Small Wins: Take It Easy and Make Progress
Do you know why a lot of those people with gym memberships who don't see success, may never see success? Because they all do the same mistake over and over, they decide they're going to work hard to make sure they succeed. In doing this, they push themselves hard, they make sure they hit "burn-out" because that means they gave it all they had. Next day, they wake up and they can't even move, let alone go back to the gym for another hardcore session of fat busting exercises. So they don't go which then turns into never going back, period.
I really believe that the same principle applies when starting to run. The best gym in the world is absolutely and completely ineffective when you're not there. "You gotta push yourself" and "This is how you get results" is a lie because you won't push yourself and you won't get results if you're at home avoiding the pain you recently put yourself through. I know because it's happened to me. P90X did that to me. I worked out so hard with it that I almost actually injured my muscles and it was weeks before I found the motivation to do it again. This was turning to P180+X. But if I didn't get far enough into it, I felt like a failure and a wimp, so I'd push myself and I'd end up once again not working out for days while I recovered. I got tired of feeling like a wimp and being in pain so I never used it again. (having shared my story, I must say that P90X is a great concept, they have hundreds of stories about great success, it's just not for me)
Having learned this about myself and about the mental aspect of training, has given me a certain edge in taking up and sticking with running. I know this is going to be very hard for me, so I don't want to minimize my chances of succeeding even more. I know how to avoid the discouraging mental traps. I know where to get emotional fuel from: small wins. I feel like I'm doing well, just the fact that I haven't given up yet and that I'm still running with all the obstacles I've been facing is a success for me (small win). For now, just getting myself out the door for a lonely mile, is "pushing myself"(small win). As long as you're alive, you still have hope. As long as I get out there, I have reason to believe I can succeed and get better.
The last few times I've ran, I've only done about 1 or 1.5 miles, which is less than I was doing into my 6th run my first 2 weeks. I was almost up to a 5K by then, but getting injured and then getting sick and traveling really put a damper on it. I've only been able to run once or twice a week. Even a mile feels like a lot again. My other "pushes" come in the form of not stopping for a breather too soon. Or not slowing down when I'm close to home even if it's a struggle, maybe even seeing how much farther I can go when my body thinks I should slow down or catch a breather. Listen, you don't need to go nuts as you get started and there are lots of ways you can bring in small wins to keep you motivated. Run by yourself, that way no one can tell you what pace you should do or what you can count as a win. Remember, as long as you're alive, there's always hope.
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