Let’s Resolve to Run!

A new year brings in new beginnings, at least a new calendar to start with; unless you have preserved the 2007 calendar and choose to re-use it! Every New Year also opens a new set of resolutions which mostly gets buried even before the end of January. Many end up resolving not to take New Year resolutions, only to break it in the following year. Whatever may be the past, a beginning has to be made somewhere and a new year certainly gives us an opportunity to try something new; something better than the previous year.

A healthy body leads to a healthy mind is an old adage and worth recollecting, when we have to choose among multitude of resolutions. Invariably, it will be the most fundamental requisite for any other resolution that we undertake in the New Year. My recommendation towards a healthy body is to take up running as a regular routine for the upcoming year. Running is the simplest, easiest and least expensive fitness activity among various other choices. Over the past decade, no other fitness activity – gymnasiums, yoga centres, boot camps, zumba etc, – has found acceptance as much as running and the reasons are fairly obvious. Here are some of my tips to get you started!

1. Start Walking – No one starts running from the very first day or the very first minute. Start walking and ask yourself ‘why walk when I can run?’ It would be only a matter of time when your feet starts running, and soon flying! It is absolutely not necessary that you have to see through the distance or time purely by running. Walking is also a pleasure; if not more than running.
2. Time or Distance – Set yourself simple goals, either on the basis of time or on the basis of distance and gradually increase the targets. Ideally, running (with interspersed walking) for an hour or 5 Km should be a perfect and reasonable target to start with. Once achieved, don’t rush too soon to the next target. The rate of success that one achieves in early days doesn’t get replicated in later days.
3. Join a Running Club – Nothing motivates you more than joining a group of like minded fellow runners. It has been a decade since I have been part of some running club or other and I can vouch for the support that the running clubs provided me in running, and even beyond it. Most running clubs are egalitarian in nature and are open to new and old runners alike regardless of one’s personal traits.
4. Sign up for an event – Signing up for a running event invariably evokes memories of examinations of school/college days. Nevertheless, it is one great way to set a target and move towards it. No matter the distance or time, you will be a winner when you finish and rewarded suitably. If you are in Coimbatore, I would suggest you to run the Coimbatore Marathon on the first Sunday of October every year (the author is a member of the organising team). The only sore point is the ‘post-exam-style’ discussions on your timing, which is best avoided.
5. Maintain a diary – A simple diary of activities is often the best way to keep you motivated. Start with a basic spreadsheet with date in Column A and just a word – ‘Running’ or ‘ Walking’ or ‘Others’ – in Column B to indicate your accomplishment on that day. You will soon find that scanning the sheet alone would motivate you for the following day(s). Personally, I started doing it back in 2005 and over the last 13 years, it is not an exaggeration to say that one can read my life through it. Unfortunately, it became too complicated in recent years which prevent me from sharing it.
6. Social media – If you are on social media, there are plenty of runners who do wonderful posts that would be a great motivation for you to run. Their everyday runs, tips, experience, photographs and links to other resources help you in retaining motivation during the day. However, caution needs to be exercised in not getting dragged into the commercial sides of the so-called “influencers” or into the political and religious ideologies of these runners.
7. Reward yourself – Rewards could be as simple as a sumptuous breakfast in your favourite restaurant after a Sunday morning run (ignore the calorie intakes, which often is more than the calories lost while running!). Buying yourself new attire, shoes, gadgets or planning a running-vacation, where you sign up for a running event in an exotic location and combine your vacation can be other choices as you take further steps.

I have consciously left out discussions on complex issues like getting a right shoe, attire, nutrition, strength training, cross training, stretching and many others that are associated with running at different levels. Although critical and necessary at some point of time, they are certain not to prohibit you from getting started or preventing you from running. The key is to get started and it is still simple and easy to do so.

The benefits from running differs from individual and for some, it has even helped them to stay off medication from lifestyle diseases. It is best left to the individual to find out what benefits he/she derives from the exercise. Never mind the incidental benefits, one is sure to just start running for the joy of it. The journey by itself is a reward. Let’s take the first step!

An edited version of this article appeared in The Hindu – Metroplus (Coimbatore Edition). – http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/fitness/how-to-stick-to-your-new-year-resolution-to-run/article22266386.ece

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