4 Tips to Transform Anyone Into a Runner

How To Go From 0 miles to 8 miles

 

Disclaimer: I am not a professional runner or medical professional. This is simply a representation of the results of my own personal experience and is not guaranteed to train you to become a runner. 

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Okay so I know there is a lot of posts out there and training guides called Couch to 5k or Couch to 10k (which sound way cooler and roll of the tongue a lot smoother), but those aren’t accurate representations of my journey. My journey consisted of no running at all to running 8 miles. If I can run, then ANYONE can run. I know that may sound cliche… but seriously, I was NEVER a runner until last year. Let me explain…

Last January friends of mine “bullied” me into signing up to run a full marathon RELAY (emphasis on the word “relay”). Meaning each runner runs a portion of the full marathon. There were five of us on the team and my particular leg of the race was 6.3 miles. (See instigators below… this was our team AFTER our successful relay).

At the time when I was FORCED into this torturous race, the thought of running 6 miles all in a row scared the pants off me! But it was only January and a long way until October so the procrastinator in me decided to put off worrying about it, knowing I would figure something out as it got closer.

April approached and the weather started getting warmer and I thought I would get started with my “training”. I called it training to make it sound professional, though I wasn’t following a real plan of any sort. My only plan at the time was to run and then run again and again until I worked my way up to that 6 mile mark.

My goals were simple:

• Run 6 miles in a row
• Average pace 10 min/mile
• Don’t die

Looking at those goals now, they seem tiny. However when I vocally declared them on Facebook last April, they were my Everest! (Fun Fact About Me: I like to declare my big scary goals on social media to 100s of people because it holds me accountable. If I don’t tell anyone about my big scary goal, it is super easy to quit on myself. It is much harder to quit knowing that someone might ask me how my “relay” went. Try it! It’s a great motivator!)

So I ran my first run of the year and in 20 minutes I covered 1.5 miles and I thought I was going to die! That averaged out to just over a 13 minute mile. Far from great, but I liked having the baseline so I could measure improvement. However, I wasn’t sure how I was going to go about improving upon my run, when I felt so awful completing it. Either way, I was committed to the relay, so I had to come up with a plan.

So I sat down and did 2 things:

1. I followed hundreds of runners on Instagram… I’m telling you, watching other runners succeed, persevere and struggle has been so inspiring. There are some amazingly gifted runners out there and a lot of them hang out in IG!
2. I researched running plans and came up with my own that fit my lifestyle and goals. Some think my plan is crazy, but it worked for me and believe it or not, it doesn’t involve that much running.

So, are you curious what I did???

Let me share.

In January, around the same time I signed up for the dreaded marathon relay, I also discovered something that I like to call “Sweatflix” (though that’s not what it’s really called). It is a library of hundreds of workouts, meal plans and schedules from the best celebrity trainers. I LOVE it because I work out on my schedule and never get bored because there is just so much to choose from.

So from January on I had been using the “Sweatflix” as my primary workout source and was working out 5-6 days a week. In my research, I had learned that weight training was equally as important as running when training for long distance. So when I decided to start “training” for my run in April, I chose a workout program that included weights, cardio and HIIT intervals to do Monday through Friday (never over 30 minutes a day) and then I would run on Saturday mornings. Each week on Saturday I would increase my runs by a half of a mile or so.

I was amazed at how quickly my body was able to gain endurance by running just once a week. By the end of August I had already surpassed all three of my goals for October! I was able to run 8 WHOLE miles, with a pace of around 9 minutes per mile, and I did not die! I was even able to smile when it was over! (See below).

So in summary this is all that I did:

• Worked out 30 minutes a day Monday through Friday with my “Sweatflix“, selecting a program that included some weights, cardio and HIIT exercises
• Ran on Saturdays starting with 1 mile and increased my distance little by little each week

That’s it! Simple, not scary and something that anyone can do!

Let me conclude with 4 Tips to Transform Anyone into a Runner:

• Focus on mental strength: The mind is a powerful muscle and can inhibit even the most physically fit people. Start strengthening the mental muscle by spending time in God’s word everyday. Memorize a verse (or 10) that encourages you and recite it in your head when you are running (maybe even write it on your arm). Also spend some time everyday reading or listening to a little personal development (The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy is great). See how the Simply Fierce Project can help you with this.
• Fuel your body well: I can’t stress this one enough. There is a night and day difference when I eat well all week long versus when I eat like I live in a fraternity house! A well balanced diet should be high in fruits and veggies, protein and good carbs. I like to add in a superfood shake everyday to fill in the nutritional gaps. And lastly, I personally find that eating Mexican the night before a long run makes for an excellent run. Not taco bell, but rather rice, beans, and authentic tamales! I am not sure if this is proven scientifically, but seriously though, I have had some awesome runs after Mexican night!
• Get “Sweatflix“: If you struggle to workout consistently and you can’t get to the gym this is THE perfect solution. Before having this online library at home, I NEVER worked out consistently because I would get bored and I couldn’t leave to go to the gym because we homeschool and I live 30 min from any facility!!! Email me and I will show you how you can try Sweatflix FREE for 14 days!!
• Build a good playlist: Some runners prefer to run to the sound of nature. But for me personally, I can’t stand hearing myself breathe!! Headphones are a must for a successful run in my books. Here are some of my favorite running songs:
  • Drink Up by Train
  • Fix My Eyes by for King & Country
  • Breathe by Johnny Diaz
  • O’Lord by Lauren Daigle
  • Work This Body by Walk the Moon
  • Can’t Hold Us (feat. Ray Dalton) by Macklemore
  • Girl On Fire by Alicia Keys
  • Alone (feat. Tru) by Hollyn
  • Any music by TobyMac

That’s all I’ve got friends! I hope you this fires you up to try and run!! You can do it. You don’t need to have been a runner all your life to start now! Just decide to start where you are and go from there.

Happy Running!

xoxo

Allison