10 Brainteasers To Test Your Mental Sharpness 10 Brainteasers To Test Your Mental Sharpness {{article.article.images.featured.caption}} Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. Full Bio The author is a Forbes contributor. The opinions expressed are those of the writer. Loading ... This story appears in the {{article.article.magazine.pretty_date}} issue of {{article.article.magazine.pubName}}. Subscribe To test your mental acuity, answer the following questions (no peeking at the answers!): 1. Johnny’s mother had three children. The first child was named April. The second child was named May. What was the third child’s name? 2. A clerk at a butcher shop stands five feet ten inches tall and wears size 13 sneakers. What does he weigh? 3. Before Mt. Everest was discovered, what was the highest mountain in the world? 4. How much dirt is there in a hole that measures two feet by three feet by four feet? 5. What word in the English language is always spelled incorrectly? 6. Billie was born on December 28th, yet her birthday always falls in the summer. How is this possible? 7.

In British Columbia you cannot take a picture of a man with a wooden leg. Why not? 8. If you were running a race and you passed the person in 2nd place, what place would you be in now? 9. Which is correct to say, “The yolk of the egg is white” or “The yolk of the egg are white?” 10. A farmer has five haystacks in one field and four haystacks in another. How many haystacks would he have if he combined them all in one field? Answers 3. Mt. Everest. It just wasn’t discovered yet. 4. There is no dirt in a hole. 5. Incorrectly (except when it is spelled incorrecktly). 6. Billie lives in the southern hemisphere. 7. You can’t take a picture with a wooden leg. You need a camera (or iPad or cell phone) to take a picture. 8. You would be in 2nd place. You passed the person in second place, not first. 9. Neither. Egg yolks are yellow. 10. One. If he combines all his haystacks, they all become one big stack. Okay, some of these are a bit corny.

But they all illustrate several brain idiosyncrasies that affect how we make decisions in the world. href="">Discover the timeless advice that the world’s great thinkers, billionaires, writers and businesspeople have to offer. Thanks to the way our brain works, we have a very strong tendency to see what we want to see and what we expect to see. This has huge implications when studying our customers, markets, competitors, and other data that influences key business decisions. When we only see what we want or expect to see, we miss competitive threats because our brain tells us a threat couldn’t possibly come from that direction. We miss opportunities because we only see what has worked in the past rather than what could be. And we miss major market shifts and changes in customer needs that seem obvious in hindsight but are easily overlooked when focusing on what we already know. Our brain doesn’t like information gaps, so we tend to jump at the first answer/solution that looks good rather than take the time to examine all the data. This is especially true in a world where we receive more information every day than we have time to assimilate. Finally, our brains love to see patterns and make connections. This trait serves us well in many ways as we move through the world.

But the brain doesn’t always get it right. For example, how did you answer question #1 (be honest)? For most people, the first word that pops into their head is “June,” because the brain quickly spots the April/May/June pattern. Upon re-reading the question and analyzing the data, the answer “Johnny” becomes obvious. And what about the man with the wooden leg? Your answer depends on how you interpret “with.” Does it refer to the man with the wooden leg or to the camera? A bit of a trick question, but it clearly illustrates how the language we use shapes the way we look at the world. Perhaps the best example of how we miss things is the egg yolk question. Everybody knows egg yolks are yellow. But the question’s phrasing puts our attention on selecting the correct verb, so we overlook an obvious piece of data and an even more obvious answer. We can’t change how the brain works – at least not yet. Give science another 50 years and who knows what our brains will be doing! For now, we can become more aware of how our brain works, then pause from time to time to consider what we’re missing.

This includes the data we’re unconsciously screening out as well as different sources of data to counterbalance what we expect to see. Get in the habit of teasing your brain. You’ll be amazed at what you end up seeing that you didn’t see before. Retweet this blog to find out how clever your friends and business associates are. *** Lateral Thinking Skills LATERAL THINKING SKILLS Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower. Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That’s because they were able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthesise new things. Steve Jobs Lateral thinking, is the ability to think creatively, or "outside the box" as it is sometimes referred to in business, to use your inspiration and imagination to solve problems by looking at them from unexpected perspectives. Lateral thinking involves discarding the obvious, leaving behind traditional modes of thought, and throwing away preconceptions.

