just getting out there and stripping things back to primeval basics: run, breathe and be free.

Before I started, I would never have believed that feeling drained and tired after a hard days work could be alleviated by going back out outside and pounding the pavements, rather than slipping into the well worn ass-grove on my sofa.

On daily commutes I used to see runners from the comfort and warmth of my car and question their sanity.

Now its the other way around and very soon, youll feel the same way.

C hoices

Life is made up of choices. They range in importance from basic (what I like to call Grade Two) choices like what will you have for breakfast, or what will you wear today? Others are far more complex, Grade One choices: what should you study in college, should you settle down and get married/have kids?

These more complex decisions are the ones we dont make everyday; the real life changing ones - decisions that will greatly affect the way we live our lives, and likely dictate our future happiness.

Put simply, the day you decide to pull on a pair of trainers, go outside and run is a big Grade One choice that has the potential to change your life in more ways than you ever thought possible.

S tepping Off The Wheel

Modern life can be so busy, its all too easy to get caught in ruts working hard and eating unhealthily. Before you know it youre ten years older, having added a couple of extra pounds per year along the way.

Our yearly calendar is dictated to us by outside forces: they want you to celebrate Christmas and the holidays by eating, drinking and being merry, then they want you to buy into the New Year-New You detox of low-fat foods and fad diets, or get a special rate on gym membership. Before you know it, the TV is full of look good for summer products.

Tapping into your insecurities about body shape and fitness is a worldwide, billion dollar business and all they want is your cash.

There is a way to step off that hamster wheel though, a way that can improve not just your physical fitness and wellbeing, but also your state of mind.

And all it takes is that single Grade One decision, put on a pair of trainers and Run Your Ass Off.

F irstly , I dont come from an athletic background.

I enjoyed some team sports in school yes, but never relished laps of the pitch, or sprints in training. (Who the hell does?)

The mental image I had of a runner before I became one was this: a tall, lanky wraith-like speedster who looked sleek and lithe, with about 5 percent body fat.

To my mind, a runner was an exceptional athlete - and a world apart from the kind of guy I was. Back then I was busy enjoying a different side of life, one that involved little to no athletic pursuit.

I also thought such demanding physical activity would take away from lifes enjoyment rather than give it, but how wrong I was.

Running changes everything for the better.

Im forty two years old and Ive started fifteen marathons (finished 14 - its a long story), run four ultra marathons of up to 50 miles each, and countless 5ks, 10ks and half marathons, so I guess the evidence is against me, but my mentality hasnt changed.

I still dont think of myself as an athlete.

I dont run because Im the sporty type or whatever. I run because I have become a runner and I love it.

In my late thirties, Id reached a point where I was overweight and at my most unhealthy.

I found myself in Australia for a few months and the good weather and outdoor lifestyle prompted me to get active. I hadnt done much that way since Id left school fifteen years previous, so my Grade One Decision Day didnt turn into a five mile run or anything like it.

I ran for about a mile and a half and was exhausted, but elated. The memory of those first tentative steps along the road still makes me smile.

I had to learn from my mistakes along the way though: at first my shoes were ill-fitting so I got blisters, my t-shirt was heavy cotton so I chafed.

Additionally, I ran far too quickly, my feet slapping the ground like a clown, and my breathing was shallow and erratic.

I do a lot of things differently now, but those early mistakes were not real mistakes either - learning as I went along has been half the fun. Setting new goals and the sense of achievement after hitting them, has been the source of a lot of joy and accomplishment.