Building a running base is not about running a lot or a little, it’s about running consistently.  This means creating a plan for what you think you can do regularly and then going out and acting on that plan.  And those actions don’t have to be big.  In fact, when it comes to running, it’s small actions taken over and over that provide the best approach to running success.

This consistency approach can be referred to as a Performance Wall.  Each run you complete is a small brick that you add to the wall.  We just keep stacking them up to build the wall higher and higher.  Miss a workout or do something that varies wildly from your training plan and bricks start falling out of the wall and performance suffers.

Consistency is important for many reasons but these are the keys ones:

1. Your body adapts to the load you place on it, but we need to make sure that load isn’t too big or increase too quickly.  Regular consistent load with small, gradual increases allows your body to adapt in a healthy manner, minimizing injury.
   
2. When we consistently execute on our training plan, that action we take, and the satisfaction we get from taking that action, builds motivation and the confidence to keep running.  Yes, that means action leads to motivation NOT the other way around.  

A mistake a lot of new runners make is setting the bar too high.  They plan to run 4 or 5 days a week, but they don’t have the experience of executing on that plan or perhaps they are not in a season of life where they can consistently commit to that much.  Life starts getting in the way of their running or they mistakenly think they must wait for motivation to act and as a result, the plan of 4 or 5 days a week turns into 4 or 5 days some weeks, and 1 or 2 days on other weeks.  

The result?

1. The load on our body is not consistent.  The high degree of variability puts us at risk of injury.  
2. Every time we don’t execute on our plan, we eat away at our confidence that we’ll be able to execute next time.  We de-motivate ourselves by not acting when we told ourselves we would.

How to build consistency

1. Start small.  What do you think you can confidently do in a typical week.  Now typical for many people means sick kids, work, lots of competing commitments.  Think of THAT kind of week and then make your plan.  It might be 2 runs a week.  Maybe that’s not where you want to get to but that’s OK, we’re starting small to build consistency and confidence through successfully taking action.  Decide on a frequency that you are at least 80% confident that you can stick with consistently.
   Make a plan.  Look at your calendar and be as specific as possible about when you will fit your runs in.  Research shows that the more specific our plan is, the more likely it is that we will execute so instead of “I’m going to run on Monday and Thursday.”, make your plan more like “On Monday during my lunch break at 12:15pm, after I log off my computer, I’m going to put on my running clothes and go for my run.”  Make it specific enough that you can picture yourself doing it.
   
2. Make a plan B.  We often (incorrectly) project that in the future we will be less busy than we are today.  We assume we’ll have fewer commitments, less stress, more energy.  But this is rarely the case.  Life is going to happen and sometimes it’s going to throw obstacles that get in the way of your run.  If you think about it, you can probably predict what those obstacles might be: work travel, sick kids, traffic… Think about what you’ll do if Plan A doesn’t pan out.  If the lunchtime run gets hijacked by a work meeting, where will you move that run to on your calendar?  What is Plan B? 
   
3. Make it more enjoyable.  When we’re building a new behaviour and/or learning to like something, sometimes we need some help in getting us to take that action we’ve committed to.  There are lots of options here:
   1. Make a great music playlist to listen to on your run.
   2. Listen to a book or a podcast (make it a TV show if you’re running indoors).  You might want to save something just for your runs so that the excitement of listening to, or watching more, gets you moving.
   3. Plan to run with a friend (maybe a new one you made through the Russell Run Club)
   4. Commit in advance to joining one of the run club group workouts.
      
4. Expect it won’t be perfect.  Sometimes you’ll miss a run.  Sometimes you’ll have to cut your run short because you don’t have time for the whole thing, or it just feels really tough that day for no apparent reason.  This is all OK.  It happens to everyone.  The important thing is to get right back on track.  It won’t always be perfect but don’t let that discourage you.  Your best is going to look a little different every day.