It's very important in careers such as advertising , marketing , the media and art and design where you may get questions in the selection process along the lines of "Write down one hundred ways to use a brick/paperclip", but it can also be of value in the jobhunting process itself. Lateral thinking in the jobhunting process A number of graduates have tried the old and hackneyed methods of trying to gain the selector's attention, such as enclosing a tea bag with their application, so that the selector could take a break to have a cup of tea before reading it. Others have send their CV to newspapers in a magazine format, but below are a couple of truly original approaches: A graduate had been trying to get into investment banking , but without success and had exhausted all the normal routes. As a last resort, he had 100 postcard-sized CVs printed. He then went round the "Square Mile" in the City, where all the main financial organisations in London are located and proceeded to place one of these CVs under the windscreen of every Rolls Royce and top of the range BMW and Mercedes he came across. Next day, he had several 'phone calls offering him interviews from the senior executives whom the cars belonged to.

Note that we are not advocating this approach: one graduate jobseeker put up 200 poster sized CVs around Hull and ended up being fined for bill posting! A student wanted to become a trainee journalist on her local newspaper. She decided to carefully analyse the content of the paper and compared it with similar local papers. She conducted a small survey of readers' opinions on the paper by interviewing passers-by in the city centre. Using this information, she drew up a list of possible changes to the paper, wrote a sample article to show what she had in mind and sent these to the editor. The editor invited her in to discuss her suggestions - they had a long discussion and the next vacancy that arose was offered to her without competition. Creative thinking is not a talent, it is a skill that can be learnt. Edward de Bono If people aren't calling you crazy, you aren't thinking big enough. Richard Branson One New York graduate who wished to work in a top advertising agency Googled the names of the creative directors of these agencies and then spent just six dollars on a set of Google ads that were triggered when the directors searched for their own names.

The adverts said "Hey, (creative directors name), Googling yourself is a lot of fun. Hiring me is fun, too" Of the five directors he targeted, four gave him an interview and two offered him a job The chocolate bar CV. A job hunter made his CV as the wrapper for a chocolate bar. It turned out to be very popular with recruiters! For more examples of lateral thinking in jobhunting see our Creative Careers Search page Lateral Thinking Quiz The following questions will test your ability to think laterally. If you get more than 50% of these right you're certainly strong on your lateral thinking skills (or maybe you're just good at quizzes!) A graduate applying for pilot training with a major airline was asked what he would do if, after a long-haul flight to Sydney, he met the captain wearing a dress in the hotel bar. What would you do? Jackie Stewart, three times World Champion Formula One racing driver had undiagnosed dyslexia and was unable to complete his school education.

He said: “When you’ve got dyslexia and you find something you’re good at, you put more into it than anyone else; you can’t think the way of the clever folk, so you’re always thinking out of the box." A man built a rectangular house, each side having a southern view. He spotted a bear. What colour was the bear? If you were alone in a deserted house at night, and there was an oil lamp, a candle and firewood and you only have one match, which would you light first? What can you put in a wooden box that would make it lighter? The more of them you put in the lighter it becomes, yet the box stays empty. Which side of a cat contains the most hair? The 60th and 62nd British Prime Ministers of the UK had the same mother and father, but were not brothers. How do you account for this? How many birthdays does a typical woman have? "The fear of making a mistake, of risking an error, or of being told you are wrong is constantly with us. And that’s a shame.

Making mistakes is not the same thing as being creative, but if you are not willing to make mistakes, then it is impossible to be truly creative. I f your state of mind is coming from a place of fear and risk avoidance, then you will always settle for the safe solutions—the solutions already applied many times before. Failing is ﬁne, necessary in fact. But avoiding experimentation or risk—especially out of fear of what others may think—is something that will gnaw at your gut more than any ephemeral failure. A failure is in the past. It’s done and over. In fact, it doesn’t exist. But worrying about “what might be if…” or “what might have been if I had… ” are pieces of baggage you carry around daily. They’re heavy, and they’ll kill your creative spirit. Take chances and stretch yourself. You’re only here on this planet once, and for a very short time at that. Why not just see how gifted you are?" Why can't a man living in Canterbury be buried west of the River Stour? Is it legal for a man to marry his widow's sister?

If you drove a coach leaving Canterbury with 35 passengers, dropped off 6 and picked up 2 at Faversham, picked up 9 more at Sittingbourne, dropped off 3 at Chatham, and then drove on to arrive in London 40 minutes later, what colour are the driver's eyes? A woman lives on the tenth floor of a block of flats. Every morning she takes the lift down to the ground floor and goes to work. In the evening, she gets into the lift, and, if there is someone else in the lift she goes back to her floor directly. Otherwise, she goes to the eighth floor and walks up two flights of stairs to her flat. How do you explain this? A window cleaner is cleaning the windows on the 25th floor of a skyscraper, when he slips and falls. He is not wearing a safety harness and nothing slows his fall, yet he suffered no injuries. Explain. The band of stars across the night sky is called the "...... Way"? Yogurt is made from fermented ........ What do cows drink? I once visited a major pharmaceutical company to discuss their graduate recruitment for marketing.

