4 reasons why beginners stop running. Learning not to quit

You could say that in recent years we have been hit by a boom of runners and marathons – a large number of races are held, special running clubs are opening, and brands are expanding their lines for runners. But there are some people who, even after trying running, stop training. Why does this happen?

Grigory Bakhin

psychologist, specialist in ecological career and life building, mental coach

I have identified four main reasons.

Lack of purpose for classes and training

We are used to setting goals in life and work, to solve ambitious tasks, and in running we say: “I run for myself”. In general, this is a good goal. But I would open it up and complete it: for weight loss, for maintaining physical activity, for the result, for a particular race, etc.

For me personally, running is the best goal setting training. You can often hear that running is boring. In fact, every workout has a different goal: recovery, interval, tempo, etc. They are all different: somewhere you feel easy, somewhere you feel hard, somewhere you run a new route or meet new people.

Lack of knowledge about the training process

Running is such a thing that you can only do it systematically and constantly, changing and adapting the new load, otherwise there will be no progress. You can not run five kilometers every morning at the same pace and expect that in a month you can run a half marathon.

Firstly, doing the same workout every time is boring, and secondly, there is really no progress in such exercises. It is better either to hire a coach who will make a training plan based on your physical shape, or, if you want to practice on your own, read enough literature on running to understand how the training process is organized, how the body works, and choose what suits you. Today there is a lot of quality literature.

You need to prepare seriously for any distance, running does not forgive negligence. But it is arranged surprisingly, you can see how on small volumes of a few kilometers a day at some point you begin to feel more confident: the distance increases, speed appears, and with it comes and the joy of exercise. Running is a skyscraper in which each training session builds a new floor.

Lack of mental preparation

There is a phrase among runners, “A marathon is run with your head.” Any distance is a battle between the body and the mind. The head says: “Stop, don’t subject yourself to such loads”, and the body says: “Come on, just a little more, we have to run”. In running, the right mindset and the ability to dialog with yourself is very important.

Key skills: patience, will, self-motivation.

If we have not yet entered the taste, our body will put various obstacles, so we need to find the strength, tie our sneakers and get out the door. When there are so many temptations inside the apartment and in the outside world – it is difficult to make a choice in favor of running, but only you can make it.

Results in running appear gradually, move step by step, never sharply increase the distance. If you run 10 kilometers a week, do not run the next 20 at once. Everything will come. Do not run a lot at a high pace. To start with, about an hour of running and walking at a heart rate of up to 145 bpm is enough. Remember that you should treat yourself with care, because it is quite easy to get “full of running”.

If you like to exercise in company, find like-minded people. For example, every Saturday there are parkruns all over Russia, where every athlete can participate for free and meet other athletes.

Learn to give up small things for the sake of big victories over yourself in the future. If you do decide to take up running, stick to a certain system. If you miss a workout or two, it’s okay, you’re not a professional athlete after all.

But if you drop out for a week or a month, you should realize that your form will be gone during this time. There is nothing wrong with this, but you should not try to catch up on this missed time, such actions will not be useful.

If you get tired of running, take a break in another activity. Yoga, soccer, volleyball, etc. Switching between activities is okay, it unloads your head and body.

Finally, start enjoying every start, every workout. Running is a way of learning about yourself, your sensations, your limits, this process is endless. It is not for nothing that they say that “a marathon is a little life”.