The 1 Step to Becoming a Lifelong Runner
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I saw my neighbor at our local coffee shop, and we were both ordering their famous cinnamon rolls.
“Yeah, baby, we earned these, right?” I said behind her.
She turned with a weak smile. “Maybe you have. I saw you running today. I haven’t run in months.”
“Oh no! You injured?” I asked.
“No, just crazy busy.”
The conversation trailed off in a different direction before we left with our warm treats.
Another friend messaged me writing that I had inspired her to run, and that she had run three miles that day.
A few weeks later I asked her how the running was going, and she explained that she had stopped due to pain in her Achilles heel.
“I think I need better shoes, but I don’t know where to start with that. So many choices!” she wrote.
While both my friend and my neighbor stopped running for different reasons (busy vs. injury), I’ll argue that ultimately they failed at maintaining their running program for the same one reason:
They failed to cultivate a runner’s mindset FIRST.
“If you train your mind for running, everything else will be easy” — Amby Burfoot
Training your mind must begin before training your legs.
For some of us, this mindset is planted by a great running coach in high school, (or in my case, because I had a crush on a boy on the cross country team.)
What does the runner’s mindset look like?
- A runner knows that they will be running for life, not for a year and not for one race.
- A runner knows that some days will be really, really, bad and some days will be off-the-chart amazing. Both come and go.
- A runner knows that a good run has just as much, if not more, to do with how we live our life when not running as what happens during the run.
Let’s take a closer look at #1 — A runner’s mindset embraces running for life, not just to lose a bit of weight or to run a race.
Creating your runner’s mindset: habit formation
To develop a mindset that running is a lifelong endeavor, you must consciously work to make it a habit. (I recommend reading The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg.).
Consistency trumps everything, especially at the beginning of your running journey.
Avoid a haphazard plan. Run at the same time every day.
If it’s an off day, then walk, strength train, cross train, or do yoga, but keep the running time sacred for workouts.
- Have visual cues in place: Your running clothes out; A spot marked on your daily calendar
- Have a dedicated time: I strongly recommend mornings. Read more here.
- Have a reward ready: If you get your run in, then you get to take a nap. (I am not recommending cinnamon rolls everyday!)
- Double up your motivation: Have a favorite book, podcast, or prayer app ready to go, so you’ll have a second reason to get out the door.
Creating your runner’s mindset: your BUILDING a runner’s body, not tapping into one.
Building anything, but especially a strong body that will last for miles, and more importantly for years, takes time and requires starting small.
Mindfully and actively make the decision to build mileage slowly, and I mean slowly.
When you build mileage slowly, you are giving your body time to adapt.
Both muscles and bones must adapt to the load running creates. This is a slow, but valuable process.
However, if your mind is racing toward a running goal, the body won’t be able to keep up, and you’ll get injured.
After years of inconsistent running due to an undiagnosed injury, I started back by only running one minute and then walking for five minutes. That’s it. Six minutes outside.
But, I did it every day. Yes, when you’re doing that little, you can safely do it everyday.
You are not only cultivating the habit, but you are beginning the process of loading your muscles and bones, very, very gently.
The next week, I increased my running time to two minutes and my walking time to seven minutes.
And so forth.
It took me a good four-five weeks to get to a mile, but I didn’t care because I was going to run for the rest of my life.
That was 2017, and I haven’t been injured since. Currently, I’m training for an ultra-marathon.
Give your body the time it needs by slowing down your mind and embracing the long process of gently and correctly building mileage.
At this point in the process, I do not recommend signing up for any races. It’ll speed up your mind.
Build a strong base. You want to be able to run 4–5 miles comfortably before signing up for a 5K.
Once you have a solid base and if you want to keep increasing mileage, then do so only at 10% per week.
So if you’ve worked up to 5 miles a day at 5 times a week, then the following week, you can add 2.5 miles. Those 2.5 miles are best added by spreading them out through the days, such as adding a half-mile to each day.
Tomorrow, we’ll discuss the second component of a runner’s mindset: A runner knows that some days will be really, really, bad and some days will be off-the-chart amazing. Both come and go.
Run and be brave!
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