They told me that one of the key attributes they looked for was Helicopter Ability: the ability to soar above a problem and to see all aspects of it, to stand back and see the bigger picture, the wood rather than the trees. Creativity involves being able to think outside the box to find solutions to unpredictable problems. This needs logic and analysis, but also the ability to see the big-picture and this involves a creative mind. The Zorganian Republic has some very strange customs. Couples only wish to have female children as only females can inherit the family's wealth, so if they have a male child they keep having more children until they have a girl. If they have a girl, they stop having children. What is the ratio of girls to boys in Zorgania? How many hands does the clock of the tower of Big Ben have? John's mother has 3 children, one is named April, one is named May. What is the third one named? You are running in a race. You overtake the second person. What position are you in? In the same race, if you overtake the last person, then you are in what position?

Using just ONE straight cut, how can you cut a rectangular cake into two equal parts when a rectangular piece has already been removed from it? A man and his son were in a car crash. The father was killed and the son was taken to hospital with serious injuries. The examining doctor exclaims: "But, this is my son!". How can this be? You have to choose between three rooms. The first is full of raging fires The second is full of tigers that haven’t eaten in 3 years. The third is full of assassins with loaded machine guns. Which room should you choose? Three of the glasses below are filled with orange juice and the other three are empty. By moving just one glass, can you arrange the glasses so that the full and empty glasses alternate? Name three consecutive days in English without using the words Tuesday, Thursday, or Saturday What's unusual about this paragraph? Just how quickly you can find out what is so funny about it. It looks fairly ordinary and plain that you might think nothing is wrong with it. In fact, nothing is wrong with it! It is highly curious though. Study it and think about it, but you still may not find anything odd.

But if you work at it a bit, you could just find out. Join all the 9 dots on the right using four straight lines or less, without lifting your pen and without tracing the same line more than once. Do copy this onto paper if you wish to make it easier. One student, desperate to get into advertising , had been rejected by the main London agencies, so he decided to try a different approach. He bought some pink envelopes and a small bottle of expensive perfume. He placed his CV in the envelopes and wrote "Private" on the outside. He liberally sprinkled the envelopes with scent and posted them to the senior agency partner in several of the biggest agencies. When it arrived, nobody dared to open the letters and the graduate was offered several interviews - presumably for his daring. Note that, we don't recommend this approach! Answers: Most of the above are what we call "Insight puzzles". Research by Schooler and Melcher (University of California) found that people who wrote down the puzzles and tried to solve them on paper were on average 30% less likely to come up with the right solution than those who didn't write it down and just solved them in their heads.

Writing down the puzzles invokes the use of the left side of our brain which deals with verbal and logical (algorithmic) reasoning, rather than the right side which deals with visual and creative (heuristic) thinking. These puzzles tend to require creative rather than logical reasoning to solve them, so we need to use right brain thinking. Offer to buy her a drink! The captain was of course a woman. Many airlines are now hot on equal opportunities and a candidate who had difficulty envisaging that an airline captain might be female would not go very far! White. Only at the North Pole can all four walls be facing South. The match! Milk Water. After the previous two questions, did you answer milk? About 1 to 1. Any birth will always have a 50% chance of being male or female. Eight: there are four faces to the clock of the tower of Big Ben (now officially called Elizabeth Tower). See the picture to the right. John If you overtake the second person then you become second. You can't overtake the last person in a race! Although one reader suggested that you can overtake the last person when you LAP them. Cut it horizontally half way up (i.e. parallel to the top) .

See right. Alternative answer provided by a reader of this page: the above answer in not the only correct answer, in fact, there are infinitely many correct answers. One of these correct answers is this: find the center of the cut portion of the cake (which is the point of intersection of the two diagonals) and also the center of the original cake (which, again, is the point of intersection of the two diagonals). Now a straight vertical cut along the centers will cut the remaining cake into two equal parts. This solution is perhaps better than the one above for the following reason: quite often the upper part of a cake is not the same as the lower part, as they contain different ingredients. For example, the upper part may have frosting, unlike the lower part. My solution above 'guarantees' not only equal volumes, but also equal ingredients. The doctor was his mother. Going full circle, this is very similar to the first question. The second room. Tigers that haven’t eaten in three years are dead! Pour the juice from the second glass into the fifth. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow. One reader pointed out that Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day is equally correct.

