A while ago, I put this question out to the running community and could not believe the response that it got….
"What is / was your #1 single, biggest challenge when you started running?"
Now... we’ve all been there as beginners, even some of the fastest runners you know probably began with those awkward, embarrassing first runs / walks and suffered from the same things that we do, but even with that in mind, I did not expect people of all experiences, shapes, sizes, abilities, ages to contribute to this debate. I don’t know what I expected to be honest, but certainly not the detail and emotive comment that I got back. The responses certainly gave me a renewed want to try and help people by addressing these issues in my coaching.
One of the main issues that came through in the responses was that of wanting to go longer, harder and faster every time you run. This topic was prompted by Ruby, who said...
"For me (the number one challenge..) was the idea that I had to go longer and harder and faster every time. As soon as I was fit enough to run for 20 minutes I'd push for 30, then 40 the next week and so on, unsurprisingly I got injured and fatigued and decided that was a sign I just wasn't meant to be a runner."
Abbie also picked up on the same theme and said that her number one challenge was …
“a combination of always getting injured by going too hard too soon, and pushing myself to meet previous fitness levels that I am trying to match straight off the bat.”
This want to go longer, harder and faster every time is actually really common. I see it A LOT. People believe that runners run fast, they run for a long time and they run all the time. To be fair that is what it looks like on Instagram isn’t it? So the thinking goes that if you want to be a runner you have to do the same, straight away.
If you are a beginner runner, starting from scratch, that is just not going to happen. As both Abbie and Ruby said, the result of their efforts to do this was that they got injured and ended up further back than when they started. Ruby even decided that it "was a sign I just wasn't meant to be a runner.” How frustrating is that!?!
As I see it, our want to go longer, harder and faster every time comes from three things:
Our impatience to get better, quicker.
Whether our expectations are actually realistic.
Comparing ourselves with other runners
So, as a coach, what can I say to help address these three points above?
Here’s a few tips to get you started...
Start with where you are at. I used this phrase recently with a runner coming back from injury and it applies to runners just starting out as well. If you are run / walking, that is fine! Don’t panic. Thats where you are at. The key here is to be honest with where you are at, rather than where you want to be. I often start behind where people are at, just to make sure that we have got the basics covered and a solid base to work from.
Don’t make huge jumps in the amount of training that you are doing. This is we see that impatience kick in. Remember if you go from 20 mins running one day to 30 minutes running the next, that is a 50% increase in one day. Too much, too soon. Also remember that these runs do not have to be at the same speed as Usain Bolt. Run easy and controlled at first. Use your breathing as an indicator of whether you are going too hard. You will feel better for it and massively reduce your risk of injury.
You don’t have to train every day. The key is patience and consistent training over time. That approach will serve you best, not one solid week of training and then a week off because you have shin splints. Thankfully, consistency doesn’t mean training every day, it means training smart, recovering properly and repeating the process. Trust me, it gets results.
Be realistic, not aspirational in your planning. Planning and structure helps keep you on track and accountable. Take a little bit of time to plan and structure your next few weeks. This plan should tell you what you are going to be doing each day to help you improve, even if the plan says “rest day." Be realistic rather than aspirational in how much time you can commit and base it around your existing work, family and social commitments. Think about when are the three easiest times of the week for you to run, and schedule runs into your plan at those times. It could be Tuesday mornings before work or midnight on Thursdays, who cares? Each person is different and this is your plan, not anyone else's! The bonus of having a plan is that you can also tick boxes and see the progress that you are making. Some people decide that this is the point where they would get a coach to help them out, and that is fine too.
ARE YOU A FIRST TIME MARATHONER?? We are now taking on new runners and are beginning a 16 week Training Program leading into Great Ocean Marathon in May. This training program is ideal for first time marathoners and begins on Monday January 27th 2020. You can find out more here.