wistv.com - Columbia, South Carolina |Zero to 5K: First steps become long strides

COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) - Seven weeks after taking her first step to become a runner, Shana Till is actually smiling.

"The first day I went out I almost cried," said Till. "I just didn't think I could do it. And then I just had to be determined to go back out there and then I realized I really do enjoy it."

We left our WIS newsroom this week to hit a few streets of downtown Columbia to see how Till's running is coming.

"I've learned through starting small and building my way up, I've done a lot better than I thought I could," said Till.

Running coach and competitive runner Mark Bedenbaugh says don't run full speed ahead into a running program.

"Less is more," said Bedenbaugh. "Do not necessarily go out and try to run every day.  Especially, if you have not been running at all. In fact, I would advise against that.  Every other day maybe, or even every third day."

Bedenbaugh's advice significantly reduces a new runner's chances of getting injured.

"Some folks think they can do something now and they're gonna adapt in a week or so, and it takes a little bit longer than that for the training effect -- that's what it's called -- to take place," said Bedenbaugh. "Don't do too much."

Plus, upping your distance in small steps helps you build up your cardio. That's a problem Till ran into.

"I think that was one thing I wasn't working before, my heart, and getting my heart rate up," said Till. "And I can feel that when I'm done.  It's kind of this little rush, ah, I just did something, you know"

Bedenbaugh feels strongly that most everyone can go the distance when following a plan with reasonable running time increases.

"A lot of times folks think, well, since I was able to handle that volume, or, I was able to handle that amount of mileage, let's add to it.  Be careful.  Adaptation takes awhile," said Bedenbaugh. "When you do any kind of workout, it's 20 days out before your body really adapts."

All you have to do is what Till did: take that first step.

"Each time we're increasing my regimen, a few extra minutes or a little bit longer distance, I feel like I can," said Till. "Every time I achieve that, I want to go a little bit further and do a little bit more."

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