How to get better at running?
5 simple ways in which beginners can train their minds to get great at running!
Late last year, I had the good fortune of meeting a living legend of India’s running scene, Ironman Milind Soman. A few minutes into our conversation, Milind said, “Running is meditation in motion”. Being a daily meditator myself, this struck a strong chord with me. I had never looked at running this way before.
All through the years, I have consciously tried to get myself better at meditation — reading, researching, practicing new things, talking to friends about it. So after this conversation, it came naturally to me to explore running from a whole new dimension.
This article is my attempt at articulating what I have learned and explored about running, the beauty, and the zen in it. Disclaimer — It will be a different take on running, with a slightly more focus on how to train your mind more than your body. This is because I believe that the body is capable and already built for unimaginable things if we discipline our minds for it.
Here are 5 simple things you need to keep in mind to become better at running.
1. Start Slow but Keep Going
Everyone remembers the grand-mom story of the tortoise and the rabbit. Its moral being, ‘slow and steady wins the race’.
No change happens overnight, it needs sustained dedication, discipline, and determination. Remember to always start somewhere slightly above your comfort zone. If you think you can do 2km, start at 2.5. If you think your stamina is 4km, challenge yourself for a 5km. Then week after week, keep increasing your goal by 250 or 500 meters.
Serious running is like any other objective you pick for yourself in life. We need to keep taking small steps, but always keep the long term journey in mind.
2. Listen to Music that Motivates
My mother once told me ‘Music is therapy for the mind’. That day on, I have always listened to music while running.
On the first week when I started doing this, I observed a drastic difference in my stamina. My playlist consisted of adrenaline-pumping songs like Rocky’s Theme song, We Are The Champions, and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag.
What I realized after a 3 km jog was that it felt as if I haven’t even covered a kilometer. My legs felt fresh and my lungs seemed younger.
I looked on the internet as to why music made me feel stronger and made me run longer. I came across two reasons,
- Music helps you relax and keeps your mind occupied with positive thoughts and emotions. If you pace your breath and your steps with the beats of the music, you get in the zone faster, and then on, everything feels in sync.
- Music distracts your mind from the body’s little itches and aches. During my runs, my mind had this constant conversation with itself with thoughts like ‘your legs are tired’, ‘you’re losing out on breath’, ‘your stamina only lasts only for 4kms’, ‘you have to do chores after your jog’ ‘wow, you’ve already sweat a lot. Let’s stop’. With music, all these thoughts suddenly vanished and were replaced by motivational quotes and rhyming phrases from the songs.
Music not only helped me focus on my run more but also helped me enjoy each moment of it.
3. Build a routine 15 minutes pre-run to 15 minutes post-run
You must have heard people saying, ‘I have a half an hour slot for jogging’ or ‘I run for an hour’. But most people forget to dedicate special time for warm-ups and stretching before starting their jogs and to cool down and do breathing after.
Not dedicating enough time to this, increases the risks of cramps, sprains, and post-jog aches. But once well stretched, your muscles get ready for the long stretch to come after.
4. Master your Breath
Breath is to a run is like bullets are to a gun. A gun is no good when you are out of bullets, and a run is over once you are out of breath.
I have had marathon mentors who have told me to focus on my style, strides, timing, and technique. But not many talk about breath, as most people take it for granted.
The first few minutes of my jogs are only spent on syncing my strides with my breath. It makes me feel at ease and in control.
I understood the hidden comparison of running and meditation, only after I started syncing my breaths with my strides for long jogs.
Try it, it is the biggest game-changer.
5. It’s All A Mind Game
At the end of the day, it is all in the mind. Buddha says, ‘What you think, you become’. Your actions and your words are inspired by your thoughts.
Your thoughts about your stamina, capability, and limits end up deciding how much you can evolve in your running journey and how much time it takes.
Once you decide you are a 5km runner, it is very difficult to evolve to a 10km runner. It’s the same for a half marathoner and a marathoner. But on the other hand, if you decide that you are a marathoner who is on a journey and can only do 5km today, you are more likely to reach your goal faster.
If you believe you are a 5 km runner at the start itself, your journey will be a very difficult one, which you will consciously notice on every jog from 5 km onwards.
For me, running is a way of life. It helps me test my mind and my body to its limits. It helps me stay in shape, and makes me happy. Running helps me become a better person every day.
Running is nothing more than a series of arguments between the part of your brain that wants to stop and the part that wants to keep going.
