Welcome to Part 4 of a series of short posts to help you start and establish a running habit. Unlike many beginner running articles we WON’T start with the first step outside but rather by tackling some of the obstacles that lurk behind the front door so that you can smooth the pathway to progress.

In Part 3, we began the process of looking for some impactful actions. Those behaviours that will be gateways to starting and  sustaining your bigger running habit.

In this post we take a different perspective to find behaviours that might be a bit less obvious but much easier to use as a starting point for your running journey.

Grab your notebook and pen.

At the top of the page write down your running goal from Part 1 and divide the page into 4 sections.

We’re going to introduce 4 different frames to help prompt your thoughts.

The first is "Can't fail" - here we are asking what you would do if you 100% knew you were going to achieve and maintain your day 1 goal? If it was already totally embedded as a habit?  Would you perhaps…

• Enter a race for next year? 

• Create a training plan?

• Invest in a running watch?

Now consider "Magic Wand" - this  is about dreaming really big and thinking about what you would do to achieve your goal if you had a magic wand . Would you…

• Hire a PT?

• Reduce hours at work and replace it with training time?

• Arrange an interview with your favourite professional runner?

The third frame looks at the advice your best friend would give you? Think about the person whose opinion and suggestions you value and write down what they would suggest you do to meet your running goal. 

And finally, you can look at the question very practically....what could you do that you know is well within your reach? This section is likely to include some of your ideas from Part 3.

Now let’s review each of the suggestions using 4 questions.

This will help us to identify at least 1 impactful action to get you started.

Consider each idea from above in turn and ask yourself...

1. While I may have written this as an "out there" suggestion, is there a more realistic version of this behaviour or action? If so, write down the more ‘do-able’ behaviour.

2. On a scale of 1 to 10, how big an impact could this behaviour have in helping me get started on my running journey. If 7 or above, mark with a star.

3. Can I get myself to do this action or behaviour even on days when motivation is very, very low. If yes, mark with a heart.

4. Is this a one off or more regular behaviour? If regular, circle the action/behaviour.

Now look for the behaviours that have a star, heart and circle and choose the one that most resonates with you and will have the biggest impact on getting you to the running start line.

This is your gateway habit. As I said in part 1, this habit may bear very little resemblance to your ultimate running goal. It may not involve running at all! That’s OK! The purpose of this exercise is to overcome those little things that can trip us up and prevent progress in the longer term.

Once we have identified our starter habit, we need to find the best ‘hook’ to hang it on…

Over the next couple of days capture a list of all the habitual things you do daily, from getting up to going to bed. Include EVERYTHING, even if it seems too obvious or too small to put on the list. For example:

• Wake up

• Check phone

• Go for a wee

• Shower

• Clean Teeth

• Get dressed

• Go downstairs

• Empty dishwasher

• Make packed lunches…

You get the idea!

We’re looking for the behaviour that make the most sense to act as a trigger for your new gateway habit.

To give an example:

After I brush my teeth at night, I will lay my running clothes and trainers.”

Brushing teeth is the TRIGGER, laying out kit and trainers is the GATEWAY HABIT

Once you have identified your trigger and gateway habit, repeat this (and only this) behaviour for a week or so (remember to return your kit and trainers to the cupboard in the morning when you see them) until you notice that it is becoming automatic and you are feeling mega-frustrated that you haven’t actually put your kit on yet! At this point, add on another tiny action to your new trigger.

To continue our example:

When I see my kit and trainers on the bedroom chair, I will put them on and step out the front door.

Continue this gateway habit, until it feels automatic and frustratingly simple, then rinse and repeat, stacking on tiny micro habits as you go.

Once I have stepped out the front door, I will jog for 2 minutes…

Before you know it, you’ll be a runner!

If you would like support with any aspect of what I’ve shared in these last 4 blogs, check out my FREE Master your First Mile Programme, where you are guaranteed my personal support to get you running!

Good luck!

Kelly

Welcome to Part 3 of this series of short blogs designed to help you start and maintain a running habit by first focusing on the toughest part, overcoming the barriers that stop you getting out the front door.

In Part 2 we explored reasons why your running habit might not have ‘stuck’ in the past. If you missed this blog, take 5 minutes to think about the real reason for wanting to become a runner, that deep down WHY that drives you and then commit to a running goal that you can achieve within 30 days.

• Run or Run/Walk 1 mile

• Run/Walk 2 times a week

Now reflect on all the reasons AND excuses you have preventing you from starting to run. Capture these in writing too.

Now let’s consider the core question for today:

How can I make my running goal as easy as possible to achieve?

To do that we’e going to look at the goal through three different lenses:

1. Current skill level

2. Your environment

3. Size and scale of the goal

Don’t worry if nothing comes up for the first couple of these lenses, I guarantee you will be able to find something significant for size and scale.

Consider your current skill level…

Can you make your running goal easier by improving your skills or knowledge? On the surface this might sound like a ridiculous question, but here are some examples.

• Could you find out more about your current running gait and research the best shoes to make sure your feet are comfortable?

• Could you learn more about Jeffing and the best run/walk ratio for starting your running habit?

Now consider your environment…

Can you make a running habit easier to start by changing the environment in which you run? This could refer to where, who with, or time of day.

For example:

• Would renting a treadmill for home, make it easier to get on it and start moving rather than having to think about a route, the weather etc. Remember this is just about getting started and the financial investment in the treadmill rental can act as a motivator too!

• Could you find a friend who would be willing to commit to your goal and run with you?

• If you’ve always tried to run before of after work in the past, can you give yourself permission to get out during working hours (and make up the time if you have an employer to keep happy). You can always drop in how much more productive you’ll be after getting your heart rate going!

• Do you need a consistent routine or is it better if you plan at the beginning of each week when you can run?

Now let’s think about the size and scale of your running goal…

First of all, I want to make clear that we are not abandoning the running goal you set out earlier, we are simply exploring ways to make getting started easier. One of the most successful ways of doing this is to start small, ridiculously small, so small that it almost doesn’t feel worth performing the activity.

Here are a couple of examples:

• I want to run 3 times a week becomes I will run once a week for 5 minutes

• I want to be able to run a mile comfortably becomes I will run 100 metres slowly

What will your ridiculously small action be?

Feel free to email and let me know at connect@clubsynergy.co.uk

Good luck and see you soon for Part 4.

Kelly

If you caught Part 1 you’ll know that this series of shorts blogs approaches starting running from a bit of a different standpoint. (Pun very much intended!).

Part 1 focused on getting really clear about our real reasons for wanting to start a running habit, in part 2 we explore what has stopped us from starting in the past, the things that have derailed previous attempts so that we can make the path to success sooooo much smoother.

Are you prepared to be really honest with yourself?

Note down all the reasons AND EXCUSES (you know which are which!) that have prevented you from developing a running habit in the past.

The purpose of writing these down is to uncover clues about where we really need to start with building our running habit. In the days to come you may be surprised to learn that the first step in your running journey is actually something that seems totally unconnected to your desired end goal….trust the process when those doubts pop up.

Sit with your list over the course of a few hours or even days and add to it as things come to mind.

There will be some things on the list that you might feel embarrassed about or question why you can’t seem to get over the barrier. This is 100% to be expected and is shared by almost all people, if not in relation to running, then certainly about another healthy habit that is proving challenging to embed.

Finding a way to overcome these things on your list is at the heart of priming you for success this time around.

As always, you can get me at connect@clubsynergy.co.uk with any questions.

See you for part 3 soon,

Kelly