Lots of beginner runners think that they need to be motivated to go for a run. This is the case across all aspects of fitness and even nutrition. Motivation is unreliable and fleeting. It can be with you in the morning and have totally left you by the evening. It comes and goes depending on sleep, stress, weather, mood etc. These things can often be out of your control day to day.
When motivation is high the new gear, new goals, the new energy can make you feel unstoppable. You might run 3-4 times in the first week or two. Then reality starts to set in. Things like a long day at work where all you want is to throw the feet up or looking out the window to be greeted by rain, wind and grey skies. Other things like runs feeling especially hard or progress feeling painfully slow. Once reality sets in, motivation usually starts to drain away, that’s when you pull the plug. Motivation cannot be relied upon, it’s a bonus when it is there, but not a foundation.
Consistency isn’t about going all in an unsustainable way like hitting 3-4 runs a week. Setting extreme goals like that will inevitably make you feel like you are failing if you start to miss runs. 1-2 runs or 2-3 runs per week done at a manageable effort repeated over weeks and months builds fitness. Nothing flashy. Nothing overly exciting. Muscle adaptations, stronger bones, ligaments and tendons, increased efficiency and better endurance come from repeated exposure rather than one great week.
When chasing consistency, it’s important to lower the barrier. Set a fixed time like first thing in the morning, lunch time or after work. Keep runs short enough, that way they don’t feel overwhelming, or you feel like you must carve a large amount of time out. This is important at the beginning as it allows you to build up a tolerance to road running. As I have covered in another article. Too many long runs before the body can adapt will lead to injury and halt whatever progress you may have made. Do things that will make it even 5% easier to stay on track. Leave your gear out in advance. Plan out a simple warm up and route to avoid having to think too much about it when the time comes. The less decision making you must make when the time comes the more likely you are to follow through.
Don’t chase perfect runs. Especially at the start lots of us chase faster, longer or better than the previous. This mindset can hurt your consistency as you will feel disheartened or unmotivated when you perceive progress to be slow. You will have runs that feel heavy, runs that feel slow, runs that feel pointless. They all count. A slow easy 20-minute run done consistently beats chasing that elusive perfect run every time.
Before worrying about distance, pace or performance. Focus on showing up. Build the habit of showing up for scheduled sessions. A simple rule to follow is “never skip twice”. Life will certainly throw up some unexpected events and issues that are unavoidable. Missing sessions will happen. Look to the next one and tick it off. Don’t let one missed session turn into a missed week. This can be said for running, strength training, nutrition etc.
Fitness builds quietly. The compounding effect of consistent sessions takes over. At first progress feels slow, runs feel hard but then you begin running longer without stopping, breathing feels easier and recovery improves. The personal bests start coming in. This doesn’t come from motivation. It comes from stacking small repeatable efforts over a period of time.
Most people don’t fail at running because they are unfit. They fail because they stop. Consistency isn’t pretty but it’s the difference between someone giving up after a 5k and someone who runs marathons. Try and focus less on how you feel before a run and look forward to how you will after a run. That’s where the habit begins to build.
