So this week I’m sharing how I think I became and runner and how I learned to love it. This morning I logged 3 miles with the hubby before my usual workout so I’m ready for a nap, but I’ll write first!
- Success Is Addicting
Although feeling good at running doesn’t happen overnight, it’s easy to feel successful at running! If you set reasonable expectations for yourself and your pace, you can feel success at the end of each run. There are a million methods to try and follow or just make your own plan. If you don’t like a plan, change it! No one is the same kind of runner as another so no one else can tell you how it’s ‘supposed to be’ done. If you want to be able to run 10 miles without stopping, awesome. If you want to run the Galloway method (run walk run), awesome. If you set the goal, you get to say when you’ve met it. Once you meet that first goal, whether it be running a mile or to the mailbox, you’ll want to do it again. But the next time it won’t feel as awesome because you know you can do it, so you’ll raise the bar. This is the addiction of running. I’ve never met a runner that hadn’t set some sort of goal!
My Addiction: At the beginning of my fitness journey, it was easy to feel my body changing and getting stronger but some things are easier to measure than others. Running is really easy to measure and feel successful at. Just two years ago I would have said “I can’t even run a mile.” Now I can, and a 5K, and a 10K and a half marathon, and maybe even further if I wanted to. I think I got hooked after my first 5K run. I didn’t train for my first 5K. I basically signed up and showed up to run. When I crossed my first finish line, maybe my first since Middle School, it was awesome. I had surprised myself. I’d done something I never thought that I could do and I just wanted to do it again and again and again. Now a 5K is my warmup J and in my 18 month running ‘career’ I’ve logged 500 miles. It starts with just one!
- You’d Be Surprised
People envy runners. People want to talk about running. I think secretly everyone wishes they could be a runner. I’ve heard the people say the following things SEVERAL TIMES:
I don’t run unless I’m being chased
You’re crazy
I don’t think I could even walk that far
I used to run
I haven’t run since High School
That being said, you’d be really surprised to find out who can’t run a mile in your life. Every time you run think about this, who in your life is: Still in bed? Wishing they could make a change but haven’t? Eating a donut right now? Looking at you for motivation? Who just watched you run by and envied you?
My Experience
I talk to a lot of people about fitness and specifically running. When I say something like “I ran 5 miles this morning.” it evokes one of two responses: they look like they just threw up in their mouth a little bit or they look envious and want to know more. Running is something most people wish they could do but will tell you they can’t. It’s also something everyone has experience with. I have talked to SOOO many people about running or wanting to run. It’s something in all of us! Running is contagious and people that want to know how to run will ask you. When I started running it slowly lead to my husband running. And then I had a run club at work. And then so did he. Running is a community and more people want to be members than you’d think. Running lead me to meeting some great people!
- It Won’t Be Like Gym Class
One of the many reasons people hate running is it reminds them of gym class. We all remember having the run the mile for a grade. In fact, I think the orange spray paint is still around the tree on my middle school campus that you had to loop around and come back. Most of us remember being yelled at by a coach or teacher. At the most self conscious time in your life, they make you do what most people hate: run…..in front of everyone………for a grade. Torture! I swear, running as an adult won’t be like this. No one will yell at you and motivate you. If you want to run alone, you are the only coach. Only you know what your goal is and how fast you want to get there. Use running as time for yourself. Running can be great therapy and time to think through your day. The more you let your mind go the easier your run will be. Just let it go. Run out the frustration and anxiety. Attach something you love to running if you are having trouble falling in love with running. Try ending a run at your favorite coffee or book shop. Run your way to lunch with friends instead of walking or driving. The more you train your brain to run with things you already enjoy, the easier it is to fall in love with it. I encourage you to start your own relationship with running before you try running with a group or friends. It’s hard to find your own pace/zone/distance if your constantly with other people.
My Inner Peace:
It took me about a month of running to feel the Runner’s Zone. It can take a while to train your brain for running. Now my brain and body know running so well that it slips into the zone in the first few minutes. My brain and body ask to run now. If you learn to find your zone, running easily becomes something you want to do. You’ll crave the quiet while your body acts like a machine. I still have a run now and then where I can’t zone. Sometimes I have what I consider a ‘bad run’. A bad run is usually one of two things: my body was too tired or my brain was too active. Occasionally, there are still runs where I think about running the whole time I’m doing it but this is rare. Once you learn to zone out, you’ll learn to love running.
- Think about This Mile/Minute
It’s easy to get overwhelmed when you’re running. If you’re in mile one, sometimes mile 4 seems like forever away. Try not to think about the end or how much farther you have to go. Only focus on this mile or this interval (if using a run/walk/run method). Sometimes you can only make it to the next stop sign. It’s ok to trick yourself to stay motivated. Don’t worry about what is to come just do what you can right now. In the beginning of running, it can be hard to motivate yourself but stay true! Every time you let yourself end early or cut yourself short, you’re training your brain to give up. If you can’t run the last mile, walk it. If you have to take a break, take a break but don’t quit. It’s true, especially in running, quitters never win. Every run is a chance to prove to yourself you can do it. End every run feeling successful, not like a quitter. Don’t let yourself down or you’ll start to associate running with being disappointed in yourself. Treat every run like a race and do your best. The feeling of success will lead you through.
My Mind Game:
I play mind games all the time when I run, especially when it’s a long distance. If I’m in mile 9 of 12 here’s what I tell myself:
“You’ve already started mile 9 so it’s almost mile 10. You know you can run two miles because you just did it. Keep going. It’s almost over. Oh look, mile 10! I’m practically done now! See that stop sign, it’s only one mile from the end…….ok maybe not that stop sign but it’s got to be the next one. You can do this.”
Somehow, I still believe myself! I always love the half way point because you know it’s half over. Usually, if you make it half way, you can finish! Sometimes I can think about how many miles are left, sometimes all I can do is get to the next intersection, and then the next and then the next. Either way though, I’m making it to the end because I don’t give up on myself. I’m not always happy with how I ran but I always know I’m making myself stronger and lapping everyone at Taco Bell. I don’t stop when I’m tired, I stop when I’m done. If I stopped when I was tired, I might not ever leave the house. Every time I’m true to myself and complete a run, it teaches my brain that I can be successful at whatever I want to do! 