So I mentioned yesterday that I haven’t really kept up my running. Honestly, it was simply becoming too invasive. When I was working with a 5K distance, going for a run meant a 30-minute break. As I crept steadily upward using the Podrunner podcasts, it became a 1-hour duty. It was just too much and I rebelled.
However, I do retain some motivation to keep at it. This weekend is my 5K run that I’ve been planning and training for. After that, though, I worry that I’ll let all of my progress disappear. So how do I prevent that from happening? Well, the first thing I need to do is identify what factors kept me from continuing.
1. Too much time
When my runs were in the 30-minute range, it wasn’t onerous to do them. As the runs got longer, they became more difficult to work in (and more difficult to motivate myself to do). If I want a successful running program, it can’t take much more than 30 minutes.
2. Progress trap
I really got tripped up by the need for progress. Once I was done the Couch-to-5K program, I needed to shoot for a longer distance. I even started contemplating a triathlon or half-marathon. I really think this overwhelmed me. Jogging 30-minutes three times a week is plenty to reach and maintain my goals of health and fitness. I need to keep that in mind: maintenance is the goal, not progress.
3. The rapidly approaching winter
This was becoming a psychological problem for me, where I had a 43-folders-style “open loop” about what I’d do during the winter. This isn’t really a problem so much as a distraction, and I need to arrive at a solution that avoids it entirely. I also have no interest in purchasing a treadmill.
4. It isn’t habit-friendly
Or at least, the way I was doing it wasn’t habit-friendly. To make it habit-friendly, I need to associate running with something regular in my life or schedule. For example, I eat according to the No-S diet on all non-special weekdays. I Shovelglove after breakfast, before showering, again on all non-special weekdays. I need to make running something that I do regularly.
So What is the Solution?
I need to find something I do three times a week that is proximate to a treadmill. This seems like a tall order, but there so happens to be something that I do three times a week (except on holidays) that is a 1-minute walk from a free treadmill. I teach a course at the college campus 2km from my house on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 930 to 1100; this same college campus has a number of treadmills in a gym that is free to use for all staff and students. The course starts on the 21st, which should be when the itch to start moving again begins to bug me, which is also a nice side-benefit. The only possible snafu I forsee is that I teach a course on Monday afternoons at a different campus, a course I’d rather not arrive for all sweaty and gross. That said, I believe there may be a way to either finagle a shower at one of the two colleges, or simply return home for a quick shower before heading on to the next course. Indeed, the latter may be preferable as I’d rather have lunch at home anyway.
Thus, my plan is to begin running on a treadmill for 30 minutes each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from September 21st until the middle of December, at which point I will assess how it has gone and make plans to either change it or continue it in the new year, when my schedule is not quite as perfect.
Why will this work?
I think this will work because I’ll be creating an association in my mind between running and the college. In fact, the only two things I’ll be doing at that campus are teaching and running. All of my marking, course prep, and academic duties are at other campuses. My habit will be to go, teach, then run.
The other reason I think this will work is that I can feed my need for progress without adding time to the run. Each day or each week, I can set the pace on the treadmill to be slightly higher than it was the day or week before. This is something that would be impossible for someone of my experience to accomplish while running outside. Thus, I will not be trapped by the need for progress, but motivated by it.
I’ll have to report on my first week (which will only feature a run on Monday and Friday) after the 25th.
2 Comments
September 19, 2009 at 4:32 pm
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September 22, 2009 at 11:23 pm
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