Someone told me once that if I wasn’t running, it just wasn’t a priority for me. I pushed back. I argued that I genuinely wanted to run, that I just didn’t have the time. They weren’t convinced, and eventually I realised they were right. Running with a busy schedule isn’t about time.
Running wasn’t a priority. That’s why I kept struggling to fit it in.
The advice sounded harsh, but it was useful. Making running a priority made the difference for me. It wasn’t about finding more time; it was about prioritising and timing.
The practical side
I run at 5am. That wasn’t an overnight adjustment, but I came to love it. Getting it done before the day starts means nothing can get in the way. Lunchtime runs sound good in theory, I’ve tried and I like them, but when I started my streak, my work was unpredictable enough that I couldn’t rely on that window being there. Now, I know I’m going to run so it’s stuck in my head until it’s done.
When I first started prioritising running, I would plan a week at a time. On Sunday I looked at what was in my diary, work commitments, anything personal, and work out where the runs fit. I knew the distances, the routes, the sessions in advance. So, if something changed in my day, it was easier to reschedule than start the thinking process from scratch. Improvising on the day didn’t work for me.
When I’m training for an event and not just keeping my streak going, I use a programme rather than making it up as I go. Without one, I’d default to the same route at the same distance every time, which gets old fast and doesn’t move anything forward.
When things don’t go to plan
It won’t always go to plan. That’s just training. I’ve got better at adjusting, cutting a distance to fit the time I have. It’s OK to drop a session that isn’t essential one week. This is an adjustment, not a failure. The biggest change was forgiving myself for a missed run and picking up the next day. My habit was to wait until the following Monday to start again.
Related to prioritising, the other lesson I learned was choice. If a run didn’t happen and I spent that hour watching TV, that was a choice. Not a time problem. Knowing the difference matters.
It’s not complicated
Plan ahead, get up early, be honest with yourself about your choices. Knowing what to do and doing it aren’t the same thing. The weeks where you get derailed aren’t usually about time. They’re about energy, or priorities that change, or just not feeling like it.
The hardest part wasn’t the 5am alarm or the missed sessions. It was stopping myself from waiting until Monday to start again. Once I sorted that, the rest was just running.
Want to create your running habit? Book a call.