The letter e doesn't appear once in the paragraph. Here is one possible solution. Of course you have to go beyond the boundaries of the square of dots to solve this. Out of interest this particular puzzle is where the expression "to think outside the box" originally came from. As several readers have pointed out, there may of course be other answers to some of these questions. What distinguishes the answers given above is that they are usually the SIMPLEST reasonable explanaton. As William of Occam is supposed to have said: "In explaining a thing no more assumptions should be made than are necessary." Score Over 23. You are a true lateral thinking Guru. Edward De Bono would be proud of you. Or maybe you are the man himself. 20 to 23. Very good. Under 12 - watch The Matrix, The Simpsons and Dr Who a few more times! Pick one of the following cards: Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower Steve Jobs (founder of Apple) Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.” Edison The great composers did not set to work because they were inspired but became inspired because they were working.

Ari Kiev Clean Jokes See if you can answer these correctly See if you can answer these correctly... Are you the weakest link? Below are four (4) questions. You have to answer them quickly. You can't take your time, answer all of them immediately. OK? Let's find out just how clever you really are. Ready? You are participating in a race. You overtake the second person. What position are you in? Answer: If you answered that you are first, then you are absolutely wrong! If you overtake the second person and you take his place, you are second! Try not to mess up in the next question. To answer the second question, don't take as much time as you took on the first question. If you overtake the last person, then you are...? Answer: If you answered that you are second to last, then you are wrong again. Tell me, how can you overtake the LAST person?! You're not very good at this are you? Third Question: Very tricky math! Note: This must be done in your head only. Do NOT use paper and pencil or a calculator. Try it. Take 1000 and add 40 to it.

Now add another 1000. Now add 30.. add another 1000. Now add 20. Now add another 1000. Now add 10. What is the total? Did you get 5000? The correct answer is actually 4100. Don't believe it? Check your calculator! Today is definitely not your day. Maybe you will get the last question right? Mary's father has five daughters: 1. Nana, 2 Nene, 3. Nini, 4. Nono. What is the name of the fifth daughter? Answer: Nunu? NO! Of course not. Her name is Mary. Read the Question again. How to Begin Running (with Running Plan and Motivation Tips) Getting Out There 1 Go outside and run. Now. The best way to start running is simply to put on a pair of running shoes and hit the pavement, dirt or grass. The motion of running will feel strange at first, as muscles that normally don't get much use spring into awkward action. This is normal.

Run until your legs are burning and your chest is heaving; for true beginners, that usually occurs after about 5-10 minutes. When you're just starting out, you don't need fancy running shoes. An old pair of sneakers will do. Once you know you want to continue the sport, you can upgrade. Run in comfortable clothes. Put on gym shorts, a t-shirt, and a sports bra if necessary. Don't wear anything too constricting. Run anywhere. Your neighborhood, in a park, up and down your driveway, on the local track at a school. One of the best things about running as a sport is that you can do it almost anywhere, and you're not chained to a gym. 2 Use good form. Try to loosen your body and move forward in a way that feels natural. Pump your arms, take comfortable strides, stand upright with a slight forward lean, and pick your feet up high off the ground so you don't catch a toe in a crack in the sidewalk. Speaking of toes, it's best to run more on the toe or front of your foot, running on the heel will increase your chance of shin splints.

Every runner has a slightly different gait, since everyone's body is different, so figure out what works for you. Avoid bouncing and try to land softly in order to reduce stress on your knees and other joints. Find your stride. Recent evidence has come to light that your foot strike (toe, mid-foot, heel) is a natural occurrence that should not be altered. That being said, the faster you run the more forward on your foot your strike will be. Relax your upper body. Holding yourself stiff impairs mobility and makes you run slower. Keep your weight centered and your shoulders in a relaxed position, with your arms bent at 90 degrees. [1] 3 Breathe . Breathe naturally or focus on a breathing technique. Some argue that the best breathing technique is inhaling oxygen through the nose, fully expanding the lungs, and exhaling through a widely opened mouth. Your nose is a good filter for air, especially while running outdoors, which prevents you from accidentally swallowing bugs. Exhaling through your mouth allows your body to get rid of more carbon dioxide and heat with less effort. 4 Stretch when you get home .

