This is the first of my "Blast from the Past" articles and it seemed like a good place to start. Establishing a a daily (or at least regular) running habit is where the journey of becoming a runner begins. This post first appeared on Full Stride Running in October of 2012.
Establishing a daily running habit is the first step in becoming a successful runner. People often ask me how to find and maintain the motivation to run every day, and I my response is that the key is to make it a matter of habit, rather than of motivation.
Motivation comes and goes. Some days I'm really motivated to run, other days I'd rather do just about anything else, particularly when I'm tired, dealing with greater than usual life stresses, or when the weather is cold and rainy. If I had to rely on being psyched up to go for a run every day, it would be tough to maintain any consistency in my training at all. And, as I always say, consistency is the key to progressing as a runner.
A better choice is to make running a habit, something you simply do every day like brushing your teeth, combing your hair or eating lunch. Like any habit, it takes a few weeks to develop, but you'll know you're on the right track when something starts to feel amiss when you don't get out for your daily run. You'll also find that your family and friends will stop asking, "Did you run today?" and instead ask, "How far did you run today?"
And, by the way, I should add that your running habit doesn't necessarily need to be an everyday thing, it can be as little as 4, 5 or 6 days a week, as long as you stick with whatever plan you choose.
Here are some ways to help you establish a daily running habit:
1. Keep your mileage to a reasonable level.
Back in my university running days, I had times where I ran as much as ten or 15 miles one day and then didn't run again for two or three days after that. Or I'd put in a really big week or two of mileage and then have a couple of unplanned "down" weeks.
Staying consistent in your training requires that you don't try to do too much, too soon. You'll make far better progress over time if you stick to a moderate training program that you can realistically maintain from week to week, rather than getting all fired up and training like a madman (or woman) for a couple of weeks and then succumbing to injury or burnout.
2. Anything is better than nothing.
Many runners have an all-or-nothing attitude towards their workouts. If they have a six mile run planned and something comes up that limits their time, they skip the run altogether rather than going for, say, a three mile run instead. Even a mile or two is better than sitting on the couch eating Doritos. And that mile or two gives you the confidence of keeping your streak of not missing a workout going.
Another common situation is that runners will skip a run, reasoning that they need a day off when they're feeling particularly tired. Similar to being strapped for time, if you feel too tired for say, a six mile run, talk yourself into getting out for two or three miles. I often find that when I feel really tired before a run, I often start to feel much better once I get going and the decision to just get out for a couple of miles often gets me going enough that I end up feeling good enough to cover the originally planned distance once I've gotten the legs moving a bit.
3. Find a training partner, coach or join a running club.
There's nothing like being accountable to someone else to help get you out on the roads when you're feeling a bit of inertia. Meeting up with a training partner, your running club or having to report to a coach is often all the prodding you need to make sure you don't miss a workout.
For some reason, we don't mind disappointing ourselves by missing a run, but we'd never think of leaving our running partner hanging. It's kind of a weird quirk of human nature, but it works.
4. If you fall off the proverbial wagon, get right back on.
Sometimes we all miss a run for whatever reason. Unfortunately some runners view a missed workout (or two or three) as a failure and a reason to give up. Instead, if you miss a workout simply get back on the wagon and make sure you run tomorrow. One missed workout is nothing in the grand scheme of things, but a series of missed workouts will eventually affect your fitness and worse, it will detract from the confidence you're developing from following a consistent training plan.
The more you can limit your missed training days, the better.
5. Actively seek ways to make it fun.
The more you can make your workouts enjoyable, the more consistent you'll be. You can make your running more enjoyable by:
- Running with others. Running is a social activity and a chance to spend quality time with friends. The friendships you develop with others while on the run can be some of the strongest relationships you'll ever develop. The people I've trained with over the years are some of my best friends.
- Adding variety. Try new running routes, different types of workouts and train for a variety of race distances from time to time. Not only is this more fun, it develops different skills which makes you a better and more complete runner.
- Allowing for plenty of relaxed, unstructured runs. While I enjoy going to the track for an interval workout or pushing a hard tempo run from time to time, the runs I most enjoy are those daily relaxed runs of about an hour or so at a moderate to steady pace. The pace is easy enough to carry on a conversation without getting out of breath and allows me time to think, plan and unwind from the usual daily stresses. It's my "me-time". This is my favourite hour of the day, something I really look forward to and really miss if I don't manage to get it done.
Establishing a daily running habit allows you build your fitness from day to day and week to week, rather than having to constantly re-start your training due to missing a few days or weeks at a time. It also gives you more confidence in your fitness and gives you the basic strength and fitness to really enjoy your running.
