Mind tricks that can make anyone (even you) enjoy running
One cold saturday morning in november 2014, I watched a woman jog past my bedroom window. as my eyes followed the rhythmic bounce of her ponytail, I experienced — not for the first time — a powerful wave of running-envy.
Wouldn’t it be lovely if I could do that? time-poor and bone tired from looking after my two children, I was at least a stone heavier than my normal weight.
Inspired by that stranger bobbing past my house — by her perky demeanour, not to mention bottom — I raked through cupboards and managed to rustle up an ancient gym kit. ‘ I’m going for a run’, I announced to my husband, who barely glanced up.
‘Good luck with that then,’ was his only response. Luck? I’ll need an ambulance, I thought as I ran (fast walked) gingerly across the road feeling awkward and embarrassed.
after five minutes I was gasping for air like a chain smoker on her 20th cigarette ( I’ve never smoked in my life, by the way) and collapsed on a bench, my face a fetching shade of crimson.
Over the following two years I clawed my way up from walking to jogging to a running/ walking combo, and finally to running my first 5km. then my first 10km.
It was a painful process with tears, tantrums and ruined pedicures along the way and I nearly gave up more times than I can mention.
I wish I’d known then what I know now — that there’s a much easier way to get in touch with your inner runner. Don’t believe me? Listen to this story.
In 2006, U.s. speed skater and professional cyclist Michael sandler had a near-death accident, and had to have a hip and femur replaced with titanium. He was told he’d be lucky to walk again. Running definitely wasn’t on the cards.
Michael, however, isn’t the kind of chap to take no for an answer, and set out on a mission not only to walk again but to run.
as a long- term advocate of mindfulness meditation, he firmly believed the barriers to recovery were not in his body but in his mind. these days he runs barefoot up mountains — the secret to his extraordinary mind- over-matter achievements? Mindfulness.
It can work for you, too, he promises — even if you’ve never run a step in your life. after all, he argues, if someone who shouldn’t have walked again can do it, so can you.
Here’s how to tackle your first week of mindful running. If you want to stretch this program out and complete each step over several days or weeks, that’s fine, too — the important thing is to go at your own pace.
DAY 1: START OUT EASY
SURPRISINGLY, Michael says the very first steps shouldn’t be taken at running speed but at walking pace because it’s your breathing that’s the focus.
Begin by going for a brisk walk, counting your steps on inhalations and exhalations. For instance, you may find you walk for four steps to inhale, then four steps to exhale.
so in your head say ‘inhale, step, step, step’, and then ‘exhale, step, step, step’. Breath through your nose, and feel the breath come in, travel down to your belly, and then feel it go out again.
If you’re ready then pick up the pace after around five minutes. speed isn’t important, though.
DAY 2: EXTEND THE BREATH
TODAY’s goal is to slow your breathing down a little bit. Do exactly what you did yesterday but this time, add in a few steps per breath. as with all these progressions, the point is to work at your own speed.
there is not a correct number of breaths to be taking nor speed to be walking at — whatever you can manage is absolutely fine.
so if at yesterday’s walk you were counting three steps on inhalation, then try four today. try taking it up again after a minute until it feels slightly uncomfortable. In this situation, discomfort actually means the opposite of what you think. Your body isn’t running out of oxygen, it’s learning to take on more. the more carbon dioxide you have in your blood (as a result of breathing slowly), the more oxygen your body will take in to balance it.
DAY 3: TRY OUT A JOG
tODaY try to repeat what you’ve done over the past few days, but now take it into a very slow jog after around five minutes. attempt to keep your arms up high but keep the shoulders wide which allows you to breathe more easily.
as before, you are focusing on the mindful breath, not on speed. If you can jog for three to five minutes then great but don’t worry if you can’t, simply keep focusing on nice, slow, deep breaths and feeling the air go in, and the air go out.
DAY 4: EXTEND THE STEPS
JUst like on Day 2, you now want to extend your steps for each breath. so after walking for a few minutes, focused on the breath, break into your gentle jog, again focused on the breath.
Keep the jog for as long as you can, but not more than three to five minutes and this time try taking one more step per breath, still keep the breath coming in and out through the nose. turn it into a game — how far can I go with each breath? — if that helps you maintain focus.
Don’t give yourself a hard time if you lose count or focus or have to stop. Just pick up where you left off.
DAY 5: LEARN TECHNIQUE
tHe key to mindfulness, says Michael, is to focus on the breath before you pay attention to the sensations in the rest of the body, so now that you’ve spent a few days on the breath, move on to what the rest of your body is doing. today, try to remember three simple things:
KeeP your strides short — this means more steps per breath. It may go against everything you were taught as a child in cross-country running class about long, bouncing strides, but runners actually waste a lot of energy in vertical motion which is saved when you chop your stride slightly. Keeping strides short also prevents your heel striking the ground like a hammer which can cause injuries.
KeeP the arms high. the higher you keep the arms, the lighter you’ll land. Make sure you have a 90 degree bend or tighter in your arms, the higher and tighter, the better!
try to smile as you run. this does two things. First it releases seratonin (the happy hormone) in your brain which will keep you running and second it tends to relax the diaphragm, helping you to get more air into your belly and breathe deeper.
DAY 6: MORE NOSE BREATHING!
tODaY you want to very simply see if you can run a little bit longer while breathing through your nose only (which as previously discussed, leads to the best intake of oxygen).
so do everything you were doing, but see if you can go five minutes, or even ten minutes breathing through your nose, running with short, quick steps slowly, before you switch back to your regular breathing . . . be gentle with yourself, see if you can extend it just a little bit more.
When you switch back, see if you can go a few minutes breathing in through the nose, then out through the mouth before going straight to mouth breathing.
DAY 7: DO’S AND DON’TS FOR THE NEXT STEP
HOPeFULLY you’ve surprised yourself in the time you’ve been practising mindful running. You’ve now got all the tools you need to run your first kilometre or 5km — or marathon! Here are a few things to keep in mind as you progress:
the point of any mindful activity is to pay attention to the breath and the body so don’t run with music, podcasts or radio playing.
It’s normal to get distracted. If you forget what you’re doing, just pick up again where you left off. start back with the breath.
Don’t try to keep up with someone else. How far or fast other people are running is none of your concern. this is about you, your body and feeling the best that you can.
enjoy it! You’re doing a wonderful thing for your body — and mind.