Although the benefits and/or drawbacks to stretching before a run are controversial, there is little argument about the benefits of stretching at the end of each workout. Stretch out each muscle group, holding each stretch for at least 15-20 seconds. The most important muscles to stretch are your leg muscles. Stand a few feet from a wall and lean into the wall (moving one foot closer to the wall but leaving the other one a meter out) so that you feel your calf muscles being stretched. Do one side then the other. Bend your knee and lift your foot till your foot is back up near your butt. Hold that foot with your hand and bring it real close to your butt. You should feel a stretch along the front of your thigh. Swap sides. Alternatively, you can step forward and lunge into the front foot, keeping your knee behind your toe until you feel the stretch in your thigh. This will save your knees, instead of putting unnatural stress on the tendons and ligaments around your knee that could lead to future damage. Standing near a table or a fence rail (at about hip height) try to put your foot up on the table or fence rail. Now try to straighten out your leg.

You should feel a stretch along the back of your leg. Swap sides. Part 2 Starting a Routine 1 Run at least three days a week. This is how you build endurance; running once a week won't cut it. Space out the days to allow for recovery time between sessions. Anything more goes beyond fitness and into running for other purposes, something you may find yourself doing if bitten by the running bug. Run rain or shine, in cold weather and hot. Just be sure to dress appropriately for the weather. Stay hydrated and eat light before running. Good rule of thumb is to eat 200-300 calories about 1.5 hours before the run. Try listening to music during your run. Running to the beat will help you maintain a healthy pace. 2 Add time and distance. As the weeks go on, push yourself to run further and for a longer period of time. If you ran 10 minutes at a time the first week, push yourself to do 15 the second week. Make it 20 the third week. You'll soon find that you're able to go much longer before you feel like you have to stop. To build endurance, try these strategies: Don't worry about speed at first.

In fact, you should really run more slowly than you think you should. You're not running a race yet; you're increasing your fitness level. For now, focus on gradually decreasing the time or increasing the distance you run. The racing can come later, if you choose. Starting small is important to develop the habit of running. Alternate running and walking. Rather than stopping your exercise session when you feel like you have to stop, walk for a few minutes, then start running again. Repeat over a period of 30 or 40 minutes. Next time you run, increasing the ratio of running to walking during the same 30 or 40 minute period. Eventually, get to the point where you're running the entire time. Do sprints. Running as fast as you can for a short period of time builds up your muscles and helps you gain endurance. Mix up your long running sessions with sprinting days. Use a stopwatch to time yourself. Start by sprinting as fast as you can for a quarter mile; do this 4-6 times. On your next sprinting day, try to beat your first time. Add more quarters as you gain endurance and strength. 3 Map out some favorite routes.

Running the same boring track day in and day out is going to make you feel burned out pretty soon. Treat yourself to a run in the woods, or in a neighborhood you've never explored before. Try to rotate your workout sessions between 2 or 3 different places to keep things interesting. Make it convenient. Find places to run near your home, work and/or school. Schedule workouts when you are least likely to be interrupted like early in the morning or on the way home from work. Be prepared for changes in plans by carrying some gear with you (in your car) when at work or school. That way if the traffic is terrible, you can go for a run until the traffic thins out. 4 Don't give up too soon. After a few runs, you might be inclined to think you aren't cut out for running. You'll think to yourself, shouldn't this be more fun by now? Why does it hurt so much? Just keep going. Tell yourself you'll give it at least two weeks before throwing in the towel. After a few weeks of pushing yourself by following a running routine you will begin to feel lighter, faster, and you'll start having more fun. Eventually you'll realize you don't want to miss a run.

Part 3 Advancing to Intermediate Level 1 Obtain some good running shoes. If you're serious about this running thing, it's a good idea to have yourself fitted at a running store, as different shoes are designed for different types of feet. The right shoe for one person is the wrong shoe for another and will cause injury. A good running store can test you to make sure you get the right shoe. It is a good idea to bring along a used pair of shoes as the wear pattern can help determine the pronation of your feet. Identifying pronation will help you choose the right shoes to support your foot type. The person helping you can use an old pair of shoes to determine where you put the most pressure on your feet, and can help find the design that will most minimize injury. Your typical sporting goods store does not have the expertise to get you in the correct shoe. 2 Train for a race. [2] Competing in a race gives you a goal to work toward as you're learning to run. Once you've done one, you'll probably want to do more.

To train for a 5K race, which is just over 3 miles (4.8 kilometers), follow a weekly schedule 3 days a week for a 2-month period: Week 1: Brisk five-minute warm-up walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes. Week 2: Brisk five-minute warm-up walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.

