Well done for starting to run !
Like many new runners building consistency can be difficult. Whether that be to do with work life balance, injuries, life in general getting in the way, or just a simple lack of motivation. I already wrote a motivational blog, and how to start running when over weight, you can find them in the beginners section of the blog headings.
Running to lose weight can be a huge motivational factor, but what if you are not overweight and just unfit. What if you are burned out with work and just need something else to focus on. Perhaps you have started running two or three times a week, but cannot break the 1 or 2k threshold before you need to stop. I think this blog is for you!
No, that is not me in the picture running towards the rocky mountains on a clear winters day. I am sitting in my house in Ireland sipping my morning coffee as I write this. Its pouring rain outside and afterwards I need to get out there and do an 11k run before my family visit from the west of the country.
I was thinking of ways to explain how I am motivated to do that, but its really quiet simple. I don’t want to lose my fitness gains I have built up, and I am working towards a goal. My goal is to complete a 10k this year in less than 50 minutes. You too should chose a goal too. Tell people about your goal regularly (to those who want to listen), that way they might check in on you to see how you are doing, and it might create a little extra pressure, depending on your personality.
I might be getting ahead of myself here, but the concepts are the same regardless of what level you are at. Some people are more naturally driven and motivated than others yes, but you can train yourself and your mind to think differently.
Lets get back to the beginning of your running journey. Remember my last blog about motivation, and trying to understand what drives you. What is your reason to run in the first place and try to remember it. If you don’t have any reason in particular and are just watching too many Tik Tok videos of fitness freaks and instagramers, thats absolutely fine. Being a dreamer is as much of the process as anything else.
Lets suppose your dream is to glide through a park running with your dog, and to be feeling and looking your best. Maybe, its running on a treadmill in a gym or running on a beach with your top off (if that’s your thing). You wont achieve that dream by sitting down looking at your phone, you need to break it down in to simple steps that you regularly do. When I say regularly I mean everyday. No, not running everyday, even more simple than that to get started.
Here are my steps:
Step 1 – This will depend on how badly you are lacking motivation to do,
well, anything really. Get out of bed, drink a full glass of water, and make
the bed. You might think what has this got to do with running, but for me,
building consistent and good habits is key. Open the window, go to the other room, and do a quick 10-minute workout routine. You can do whatever you like, whether it be some sit-ups, weights, yoga stretches, light cardio, press-ups. Just do something. Then clean yourself up and go downstairs. The next part will depend on whether I am working in the office that day or not, but if I am not, make a healthy breakfast.
Step 2 – I am not going to fill the blog post with my daily routine as that
will bore you, and it could take a while to write. Plus, like everyone it
varies from day to day. That is normal life, but I will say this, its what you
do at the end of the day consistently that matters. Set the days that you are
going to run at the beginning of the week. I usually run four days a week, but
you might choose different. I usually run the same four days each week, but you
must be flexible as things can pop up. The important thing is that you remember to reschedule it. Treat the rescheduling like you would if you had to pick your child up, or your dog. You would not forget to do that would you…?
The days I run are Mondays, Thursday, Friday & Saturday. Each run
consists of different paces and styles, but I will not get into that in this
post. For now, I am writing about building good habits to keep you motivated to
succeed and keep running. Everything I wrote so far are good habits, take note
of them and keep the habits simple. Just do them every day. When you go to bed
at night, read for 10 minutes, or do some stretches and rolls on a yoga mat.
This is what I do, and it trains the mind to consistently do the same thing. It
becomes a habit that even when you are not thinking about it, you instinctively
just do it. Running can become like this also.
Step 3 – Building consistent habits takes time. You must be strict at the
beginning and make sure that no matter what, you do your run (s) every week.
The only thing that will stop you are excuses. Pick the days that you will do
your runs and try to stick to them. The times might vary, but that is ok. Keep
your life disciplined so nothing interferes. For example, if you know you do
your Saturday run in the morning, do not drink, or stay up to late on Friday.
These are good habits also, and it will help to keep you balanced and focused
on something.
Discipline for me came easy, but I have a tough time staying focused on
things. I get bored very easily and continually change hobbies. This took some self-reflection
to realise this, and with running I had to make a conscious effort to focus on
my routine, set a reminder to do my run, and focus on achieving some sort of
gain. Some effort that was difficult to achieve and once you have it, you never
want to lose it. Make sense?
Step 4 – Focus on the gain. The gain is different for everyone. Usually for
most runners at the beginning its a 5k run. This should be your only focus for
running. Get an application (there are loads to choose from) to help you. I
used the couch to 5k app, and it worked very well. It structured my runs and
really made the progression to 5k seem easy. Take your time and most
importantly do not get injured. Once you achieve the 5k you will not want to
lose that momentum. You may choose to just keep running 5ks regularly, or you
may choose to progress to 10k, half marathon or marathon. Whatever works for
you is fine, but the most important thing to remember here is, you need to set
a goal, work to achieve it, and once you have achieved it, keep working to
maintain it.
These are only four simple steps, but the idea is to create simple everyday
habits. Keep focused on small things and this can turn into bigger
achievements. Running at the beginning and at any stage is a journey. To
summarize my four steps it would be, wake up and make your bed, light workout,
night-time routine, and plan your week. Hopefully, this is useful, and it
should get you thinking the right way. I will right add-on posts to this over
the coming few months.