Now that you have decided to give running a go, how do you know that life is not going to stop you dead in your tracks? There are all those barricades to success that try to stop us from taking care or ourselves like family, work, community and other interests. So here are some quick tips on how to make running, or any other exercise, a habit rather than a passing fad.
- Pick an event to get ready for. When you finish, pick another one.
- Find a doable training plan and follow it.
- Train with friends or groups.
- Train alone if you need the time to clear your head.
- Keep your weekly training routine consistent regarding when you go.
- Use a baby jogger if needed for your little ones.
- Fall in love with an ipod, especially if you have to put in treadmill time
- Find a cool place to run on your way to/from work so you don’t have to make an extra trip.
- Workout during lunch hour. Bosses are becoming more flexible on this.
- Workout during nap time
- Workout early in the day before the chaos begins.
- If you have young children and are a member of a fitness club with a good nursery, use treadmills sometimes.
- Ask your spouse to help out and watch the kids a day or two a week.
- Splurge and use a babysitter a couple days a week. She will be cheaper than a psychologist! Also, some girls are willing to get ready for school at your house while kids are still sleeping. Or using a sitter on a Saturday morning long run is nice too. Jr High girls have the most time after school since they don’t all have lives yet.
- Use a combination of the above scheduling tricks each week if necessary. That is what I had to do for several years. But, the schedule was pretty much the same each week.
- Run on the trails as much as possible they are very refreshing.
- Take rest days when needed. Listen to your body to prevent overtraining although you can still keep your schedule by using the trick below or something like it.
- Make sure all your workouts are treated as appointments. Don’t ask IF you are going to go, just GO!! You can change your workout if you are tired, but KEEP THE HABIT and don’t miss. I have gone to my local gym with young kids in tow on days when I was very tired. What did I do? Let them play in the nursery while I stretched, chatted with friends and took a nice long shower!