Hello!

I've spoken to a few people lately that have mentioned how they would like to get back to running. 

Have injuries prevented you from getting back into running or maybe you just lost the habit of it and would like to start again or maybe you don't have any clear goals to work towards and that's why you lack motivation to run.

Running is one of the greatest ways to improve your mental and physical health and its one of the most natural forms of movement a human being can do. It's like a horse galloping through a field or a monkey swinging through a tree, humans are simply born to run as Christopher McDougall said in his amazing book!

I want to share with you a few quick tips of how you can get back into a running habit:

1. Start small! If you haven't run for a while do a little bit at a time. REMEMBER we don't build houses in a day, it takes patience brick by brick. Take your running step-by-step and build from there.

2. Smile when you get chance to run. Smiling whilst exercising has been clinically proven to lower your perceived rate of exertion which basically means you think you are working less when you smile. 

3. Listen to your body! Don't listen to Strava, or Nike Run Club or that Training Plan on Google! Listen to the feedback your body is giving you. Do you feel ok and pain free? Do you feel like you have the stamina to keep pushing that extra mile you just forced out? Are you landing heavy on your feet and knees? Your body has a beautiful nervous system that is one of the richest feedback systems on the planet, so connect to it and use it!

4. Understand the value and purpose of running in your life and you are much more likely to continue to run. Your motivation will grow when you understand how important that time spent outdoors running getting some headspace is for your mind and body. Who doesn't love the runners high after a nice run?!

5. Recover well! Do some light mobility yoga after a run. 5/10 minutes will keep your joints, muscles, tendons and fascia nice and supple and will limit the amount of stiffness and aches you will feel.

6. If you get niggles and injuries that have happened before it may be an idea to work with a running coach like me (shameless self promotion) to do a video analysis session to understand how you are running, what we can tweak to improve your running so that you can run longer and injury free. You may have muscle or joint imbalances that can be picked up in these running analyses and I can plan and coach you to get stronger in these areas.

7. If running seems like too much of a big step up then start walking first. Then power walking and then after a period of time you could gradually build up to starting to run. You get healthy impact through your joints and muscles and you get some outdoor time that we all need more of! 

8. Get a friend to run or walk with. The commitment of meeting up with a friend is a great way to keep you on track. You can also motivate each other to keep turning up.

9. Set yourself a challenge. Couch to 5k, 10k run, half marathon, marathon, Ultra etc. Whatever it is. Book a challenge and it gives you something to work towards and keeps you motivated. I have a list of guided Challenge Events coming for 2022!

10. Start today! Take action right now after reading this and make a start. Thats the first step you can take to get back to running!

I hope these tips have helped inspire you a little bit. If you are interested in running coaching, guided runs or the running video analysis sessions then please reply to this email, it would be great to chat to you about how you're feeling at the moment.