The Easier Way to Become a Runner

Hi, this is Debbie Voiles, coach at Mojo for Running, with episode number two of the Beginner Runner Village podcast. Learn to run the easier way. The Beginner Runner Village podcast is for people at the very beginning of their running career. And my goal is to give you the information and the motivation you need to succeed.

I want you to imagine what it will feel like to pin a race number on your shirt and stand at a starting line with all those hundreds of other racers and listen to the race director giving instructions. Feel what that will feel like. how wonderful it will feel to realize how far you've come. I want you to imagine what it will feel like then to actually cross the finish line.

Before you will be a half a dozen or maybe a dozen people standing there, usually teenagers holding medals ready to give them out to the people who've earned them. You're one of those people. You're tired. but not too tired to be overwhelmed with happiness as you bend your head forward just enough for the volunteer to place that medal over your head and around your neck. Feel the weight of the medal around your neck.

Reach up with your hand and grab it. Hold on to it. Squeeze it and realize how far you've come. That can be you. That will be you. Today, I'll explain the first secret to becoming a runner. And then... I'll explain why I asked you to get that calendar as your homework for episode number one. Then I'll close with today's homework assignment. But before I continue, I want to ask you to go to the Facebook page for this podcast and like it.

That way you'll see all of my posts, you can ask questions, and I hope you'll make comments and even post some photos of you as you begin this journey. The URL for that is facebook.com forward slash coach, Deb, and then my last name, which is spelled V as in Victor, O-I-L-E-S. Okay.

Here it is, the first secret, the mother of all secrets. With most challenges, most goals in life, there's no secret. But this time there is. It's usually... Getting from point A to point B just requires hard work. And the harder you work, the faster it happens. Isn't that right? The sooner you experience success. It's all about hard work. That's life. School is that way, right? The harder you study.

The more you learn, the better you do on tests, the better you're great. Running isn't that way. That's the secret. Running isn't that way. Not even learning to run. That's the secret I have to share with you. And it's like the umbrella of all secrets. I call it a secret because very few people get that. Almost everyone will push themselves too hard, which is a mistake.

But they shouldn't feel bad about that because doing it the right way, the easier way, is counterintuitive. Because the right way to do it is counter to a life lesson that virtually everyone learned growing up. Some people will achieve their goal and become runners, even doing it that way, even just plugging away, working as hard as they can every day. But more will actually fail. And those who do succeed likely...

Don't enjoy the trip because it's much less efficient. It actually takes longer to reach the same degree of success, and it results in many fewer injuries, besides the fact that, of course, it's not pleasant. it's not likely to result in you becoming a lifelong runner, for sure. And sometimes the people who fail are people who typically always succeed, which is super frustrating to them. That's because they work really hard.

And that has always worked for them in every other endeavor. These people often feel extremely discouraged. But if that's you, if that would be typical for you, if you're a hard worker, if you have that type A personality. Don't worry, because now you know the secret. Pushing yourself to run until you're forced to stop is what you must refrain from doing. Recently, someone said to me,

You just run until you have to stop. Then you walk a ways until you can catch your breath and then you do it again, right? Big deal. I said, no, wrong. You shouldn't ever do that when you're learning how to run, when you're building up to your first mile. And even after that, you'll only do it occasionally. Even experienced runners very seldom push themselves to that extreme, to where they're going 100%. I talked about this a little in the last podcast, but now...

I want to get much deeper into it so you'll understand it. And then you're likely to do it right, to do it the easier way in the future. It's important that you understand. When you run to the point of exhaustion, which for a new runner might be a mile but also might be as little as 30 to 40 steps, it takes a while to recover. This would be comparable to an experienced runner sprinting until he or she can sprint no more, or sprinting for a quarter of a mile, or doing a one-mile time trial.

Experienced runners do that occasionally, but only occasionally, usually only when doing a time trial or in a race. And even then, we'd only be doing that. really sprinting, really going 100% all out at the very end of a race. That's because it takes too long to recover from that kind of 100% all out effort. So as a result, we reserve that kind of effort for races.

Remember their goal, the goal of a veteran runner is the same as your goal, to become a better runner. Whatever the level, everybody wants to do the same thing, get better. You're at an entirely different place. in your running career, but you're all trying to get better. And obviously you want to do that as efficiently and effectively as possible.