Week 3: Brisk five-minute warm-up walk, then do two repetitions of the following: Jog 200 yards / 180 meters (or 90 seconds) Walk 200 yards / 180 meters (or 90 seconds) Jog 400 yards / 365 meters (or 3 minutes) Walk 400 yards / 365 meters (or 3 minutes) Week 4: Brisk 5 minute warm-up walk, then: Jog 1/4 mile / 400 meters (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile / 200 meters (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile / 800 meters (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile / 400 meters (or 2-1/2 minutes) Jog 1/4 mile / 400 meters (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile / 200 meters (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile / 800 meters (or 5 minutes) Week 5: Workout 1: Brisk 5 minute warm-up

 walk, then: Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Workout 2: Brisk five-minute warm-up walk, then: Jog 3/4 mile / 1.2 kilometers (or 8 minutes) Walk 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes) Workout 3: Brisk five-minute warm-up walk, then jog two miles / 3200 meters (or 20 minutes) with no walking.

Week 6: Workout 1: Brisk five-minute warm-up walk, then: Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Workout 2: Brisk five-minute warm-up walk, then: Jog 1 mile /1.6 kilometers(or 10 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 1 mile /1.6 kilometers(or 10 minutes) Workout 3: Brisk five-minute warm-up walk, then jog 2-1/4 miles / 3.6 kilometers (or 25 minutes) with no walking. Week 7: Brisk five-minute warm-up walk, then jog 2.5 miles / 4 kilometers (or 25 minutes). Week 8: Brisk five-minute warm-up walk, then jog 2.75 miles / 4.4 kilometers (or 28 minutes).

Week 9: Brisk five-minute warm-up walk, then jog 3 miles / 4.8 kilometers (or 30 minutes). 3 Join a running group. Running with other seasoned runners will give you the opportunity to get feedback on your form, and provide motivation to stick with it. You can run races together or just run for recreational purposes. You'll find information about local running groups at running stores. Community Q&A If this question (or a similar one) is answered twice in this section, please click here to let us know. Running Tips and Tricks Running Tips and Tricks Tips Don't listen to music while you run. Songs have their own steady tempo and that is not the tempo that your body was made for. While it is enjoyable, you want to run with your own natural tempo. For additional challenge, try running up and down hills. Gradually find slopes that are steeper. You can also run in loose sand or water (or both, at the beach); but don't run in large gravel because the risk of injury is high. Running with a partner or group increases your motivation to run. Especially at first, a "running buddy" can really help you make running a habit.

Make sure you are working at the same fitness levels and agree on your running plan. When running with a group, try to keep pace with the others, accelerate when they do but only if you feel comfortable with it. Do not force yourself. Prevention is the best method of avoiding shin splints, which could otherwise delay your running routine for months while you recover. The problem is the imbalance in strength between your calf and opposing muscle groups. Stretching the muscles once warm and strengthening them on off days can save you a lot of pain. When running remember to control your breathe. If you get lightheaded or can't breathe, stop for a moment before continuing on. If you want, try getting hold of a pedometer or other instrument that calculates your pace, miles etc. You'll find yourself much more committed to your goal if you can track your progress 100% of the way. Ease into your running program gradually. You can go from inactivity to running three miles (5 kilometers) on a regular basis in just two months. It's easy to get impatient, but don't skip ahead in the program, even if you are already physically fit or otherwise feel you can. Two months is not that long!

You can measure your running by distance or time. Either method is fine and the choice is simply a personal preference for measurement. If you are running in a straight line, get your goal in sight and mentally jog yourself there beforehand. Try racing your friends while you are at school. Warnings If you are road running make sure you wear brightly colored clothes to help drivers of cars see you. It's is also not a good idea to wear headphones while road running. Always consume adequate amounts of fluids after, and during (if runs last more than 45 minutes or so) your runs, especially in the heat. If you feel at all thirsty, you are already dehydrated. Consult a physician or other health-care professional before beginning any running program. This is most important if you are over 35, have bone or joint problems such as arthritis, or have risk factors for heart disease. Your body will thank you later for starting out at your healthiest. Things You'll Need The Real Shape of the Race | The Weekly Standard Scroll down for next story THE MAGAZINE: From the February 15 Issue The Real Shape of the Race A populist and dueling conservatives.

Des Moines, Iowa The shorthand understanding of the likely three-man race for the Republican nomination goes something like this. Donald Trump is the populist outside agitator, running on economic nationalism and against the entire political system. Ted Cruz is the antiestablishment crusader, running on sharp intellect, eager confrontation, and ideological purity. And Marco Rubio is the conventional candidate, running on optimism, easing our anxieties, and repairing old divisions. Cruz and Trump are often lumped together as “outsiders" or "antiestablishment," manifestations of the anger and frustration of the Republican base. Feb 15, 2016 | By Stephen F. Hayes Stephen Hayes Senior Writer The Weekly Standard Sorry, you've reached the limit on the articles you can view. One of these is not like the others. (Credit: Andrew Burton / Getty) Des Moines, Iowa The shorthand understanding of the likely three-man race for the Republican nomination goes something like this. Donald Trump is the populist outside agitator, running on economic nationalism and against the entire political system. Ted Cruz is the antiestablishment crusader, running on sharp intellect, eager confrontation, and ideological purity.

