For years I wanted to run consistently. I struggled with motivation and became a master at excuses until eventually even I realised how silly they were and stopped making excuses. I discovered it was really about priorities, mindset and identity.
Priorities
Years ago, there was a gym at my work and my desk was right in the path of everyone going to the gym. I noticed a few people who went every day. The consistency impressed me, but it also didn’t make sense to me. How were they doing it? I asked them. One said it was a priority for them. That made sense, but I couldn’t see how I could make it a priority in my work and life. Another said that they blocked the time in their diary like a meeting. That was interesting, but I couldn’t believe it was possible for me. Meetings were unpredictable. My job required me to be available.
Years later I realised they were both right. And my responses were excuses. Of course I could prioritise it. If it was important enough to me, it was a priority. At that time, it obviously wasn’t as important as other things in my life. Reflecting on it, I think it was more complicated. I didn’t know how to train, so I didn’t know what I would do if I went to the gym regularly.
As for putting it in my calendar, it didn’t have to be part of my working day. I could book it before or after work and treat It like any other appointment.
Mindset
In 2020 I signed up for my third attempt to Run the Year. 2020 miles in 2020. I was determined but got off to a predictably inconsistent start. My old patterns kept showing up. Then COVID hit and I turned it into an opportunity to run. Working from home, I was saving time on my commute, and I was able to use this time to run.
I was surprised to find I could run consistently, day after day. It wasn’t straightforward. I completely misjudged my training and got injured a couple of times, this meant that I almost had to give up on my challenge. I was disappointed when the Great North Run was cancelled. But it also meant I no longer had to choose between my mile challenge or the half marathon.
Being injured and focused on my goal taught me that running was more in my head than I realised. I knew this. When I did the New York Marathon, I discovered the mental side of running. But this was different. This wasn’t a one day, statement event. This was day after day, mile after mile.
In August I still had over 1000 miles to run. I reached the stage where I couldn’t increase my miles before work anymore, time was a factor, but I was also too tired to work. I’d always wanted to try running twice a day. To me that felt like a ‘real’ runner. I’ve no idea why, but it did. This shift taught me more about being a runner than anything else I did before or have done since. I learned about pace, intensity, training load. To run twice a day, I had to learn to run slow.
Identity
Running slow was initially at odds with my idea of a ‘runner’. Surely I couldn’t be a runner and run slow. That didn’t sound right. And yet, if I wanted to complete my challenge, I had to run slow. I eventually realised that pace didn’t really have anything to do with my definition of running. I learned about relative pace and I became comfortable with mine.
I’m not sure I realised it at the time, but underpinning everything was my goal of seeing myself as a runner. There’s a whole debate about what a ‘runner’ is, which I won’t go into here. It’s enough to know that I had my own idea of who a runner is and that’s what drove me forward. Later, I read Atomic Habits by James Clear and came to understand that this identity shift was core to my success and is what was really driving me.
Building the habit
In 2020, running became a habit. I no longer had the luxury of being able to choose if I ran. If I wanted to hit my goal I had to run. Procrastination had been my biggest stumbling block and now it wasn’t an option. The question each day became ‘when will I run’ not ‘will I run’. This change in mindset proved to be crucial. I found the best plan was to run at the same time every day but to not be too hard on myself and adjust to suit my schedule where I needed to. I love running in the mornings and the evenings. So that’s what I did.
The difference between my 2020 success in finding a way to run consistently and previous attempts is that it became a habit. I had a month off at the start of 2021 but found I missed the daily run, the lack of procrastination and how it felt to think of myself as a runner.
When I struggle with tiredness, stress or having ‘bad’ runs, I know I will run anyway. I might procrastinate about when, or struggle with injury or training plans. But I no longer ask myself ‘if’ I will run. That’s the key to consistency.
Find your consistency
Have you got something you want to achieve? Consider how, or, if, you prioritise it. Look at your mindset to see if there’s anything you need to change. What is the identity story you tell yourself? Work on one of these at a time and see what change you can create.
If you would like someone in your corner cheering you on, book a call. I am a mindset and run coach who works with stop-start runners to find their consistency.
