For most of my life, I haven’t been an athletic person. I barely played any sports throughout primary school and high school. But sometime after high school, I discovered that I really like walking and so I started walking a lot more often. I didn’t really do it for fitness, it was just something I found relaxing and therapeutic. In January, I decided to try running and I discovered that I really enjoy it too. I’m still very much a beginner, and my progress is very slow and steady but I thought it might be useful to share some tips on how I started a running habit:
1. Begin slowly
I was walking consistently for about two years before I started running. As I mentioned before, I’m not naturally inclined to sports hence it took me a very long time to progress in my fitness journey. So I would definitely advise anyone looking to start running that they should try walking first. This is especially true if (like me) you haven’t had much experience with sports and fitness. It helps to begin with a manageable pace and distance then slowly build up to where you desire to be. When I first started, even a 20-minute walk would leave me totally exhausted. But after several months, I could comfortably walk for upto 2 hours.
2. Be consistent
When I first started walking, my usual route to school involved a 30-minute walk, hence that meant that I was able to cover this distance at least 5 times a week. A really common mistake that people make is that they begin an incredibly intensive workout program which they ultimately quit because it becomes too difficult to remain consistent. Hence, don’t punish yourself. Choose a pace and distance that you can comfortably manage whether you’re walking or running and then stay committed.
Nowadays, I run consistently 5-6 times a week. At my current pace, I’m covering about 3.5 km in 30 minutes and my goal is to be able to cover 5 km in 30 minutes by the end of next year. I love to run first thing in the morning before I prepare for school. Since I do my workouts quite early when it’s still dark, I’m not able to run outdoors during weekdays due to safety concerns and unpredictable weather. To solve this, I’ve come up with a playlist of fitness YouTube videos that allow me to do my workouts at home. This makes it easier to remain consistent. For those looking to find indoor running videos, Leslie Sansone and Pahla B Fitness are really great channels that you should definitely check out. I really enjoy watching the sunrise, so whenever possible, I try to run outdoors especially over the weekends when I have more time in the morning.
3. Be safe
It is extremely important to always wear the right shoes when running. I experienced repeated ankle sprains earlier this year and I discovered that this was mostly due to a lack of proper footwear. When running indoors, I used to go barefoot however I discovered that my ankles are naturally weak hence I always need to wear the right shoes whenever I’m working out. After correcting my mistake and doing regular ankle strengthening exercises, I’m happy to report that my ankles are doing much better 🙂 If you have any health concerns or if you ever feel dizzy or nauseated when working out, be sure to consult your doctor.
4. Be mindful
I love running because it’s a passive sport that gives me a great opportunity to get lost in my thoughts. I usually pray when running and this has really improved my spiritual life. Whenever I have an issue that’s really bothering me, I like to take a long walk to process everything. When running, it helps when you’re doing it in a mindful way such that your focus isn’t on how exhausted your body is feeling or else you might end up dreading the experience and counting the seconds till you finish. If you enjoy the process and focus your thoughts on something else, then you won’t even notice the time passing by.
5. Be patient
As mentioned before, I tend to take a very long time to make meaningful progress in terms of fitness. This might not be the case with everyone, however as a general rule, fitness takes time. So don’t worry if it seems like you’re not seeing results within the first few weeks. I always give myself an interval of at least 2 months before increasing the distance and pace for my daily workouts. If you’re running for weight loss, patience is key. Some people can lose a lot of weight within their first month, while others (like me) take a longer time before seeing any significant change. And that is absolutely fine. Good things take time, so be kind to yourself and run your own race 🙂
-RR🌸
Relaxed Ruby 