So they seldom do an all out 100% effort because it will take too much out of them and they won't be able to do another good hard workout for several days, maybe a week. As a result, the overall effect will be less improvement than if they had worked hard, but not that hard, maybe at 90% to 95% of a maximum effort. And even then, they would only do that.

for maybe 20% of their weekly mileage, because what we know from experience is that more frequent hard running will produce less results. Working harder more often would not produce as much improvement. The same is true for a new runner. I'm talking about you. I know this is a surprise to you. It surprises most runners. That's why I call it a secret. It's not like other things in life, but some people try to approach running like the way they approach every other new thing they do.

If you've tried running before, you probably ran until you couldn't run anymore, whatever distance that was. Then you went out the next day expecting to have more endurance, to be better already, and to be able to do a little more than you did the day before. only to discover that you were still tired. You at least expected to be able to run as far as you did the day before, but you probably found yourself even tireder. You found it even harder to do.

and I'm pretty sure the result was that you were demoralized and discouraged. This can easily be prevented. You should stop just a few seconds before you'd be forced to stop. And... You might think a few seconds couldn't be a big deal, but in fact, it can make all the difference. It will make all the difference. You might still be running with comfort for about 20 seconds.

But 30 seconds might have you red-faced and huffing and puffing. You should never be working that hard. It's too hard, and that's overdoing it. You've got to remember the secret. You are not helping yourself when you do that. Train reasonably all the time, and you will actually gain endurance faster. What I recognize as a coach is that in the earliest days of running, you should not increase your running by whole minutes, not in the beginning.

And if you're a little further along in your training and can run, say, a whole mile, don't try to increase your distance by whole miles. I was chatting with an acquaintance just the other day. She's been running a little while, but... She's never worked with a coach, and she's never built up any endurance. She said, I ran three miles yesterday nonstop. That's the farthest I've ever run. It was really hard, but I did it. Today, I'm going to try to do three and a half.

Uh-oh. Right then, I knew she didn't understand perhaps the most critical training principle, that you almost never train at maximum effort and that you never, if you are new to running, and... I didn't say that right. The principle that you almost never train at maximum effort and never if you're new to running. And you can't possibly expect to do as well two days in a row. We'll talk about that in another episode.

If we don't want experienced runners going all out, running at 100% effort, why in the world would we want beginning runners doing it? If experienced runners take days to recover, It just makes sense that you will too. In fact, it will likely take you longer. Recovery, you see, the time between your hard work is like magic. Your effort during the first few weeks.

should not exceed 90% of your ability. And in the beginning, your ability is not much, right? When you first start running, you won't have several speeds to choose from. You'll have just one. You'll either be running or you won't. And by the way... You'll never hear me use the word jog. I avoid it because it sounds less serious, like it's for people who aren't real runners. I might use it occasionally with experienced runners to describe a speed like just barely running.

but usually I don't use it at all. That doesn't mean I want you running faster than that. On the contrary, whenever you are running, I want you to be just barely running. You're running if you have both feet off the ground at the same time. As long as you're doing that, I call it running. And the slower you run, the better it is, actually, because the easier it is on your body and the...

sooner you'll be comfortable with more endurance. The running, even a small amount, will be a challenge for a while. Think of it this way. Running is a lot faster than walking. So in the beginning, and I mean for weeks, Your goal should be just to build running endurance, to be able to run farther and to be able to run more comfortably with good form, which is essential because good form is easier. I'll teach you to run with an economy of motion.

that will make it easier to run more. Speed will come naturally as you become more comfortable running. But for now, it's best to go very slow. So to sum up, the first secret is not to push yourself to your maximum effort. Of course, you'll be doing a pattern of walk-run combinations. Let's say if you could run 50 steps and that would be a 100% effort, then stop at 40.

Whatever distance your schedule has you running, it shouldn't be something that's intense. If it is, then your schedule is not appropriate for you at your current level. Or you're just running too fast, which many beginners runners do. They think that must be good. No, that's part of it. Don't run until you can't run anymore and run as slowly as possible at the slowest speed possible and still be running. That's right. Remember.

