Welcome back! Hope your Holidays were magical! I fought back the Holiday calories and managed to stay pretty consistent with my running throughout the month, though intentionally backed off a bit to recover physically and mentally from the Fall marathon training...and do some extra Holiday eating! As much as I love running, I definitely needed to step back for a couple of weeks.This week, I only logged 16 miles, including a weekend 9 miler around the city. And, now I’m ready to get back to an ‘off-season’ cadence of 3 weekly runs… 2 weekday 5-7 milers and then a weekend 9-12 miler.
Are you ready to start running? I regularly hear from people motivated to run, but discouraged because their current fitness level won’t get ‘em very far. Don’t let your current physical condition stop you…if anything, let it motivate you and set small weekly goals for yourself! You may not be able to run a marathon now, but if you start now, you may be surprised how quickly you progress….and it’s a slow progression, don’t get discouraged as we all run at our own pace…but feel confident you will continue to improve!
If you can only run a mile …or less…run a mile today and then run another one mid-week and then gradually add another quarter mile in the next couple of weeks…and then gradually keep building your distance.The only way to become a better runner….is running! Seriously, you’re not alone. Most of us were in your ‘running’ shoes when we started. Look at my friend Janice…she’s got the right attitude. Here’s her Runkeeper recap from Thursday! She got out there and ran a mile and didn’t care that it was only mile and didn’t care about her pace. She understands the only way to run 2 miles is to run a mile! Congrats Janice!
Are you ready to run? Here are some suggestions!
- Set a series of small goals. (i.e. “I’m going to run x miles each week”). As Desmond Tutu Desmond Tutu once said,“there is only one way to eat an elephant: a bite at a time.”
- Set a bigger, achievable goal (i.e “I’m going to run Broad Street in May”)
- Find a running buddy (or running club)!
- Set running appointments on your calendar
- Make yourself accountable! Share your progress with your social media friends! Even though you’re running for YOU, they will likely be a great support system and you will feel accountable to keeping it going!
- And remember, ‘The hardest thing about running is tying your shoes’ - @Radio1045Johnny
Also, don’t let the Winter weather intimidate you. Winter running is great with the proper gear … as long as we’re clear of ice and accumulated snow! Now, get out there and lace up...hopefully, I'll see you out on the path this week. Any comments/suggestions? Tweet 'em at me @Radio1045Johnny