And Marco Rubio is the conventional candidate, running on optimism, easing our anxieties, and repairing old divisions. Cruz and Trump are often lumped together as “outsiders" or "antiestablishment," manifestations of the anger and frustration of the Republican base. Rubio, by contrast, is usually included in discussions of the "establishment lane" and grouped with John Kasich, Chris Christie, and Jeb Bush. As with much conventional wisdom, there is some truth in these generalizations. And it's clear that in some ways the campaigns themselves accept this framing. For six months, Cruz and Trump avoided criticizing each other on the assumption that their campaigns occupied overlapping chunks of the "antiestablishment" political space. When their de facto nonaggression pact ended, they quickly turned to attacking one another with the kind of vigor that candidates reserve for opponents who represent the largest obstacles to their victories. At the same time, most of the incoming fire Rubio has taken has come from the campaigns and super-PACs of the candidates hoping to end up king of the "establishment" mountain.

Rubio looked ready to accomplish that objective when he finished an unexpectedly strong third place in Iowa, winning 23 percent of Republican caucusgoers—within 1 point of Trump and 4 of Cruz. His vote total was more than three times the combined shares of Kasich, Christie, and Bush. Pundits immediately speculated that Rubio, with an expected infusion of cash, was in a position to overtake Trump and Cruz and glide to the Republican nomination. To Rubio detractors, this was cause for alarm. The most direct warning came from Laura Ingraham, the talk radio host and bestselling author, whose analysis of the presidential race has been very friendly to Trump. Ingraham called for a return to the "strategic alliance" that defined the Cruz-Trump relationship until January. Cruz and Trump "placed first and second in Iowa," she wrote. "But if they don't now combine forces and put aside their rancor, they may each find themselves losing the nomination to the third-place finisher, Establishment favorite Florida Sen.

Marco Rubio." Rather than attacking one another, she wrote, Cruz and Trump "should focus on the failures of the Rubio Establishment—like their support for the Trans Pacific Partnership, immigration amnesty and increasing the budget deficit." Some of these distinctions are not quite what they seem. Ted Cruz authored a Wall Street Journal op-ed with Paul Ryan in favor of Trade Promotion Authority, before opposing the TPP. Donald Trump expressed conditional support for "amnesty"—his word—as recently as 2013. And Trump opposes reforming entitlements, the driver of our debt crisis, while Rubio, running for Senate in Florida, campaigned on entitlement reform and then voted for budgets that included it. Anticipating the kinds of presidencies we might expect from these candidates, it seems to me more accurate to look at the GOP nomination race as having three lanes, not two: a nonideological populist lane featuring Trump alone, a traditional Republican lane that includes the governors, and a movement conservative lane with Cruz and Rubio. Trump is not a conservative. He's an economic nationalist whose limited involvement in politics over the years has largely consisted of furthering his own interests by contributing to members of both political parties.

His current policy positions often contradict those he's publicly expressed in the past, and his governing philosophy, to the extent he has one, combines crony capitalism with government activism (eminent domain; ethanol; protectionism; universal, government-paid health care). The governors mix some conservatism with the kind of go-along-get-along pragmatism that has so many GOP primary voters frustrated. Christie advocates broad entitlement reform, but expanded Medicaid in New Jersey; he supported Obama's nomination of Supreme Court justice Sonia Sotomayor, defended Common Core, and backs Obama's anti-due-process proposal to ban gun purchases for those on the federal government's flawed terrorist watch list. Kasich also expanded Medicaid, over the objections of many Ohio Republicans, and he frequently defends his decision by invoking God and suggesting that those who disagree with him are inadequate Christians. He's mocked elected officials whose decisions are guided by a philosophical commitment to limited government and proclaimed himself a proud pragmatist and an opponent of ideology. Bush, who implemented a series of successful conservative reforms as governor, has grown increasingly critical of the base of his party since leaving office in 2007.

