Yes, 2019 is just a few weeks old and you made the commitment to get more physical for the New Year. Maybe the goal is to get in better, healthier shape, or lose some of that extra baggage you’ve been carrying around for a few years. In order to accomplish this, you’ve decided to put one foot in front of the other, at a quick pace by taking up running. Well, Good for You! But, do you know what you're getting yourself into?

Running is a sport, just like any other sport that you may watch on tv. But running is a personal, individual, one that basically pits you against yourself. Every time you lace up your shoes, you're going to be competing against your last time out, the distance you ran, how long it took you, how well you ended up. It’s all about how well your body is performing this time out, against the last time you set off, out the door.

Like any new endeavor that you want to commit to, you need to really commit to it! It must become a habit to you, a part of your life, that if you don’t do it, you’re going to have that nagging feeling hanging around you for the day, knowing that you missed your appointed time slot and that somehow you need to make it up!

Starting a new habit of any kind is hard, especially when it’s one you kind of dread can be a little scary. But the trick is, don’t go all in at the start and swear you’ll run six days a week if you’ve barely run before. Create a schedule and stick to it. Another specific that can set you up for failure is don't set unrealistic or hard to attain goals when starting out! This again is just going to set yourself up for failure. You can get to your ultimate goal, but you need to pace yourself and gradually build up your body's stamina and endurance to help you to get there and reach those goals. Most people that take up a running regimen fail because that want to reach that 5-mile mark without breaking a sweat.

First things first, running is probably one of the easier, more cost-effective sports to take up. After all, you basically just need a good, comfortable, while a supportive pair of running shoes. The outfits can come later but you need good running shoes to start, not a fashionable running outfit so you look good out on the road or trail!

The most surefire way to get the right shoes is to head to your local specialty running shop. They’ll put you on a treadmill and analyze your stride to match the right fit and style with how you naturally run. Listen to them, again, color and style do not mean a thing if you’re not wearing a supportive pair of shoes that can go the distance with you so that you’re not injuring your feet when your pounding that pavement, or mountain trail, if that’s the type of running you’re going to be doing. And if you are, then make sure you tell the shoe specialists that so they can fit you with the right terrain shoes for your run.

Remember up above we talked about goal setting? One of the best ways to keep you honest in making sure you really are attaining those preset goals of your is to track them. In order to track them, you need to monitor your daily runs and the best way to do that is with a good, reliable GPS enabled smartwatch/activity tracker. As the saying goes, the only person you should try to be better than is the person you were yesterday. Now with technology getting better every day, you can measure this for real.

One brand of GPS watches that I like is from Garmin, and their slogan really sums up what I mentioned above. Their slogan is "Beat Yesterday" which with a personal sport like running, that’s really what it’s all about, right? Some GPS watches save your previous times for routes and workouts, giving you the chance to race a previous you. This way you can clearly see your improvements and get motivated to push yourself that little bit harder on every run.

A good beginner running watch that fits this to a "T" is the Garmin Forerunner 35 GPS Watch. Which is a simple, easy to use GPS watch that tracks your steps, calories burned, the intensity of your run and can upload this data to an online community with its free app called Garmin Connect. With the aid of which you can summarily track your progress and if so, inclined can share this data with your running friends and see how you're doing against others. Which provides you with a little more of a competition against others instead of just against yourself. Which sometimes can be a great motivator to push yourself further, thus increasing your personal best! And unlike some other GPS watches, the Garmin Forerunner 35 also comes with a wrist-based heart rate monitor that monitors your heart rate without the need for a chest strap and lets you know just how well you're maintaining your heart rate rhythm while running and also at rest!

And the reliable GPS, which Garmin is known for quickly acquires satellites to track distance, speed, and location without requiring the use of your cell phone, so you have more portability without the need for a strong cell signal.

Keep in mind that you need to maintain a healthy diet, since your running, you’re going to need to eat the right amount of foods, some rich in carbs, fiber and of course protein. But knowing when to eat and what can be another topic for us to write about. Let’s just say you don’t want to eat a big meal before a run. A bagel, or a bowl of oatmeal, or a banana will do just fine. After all, you don’t want your body trying to digest a heavy amount of food when it should be working on breaking down what you’ve ingested into fuel, energy!

So, now that you have a few basics, go ahead and get those proper shoes, dress appropriately for the weather and strap on your Garmin Forerunner 35  and get out there and run!