‘Today, I have to run. Mmm, no I don’t. After all it’s raining, it’s cold, oh and it will be dark soon. But I can do it tomorrow.’ Sound familiar?
Now we are firmly established in the third lockdown, (Did the second one really count?), and we are only allowed to go out and exercise once a day. This is a great time to get started, or to get some great training in, if you are already converted.
There are many, very good reasons for running but I’m going to mention 3 of them that I think are particularly relevant at this current time.
Run with a friend
Getting out the house has its own merits which I will come on to but at the time of writing you are able to exercise with a friend within the rules. This gives you an opportunity to meet up with someone who is not part of your household or support bubble and so engage in new and different conversation. The latter depending on the intensity of your run session.
Benefits to the body and mind
There are huge benefits to taking regular exercise. The more obvious ones such as burning calories are well documented but there is much more to it than that. Blood circulating around your body will gradually support the development of your heart and lungs and increase the number of oxygen carrying capillaries which will make you fitter. This means you will be able to do more before you feel fatigued but also you will recover quicker as increased blood flow improves muscle repair. Other benefits are:
Also:
Setting and working towards a goal
This could be ‘getting my 5k time under 30mins’ or ‘Running a 10k under 36mins’ for the faster club runner. These are ‘outcome goals’ which are good but you need to have process goals alongside them such as ‘I will get out consistently 3 times a week’ or ‘I will complete a speed session each week’ as you have almost complete control over those goals and therefore they are likely to feel easier to achieve.
Also if you focus on the process goals and achieve them successfully, the outcome will normally follow. If it doesn’t, you will almost certainly be a lot closer and you will have a number of successful goals achieved along the way with a good idea of what you need to do differently to improve further.
So, as I’m sure at least one of these reasons will resonate with most people, get your kit on and get out there. I’ve often not felt like going for a run but never come back wishing I hadn’t gone.
Most of all, have fun.
