The Secret to Becoming a Runner Is a Good Routine

It’s been nearly a month since I ran the NYC marathon. I knew that after such an emotional experience, the longer I took to lace up my shoes again, the harder it was going to be. I’ve missed writing my weekly posts about all things marathon training, and now that I’m finally back pounding the pavement, I thought I’d sling a running hack your way.

For me, the toughest part about returning to running after taking time off is establishing a new routine. When you’re not following a strict (well, semi-strict) training plan, what do you do? Especially for people who don’t consider themselves to be runners in the first place—what do you do? There are a lot of reasons someone might struggle to get into running, but I find a top culprit to be a lack of planning. You have to strike a balance between ambition and flexibility, and then actually hold yourself accountable to your plan. Let’s take a look at why the secret to becoming a runner is the strength of your routine, and how you can establish a running routine yourself.

How to establish a running routine

Time and time again, my friends will tell me they’ve started to get into running, only to lose interest (or quit) within a few weeks. The figures vary, but one study suggests that it usually takes around two months of doing something to make it a habit—and a lot of us don’t make it that long. Then again, as Lifehacker senior health editor Beth Skwarecki has explained before, a lot of our talk about “habits” is not actually about habit formation, but behavior change. She provides this example: “You might think of ‘go for a run every morning’ as a simple habit. But there are a lot of things that go into becoming the sort of person who actually finds it simple to go for a run every morning.”

Your routine—and how well you stick to it—is what makes the difference between whether or not you incorporate running into your life in the long term. Here are some tips for becoming the sort of person who finds it simple to go on a run every morning.

Set realistic goals

You are more likely to stick with a running habit if you start with small goals. That may mean holding yourself back a bit, both in terms of pace and distance. (This topic means a lot to me; one of my first posts at Lifehacker was all about how you need to run slower to run faster.)

Don’t expect to complete your first marathon next week if you’re just starting. Give yourself progressive mini-goals to reach like running a mile without walking, being able to jog for 30 minutes continuously, or taking 5-10 minutes off your 5K time. This will help track progress and keep you motivated.

Create calendar events for yourself

Actually schedule your runs as you would other important commitments. It’s easy to make excuses if your running is random or sporadic. Ensure it’s in your calendar like clockwork; mornings are great for avoiding fatigue and life getting in the way later.

Build up gradually, and slow down

I believe the reason so many people claim to hate running is because what they’re actually doing is sprinting. This dooms them to tire out sooner than they’d like—convincing them that they can’t run long distances, and confirming their assumption that “running isn’t for them.”

Respect that your cardiovascular fitness and musculoskeletal systems need time to adapt. Start with short runs mixed with walking once or twice a week and increase duration, distance, and frequency by no more than 10% each week to prevent overuse injuries.

Prep your gear

Prepping gear ahead of time such as your running watch, shoes, weather-appropriate apparel, water bottle, and headphones goes a long way versus scrambling or postponing if you can’t find an item. Being ready to go makes sticking to your routine much more seamless.

Skip the numbers (for now)

Runners are obsessed wearables or apps to monitor metrics like distance, pace, heart rate, and splits. I get it—reviewing patterns provides valuable feedback, exposes strengths and weaknesses, and keeps you striving towards new marks like an upcoming 5K PR.

But if your main goal right now is simply to establish a routine, I suggest you ditch the metrics. Your priority right now is consistency. Try intuitive running and taking it slow, and maybe you’ll even start to like running. Personally, I think there’s nothing more promising for your routine than actually enjoying the routine.