Veteran runners don’t have to think about their next run, or plan very much for it. They just do it. Running has become a habit for them, much like brushing their teeth, eating three meals a day, and going to work Monday through Friday.
Irregular runners, on the other hand, spend more time thinking and plotting than doing. They conjure up a half-dozen questions that must be answered before a run. Am I hydrated enough? Should I buy new shoes first? Where’s my GPS watch? Do I have any dry shorts? And so on.
Members of the latter type find that every run seems to disrupt their day. They haven’t yet learned to make running into a habit—something that is second nature, like buying milk for the kids every time you go to the grocery store.
Fortunately, the science of healthy habit formation has made significant progress in recent years. In a 2012 journal article titled “Making Health Habitual,” three British psychologists laid out the four steps they have found most successful:
Many habit experts also suggest the following practices: Write down your goal, and put it in a place you will see every day. Start simple. Commit to at least thirty days. Enlist the help of family, friends, or social media contacts. Last and most important, get started. There is great power in starting.
Most of us are familiar with the old Chinese proverb “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” So it is with a beginning running program. Similarly, when author/speaker/runner John “The Penguin” Bingham speaks of beginning his fitness journey, he notes, “The miracle isn’t that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start.”
Yes, it takes courage. Yes, you can do it. Just get started.
Run at the same time every day: You brush your teeth and go to work at the same time every day. Your running needs a regular time as well. Many runners prefer the morning, before their daily to-do list expands to an unmanageable length. Also, morning runners report that they feel better and more productive all day long.
Lunch is the second-best time. Skip a heavy meal and head out for 40 minutes with several coworkers. You can eat a whole-grain sandwich and yogurt back at your desk. Can’t fit in a run until after work? So be it. Better late than never.
Establish a ready-set-go routine: This is what the British researchers meant when they outlined their time-place-action system. Sit for 5 minutes with a cup of coffee—morning, noon, or night—and then do your run. Tea or sparkling water are just as good. I like to meditate for 5 minutes before running. I have friends who do several yoga poses before they run. Pick your own routine. Set the stage first, then head out the door.
Reward yourself: You’re not a rat in a cage, but…well, you are a little like a rat in a cage. We all crave rewards for a new habit. The experts agree on this, and the research results are consistently supportive.
There are many great ways to reward yourself after a run, and two bad ones. The bad ones are eating an unhealthy treat that’s high in sugar or fat, and reclining on your sofa the rest of the day. Avoid both.
Instead be creative with your rewards, and make them personally meaningful. My wife likes to sing and prance around the house after a run, declaring herself a goddess of the highest order. Then she fills her appointment book with a half-dozen gold stars to showcase her glimmering brilliance. Me? I’m more understated. I like to put a few key numbers in my training log, so I can add them up at the end of the week, month, and year.
I have friends who put a dollar in a jar after every run, and save up for a special purpose. Some runners make “commitment contracts” on the internet. You can even pledge funds to a charity or political group you don’t like. You’ll have to give them money if you don’t succeed in your new habit. Some research indicates that “negative reinforcement” is stronger than positive reinforcement. Whatever works for you.