He famously suggested he would be a candidate willing to "lose the primary to win the general"—an announcement in advance that he'd risk running as a moderate in the GOP nominating contest to preserve his centrist appeal in a race against the Democratic nominee. All these candidates would fit comfortably on the list of establishment Republican nominees dating back to 1992: George H. W. Bush, Bob Dole, George W. Bush, John McCain, and Mitt Romney. Rubio and Cruz are different. They are visceral and intellectual conservatives, first elected as explicitly and purposefully antiestablishment candidates. Rubio bucked the Florida party leadership to run for Senate in 2010, eventually defeating incumbent governor Charlie Crist, who was supported by the Washington GOP establishment, including the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Rubio won the backing of conservative movement groups set up to challenge the GOP establishment—various Tea Party organizations, the Club for Growth, and the Senate Conservatives Fund among them. He ran as an unapologetic conservative, campaigning on entitlement reform at a time the national party was advising candidates to avoid talking about entitlements at all cost. Ted Cruz traveled a similar path two years later, challenging Texas lieutenant governor David Dewhurst.

Like Rubio, Cruz won the backing of the Senate Conservatives Fund, Club for Growth, and Tea Party organizations. And like Rubio, Cruz ran against the establishment of both political parties in Washington. Has Rubio gone "establishment" during his time in Washington, as his detractors claim? His lifetime rating from the American Conservative Union is 98 out of 100. His current Heritage Action score is 94 percent—the Senate Republican average is 60 percent—with a lifetime score of 91 percent. As Jim Geraghty put it in an exhaustive account of Rubio's tenure in the Senate: "If Rubio really represents the new GOP 'establishment,' then the fight is over and the conservatives won. Despite infuriating many grassroots conservatives by pushing the failed Gang of Eight immigration-reform bill and advocating a path to legalization, Rubio has an indisputably conservative record as a senator." Using these ratings as a guide, Cruz is slightly more conservative: 100 percent Heritage Action rating (98 percent lifetime) and 100 percent lifetime American Conservative Union score. To be sure, Cruz and Rubio are running for president in very different ways—though both are familiar.

Rubio is campaigning like Barack Obama did in 2008. He has chosen to emphasize optimism, unity, possibility, reform. He defends his decision to run as a young candidate by emphasizing the "urgency" of the problems facing the country, just as Obama cited Martin Luther King Jr.'s "fierce urgency of now" for his audacious first run for the presidency. There's a lot of tough criticism of Obama and Washington in Rubio's stump speech, but there's also a lot of "hope and change." Cruz is running like Obama, too—Obama in 2012. He is campaigning as an unapologetic ideologue, seeking to motivate and energize conservatives unenthusiastic about recent Republican nominees. Cruz's campaign, like Obama's reelection effort, is based on the assumption that the contest this fall will be won by the candidate who best turns out the base of his or her party. These distinct approaches in campaign style have doubtless added to the perception that Rubio is an "establishment" candidate and Cruz is "anti-establishment." But the real difference between them isn't whether they would challenge the Republican establishment but how.

Rubio's critique of the establishment is a temporal one, argues Heritage Action CEO Michael Needham. In Rubio's view, the ideas of the Republican establishment, stale and anachronistic, are badly in need of replacing. So Rubio champions policy innovation and creativity. Cruz's critique of the GOP establishment is structural. Republican institutions in Washington have become so badly corrupted that trying to reform them isn't enough. Needham summarizes the Cruz view this way. "Real policy innovation requires not just putting forth fresh ideas; it requires attacking the flawed nature of the GOP establishment so that innovation can even be possible." They're both right. There are reasons a conservative voter might prefer Cruz to Rubio. Cruz has demonstrated a willingness to challenge the calcified structures of the establishment and to continue doing so despite scorn heaped on him not only from the New York Times but also from fellow Republicans. It's a necessary quality for a president who would serve as a disrupter of the broken status quo in Washington. Rubio may have it, and in his advocacy of entitlement reform we've seen hints of it. But with Cruz, we know. There are reasons a conservative voter might prefer Rubio to Cruz. Rubio has a personal appeal—likability—Cruz lacks.

When Cruz addresses voters, he's often self-indulgent and always melodramatic. He speaks as if he's there to bestow knowledge on the audience, and he's frequently the hero of his own story. Rubio is nearly the opposite. When he speaks, there's a genuine sense that he's in awe of the country and his place in it. His paeans to American greatness seem heartfelt even the twentieth time you've heard them. All of this would seem to make him more electable in the general election. Regardless, if either Cruz or Rubio is sworn in on January 20, 2017, the country will have its most conservative president since Ronald Reagan. Stephen F. Hayes is a senior writer at The Weekly Standard. Web Link:

Question: You are running a race and overtake the person who is in third place. In which position are you now?
Answer: Third.