If you would have told me 10 years ago that I would be getting up early on Saturday mornings and look forward to running over an hour, I would have not believed you.
Running has become a space for me to clear my mind, work up a sweat, and also catch up on news/pop culture/and trends. Several years ago, I did a few small adjustments to my running habit which led to a big impact. I no longer was seeing it as a chore to exercise or burn calories, but a time I enjoyed. Here is a summary of a few of the changes below, I hope that if you are finding a way to enjoy running or any type of habit, even one of these help you!
Reset your Mindset
This is probably the biggest factor for building any habit! Once my job demands increased and I found myself teethered to my phone, running became a time to be "offline". My smartwatch is not connected with our data plan, so when I'm out of range of my phone, I cannot receive texts or calls. My long runs on Saturdays became a time to clear my mind, talk uninterrupted with my husband, or listen to my favorite podcast. Running shifted from just a physical health benefit to a mental health benefit!
(On a side note, I practice safe running and only utilize areas that are populated that if an emergency occurred, I would have a way to call for help at a business nearby).
Finds Ways to Dissociate
When I worked as a wellness coach, I always spoke to clients about the skill of dissociation, or disconnecting yourself, from exercise. I'd recommend classes, bringing books or watching shows, or having a friend partner with you.
I mentioned podcasts above - what a GAME CHANGER from listening to the same music playlist - as a way I disconnect during runs. While I do love making a mix for a half marathon or race, I get so excited to download and listen my podcasts for my runs. I do find my pace is a little slower, but for my training goals at the moment, that is not a big deal.
Some of my favorite podcasts include: Comments by Celebs, Good Bodies, Girls Gotta Eat, The Mel Robbins Podcast, The Jordan Syatt Mini Podcast, and What the Actual Fork. As you can tell, it is a wide variety from health, self improvement, and pop culture.
Group Fitness Classes is another way to "dissociate" or distract yourself from the discomfort of exercise. I attend 2-3 group fitness classes a week to mix up my routine and if I am traveling, I will seek out a local studio for yoga or barre since that isn't in my normal rotation.
Don't Overdo It
When boutique fitness became a trend, I totally bought in to going only to barre, cycle, or whatever format it was and found myself burnt out by the end of whatever contract I had. I felt strong in some ways but weak in others. I now go to a gym that has some variety in class offerings but also is a gym where I can follow my own workout or program.
It is easy to want to "boil the ocean" when starting a new fitness habit, but it is important to slowly incorporate changes and keep variety to avoid injury.
Find Social Support
This was another key talking point with working with clients - find your village. Whether it is a running buddy to keep you accountable on weekend runs, joining a social running group, or joining a gym with classes, having social support helps to maintain workouts.
Typically local running stores will have social runs (you can find on Strava or their social pages). You can also use social platforms to search for running groups. Near us, a local tap house does one on Monday nights, a running store has weekend runs they'll invite followers to join, and a coffee shop is about to launch a morning run group!
Celebrate the Wins
Look for opportunities to positively reinforce meeting your goals and keeping your habits! Maybe after each Saturday workout class or run, you plan a social lunch. For my husband and I, we would know out our long runs on Saturday mornings when marathon training and plan for lunch out once we were clean. When we visit my brother in law in DC, he has a group that meets every Friday morning for their "croissant run" - they run 6-8 miles early in the morning around DuPont Circle and the Capital, and finish at a local french cafe to enjoy coffee and a pastry before everyone goes to work.
Be proud of your accomplishments. I have all of my running medals on command hooks in my office - it is a great conversation starter when I am meeting with people instead of being stuck in a box in our basement.
In Summary - keep short term and long term goals in mind when looking at ways to celebrate what you've done. Habits take awhile to build and maintain! There will be times where you routine is thrown off course, but leverage a few of these tips to get back on.