Written by Mireille Sine, MPH, Certified Running Coaching
Mireille Sine, MPH is certified run coach and lupus endurance athlete with over 15 years of running experience. She is the founder of Coached By Mireille, a virtual and in-person coaching service with a mission of helping road, trail, and autoimmine athletes run with confidence & joy.
Have you been curious about incorporating running into your routine but don’t know where to start? Are you tired of quitting running after one month? You’ve come to the right place! As a certified run coach and distance athlete, there is nothing I love more than getting people excited about running. In this article, I will share 6 tips to help you not only build a running habit, but stick to it for long-term success!
A brief history of running
Running is as old as man itself. Once used as a means of survival from the days of hunting & gathering, running grew into a sport at the advent of the modern Olympics and became an opportunity to build community, test prowess, and improve health. You might be familiar with the story of Phidippides, a Greek runner who had been sent to run from Marathon to Athens to announce the defeat of the invading Persian army and is thus credited with the creation of the Modern Olympic Marathon (26.2 miles). Fast forward to 1896 where the first Official Olympic Games were held in Athens to 2024 where Paris will host its latest Summer iteration, it’s clear that the running bug has been caught all around the world.
Why running can feel difficult
Doing too much too soon: Increasing your mileage too soon can put you at risk for injury and burnout, thus taking the joy out of running.
Being inconsistent: Being inconsistent doesn’t give your body a chance to adapt to the stimuli of running so every time you get out for a run, it feels like it’s the first time.
Not fueling & hydrating enough: Food and hydration are essential not only for day-to-day living, but for performance and recovery as well. Except to increase your food and hydration as you start to run.
Not sleeping enough: Sleeping is the ultimate recovery tool. Sleeping enough helps keep your mind and body healthy.
Not working with a positive mindset: Using a positive mindset and self talk can be instrumental in building mental fortitude as well as setting and achieving goals
Benefits of running
Regular running has been proven to provide many benefits, including building strong bones, improving cardiovascular fitness, and strengthening muscles, to name a few. It can significantly improve mental health, self-confidence, quality of life, and healthy aging. Are you ready to reap these benefits? Let’s break down the seven tips to get started!
7 tips to help you start & keep running
1. Write down your goals
It is important to be honest and realistic about your goals when you start to run. Do you want to build fitness, lose weight, or train for a race? Do you want to address a health concern or maybe
win an office bet? There is no right or wrong answer here as long as it is honest and well thought out.
The science behind writing goals
Writing things down happens on two levels according to neuroscience. The first level is external storage meaning that the act of writing things down on paper helps to really cement those goals to a physical location making it easier to access and review. The second level is encoding. Encoding is “the biological process by which the things we perceive travel to our brain’s hippocampus where they’re analyzed.” In layman's term: goals that are written down have a great chance of being remembered.
2. Start with walking
We briefly touched on how doing too much too soon can lead to burnout and thus more inconsistency with running. In my experience, many people struggle to start and keep running because they don’t believe they are allowed to walk. In reality, you are always allowed to walk during a run! In fact, I recommend being a strong and consistent walker before you start to run. Start with comfortably walking 2-3 miles at one time, three times a week. Walking is a great way to strengthen your muscles and bones before introducing the impact of running.
3. Practice the run/walk method
Once you are comfortable walking several times per week, you are ready to introduce running segments into those walks.The Run/Walk Method was popularized by Jeff Galloway in 1974 as a way to prevent injuries, improve recovery, improve finish times, and more. It is an easy way to slowly introduce running into your walking routine.
How to run/walk
To use this method, start with short intervals such as running for 15 seconds then walking for 45 seconds 5-7 times during your walk. Overtime, these run/walk intervals should increase as you build stamina. Eventually, your run intervals should continue increasing while your walk intervals decrease to build and maintain your endurance. A sample workout as you begin to advance can look like: 10 minutes of a walking warm up followed by 3 minutes of running with 1 minute of walking repeated 5 times. Then end with 5-10 minutes of walking to cool down.
There is no set timeline for when to increase your intervals as this will depend on your individual fitness level.
4. Invest in the right gear
In order to sustain this habit, you will want to invest in clothes and shoes meant to handle physical activity. This includes:
Running shoes: Make sure they are comfortable and fit well. You should be able to wiggle your toes while you’re wearing them. They shouldn’t be too worn down as that means the shoes will provide less support and traction. A running specialty store can help you find the right fit.
Tops & Bottoms: Your running shirts and bottoms would ideally be made of sweat wicking, breathable, and stretchable material meant to keep you cool & dry without limiting your ability to move comfortably.
Undergarments: For the ladies, finding a sports bra that fits well without being too constricting is crucial for running comfort. Running underwear can also be a subtle option for both men and women as they can help prevent chafing and provide comfort on the run.
5. Find a community
Finding a running community, whether it be virtual or online, can help keep you accountable while sharing runs with like-minded people can make the process of running more enjoyable. I might be biased here, but the running community is made up of some of the most supportive people around! I would not have had the courage to run my first marathon if it weren’t for my local community. Conduct a quick search of your local run clubs and see when they meet. A lot of clubs now-a-days are very social, meaning their runs are usually paired with an event, such as grabbing coffee, in an effort to get more people to connect.
6. Sign up for a race
Running a race can seem like a daunting task, but you would be surprised how motivating it is to have a race on your calendar. Signing up for a race can make training more impactful as you know that your goal has a deadline. Having this goal in mind can also make your training more structured & purposeful, especially as you are still building your running habit. There is also a lot of camaraderie when it comes to training for a race, so don’t be afraid to share your goal with your new running community!
7. Celebrate your success
Celebrating your achievements is an important part of building self-esteem and self-confidence while maintaining motivation. Celebrate that first run/walk. Celebrate when you get those new shoes. Celebrate signing up for a race! There are many reasons and opportunities to celebrate the beginning of your running journey. And I would love it if you could share your successes with me!
Let’s work together to build a sustainable running habit
Are you ready to build and commit to your running journey? As a certified run coach, I help runners of all abilities learn to move with joy and confidence while providing personalized guidance, accountability, and a dash of motivation when they need it. Take the first step to experiencing all the benefits of running by completing this no obligation interest form. Your future self will thank you and I look forward to cheering you on!
Read more from Mireille Sine
Mireille Sine, MPH, Certified Running Coaching
Mireille Sine, MPH has a passion for helping road, trail, and autoimmune athletes run with confidence and joy. She is the founder of Coached By Mireille and a USATF Level 1 certified and 80/20 Endurance Certified Coach. Mireille offers dedicated and personalized 1:1 coaching to level up their endurance performance and as an athlete with lupus, she is also uniquly qualified to help autoimmune athletes navigate the hurdles of training. Whether you want to run your first 5k or PR your next marathon, Mireille can guide you to the start and finish line.
