Ready to run? O.K. GO!!
Yikes, not yet. Hold the phone! (do people still say that?) Let’s back this show up a little. Before you get out the door….wait. Back up even more. Even be before you do the dance of the awkward sports bra. Even before that, there is something that will help in your running career. Pre-run rituals! It’s a great way for your head and your body to match up and get into the habit of getting out the door. Because, as we all discussed before with us new runners, running is mostly mental. So let’s get this brain screwed on right, and your body on board, and do the “Pre-Runs”, so your run will go better, and happier. Mmkay?
Pre-Run Equipment Checks. (Possibly done the night before)
Equipment line up. Have it ready and waiting for you, and imagine it be all excited to go out running like a black labrador.
Ear happiness check. Playlist ready to go? Podcast downloaded?
Garmin or sports mile keeper charged up?
Eat something small 30 minutes before. Like half a banana, or half a piece of toast.
Pre-Run Go-to Goals For The Run:
“I will get out the door for at least ____ minutes”
“I will appreciate my surroundings.”
“I will listen to my body, not my head.”
“I will not judge myself on my run.”
Pre-Run Warm-Ups. Pick 2!
Walk for 5 minutes, at a brisk pace.
10 toe-touches.
2 sets of 10 squats.
20 leg swings. Across your body, from side to side, like a pendulum.
If you can start to get a ritual around your running, and your exercise in general, your body will be better prepped, and your head won’t give such a fight. It is like waking up and going to work, you do all these little steps in between and then bam, you are out the door.
Check Check Check!!