I don't want you to wear yourself out. In the beginning, any effort is an effort for you. Don't worry. Soon enough, you'll be running. You're running. It's going to be starting to feel comfortable. Soon enough. you'll find that you can run for miles while conversing with friends as easily as if you were chatting over a cup of coffee and a scone. Believe me, it will happen. Believe me. Don't try to be like the other runners you see. You're not there yet.

The best way to guarantee that you'll get to your goal is to be patient. Do you look forward to it being that easy, that comfortable? Well, follow my advice then. Remember, my goal is to train you to be... the most efficient. Working harder, pushing yourself more will not have the desired result. People with type A driven personalities will struggle with this the most. If that's you, here is what you need to do.

Here's a strategy. Channel your hard work, that incredible work ethic, in another direction. Don't work hard to go fast or to go long. Work hard to keep your pace slow and to resist the temptation to push yourself harder. Work hard to stick to exactly what is called for in your schedule and do not do more. If you do that, pat yourself on the back. If I was coaching you in person,

I would brag on the people who did what the schedule called for, not the ones who got carried away and ran further or ran fast. That's why you have a coach, to keep you on track, doing what has been proven over the years to work best.

Now let's talk about the calendar you now have, assuming you did your homework. The calendar will go on your wall, put it on an obvious place where you can't miss it. And if the rest of the family can see it, well, that's even better. Now. I want you to get a red marker and from now on, every single day that you do what your schedule calls for, put a big red X from corner to corner over that day's square. Now, if you do more than your schedule calls for,

You can't count it. No, no X, because doing too much is at least as much of a setback as missing a day. In fact, it's probably more. This is your accountability calendar. The idea is to be able to see visually your string of success, your chain of exits. When you miss a day, you'll be sad to have to start the chain over, but you must do that. Never cheat yourself.

You are accountable to you. Experienced runners often go on streets. A street can be defined by them as running a certain number of miles a day or just running at least a mile a day. Later on, you could do that. but you're not nearly there yet. At this point, your rest and recovery is just as important as your running days. And this early in your running career, you'll be walking on your rest and recovery days. That's right.

The fastest way to get less fit is to do too much. Then you'll become detrained. You should only run every other day for the first few weeks. Now, today's homework is to start. Today is day one. Remember, in the last podcast, I asked you to commit. Well, let's say you listened to that yesterday. Then today is the day you start. If you committed yesterday, today's your first day to run.

the day you first take action. I hope you have a running schedule. If you don't, I would love to have you in my Mojo for Running coaching program. Then you'd have a schedule and a whole lot more. Most of the people in that program are beginners. Almost all of them start out at the very beginning. That's the largest group. You can go to the mojoforrunning.com website and click programs to sign up or

You can also go to the BeginnerRunnerVillage.com website and click Programs there. Both will take you to exactly the same program. They both link to the same schedules, the same page, everything. There's just one program. No matter which site you register on, it'll take you to the same place. Once you register, when you log in, it will take you to that one program, the Mojo for Running program.

The Beginner Runner Village is simply part of the Mojo for Running network. If you have any questions, there's a Frequently Asked Questions page. And if you have any other questions, just use the contact form to send them along. You can subscribe and pay by the month or join for six months or for a year. Think big. You might already know you want to go for a half marathon. Then for heaven's sakes, sign up for a year. It's a great deal.

If you're not interested in that, find yourself a schedule somewhere. But you've got to have a schedule. No doing this kind of thing in a free-form manner. That just won't work. Do what your schedule says for day one today. You can put that big red X across the square for today. And you will have started your chain. And today, well, when you look back, you're going to think of today as the day you started running.

one of the most important days in your life. Now I'll leave you with an inspirational quote. I'd rather regret the things I've done than regret the things I haven't done. That was Lucille Ball that said that. Wow, simple, but so powerful. Now, remember, your homework is to get started. If you even run 10 steps alternated with two minutes running for one mile, that's a good start. That's a great start.

But you must have a schedule, a plan. It won't work for you to play it by ear. I'm not going to continue to tell you what to do every day. Remember, if you want to join the Mojo for Running coaching program, you'll get a detailed weekly schedule and much more. including admission to a special private Facebook group where you can always ask me questions. I check in with that group three times a day. Now, remember, if you get started today, tomorrow will be huge.

because tomorrow you will wake up a runner.