Habits of successful runners

Friday, March 25, 2016 · Mike Davis

Good morning! A couple weeks ago I mentioned that I was reading a book on “The Power Of Habit,” written by Charles Duhigg. Nearly half way through the book which is pretty impressive with my schedule these days but, this book has impressed me from page 1. With a little over half way to go I have already gained great insight into the power of developing good habits and in contrast, the dangers of creating bad habits. Nothing earth shattering in that insight for most as we all know the importance of good and bad habits in our life’s. However, in relationship to running from a coaching prospective there are habits good and bad that we see or that I now better recognize. These habits affect success, health, sustainable running and overall enjoyment. Over time I will chat about each of these and this morning I would like to talk about the habits that impact success. As I chat about each of these results of habits, there will most likely be similar or even the same habits that affect these results so ultimately it won’t take a lot of habits to have multiple effects on your running. Successful Running Successful running ranges from being able to run 30 minutes without stopping to qualifying for the Boston Marathon. In between there are numerous other measurements that vary from individual to individual. Measures of success often come down to factors such as how we are wired, how old we are or what our goals are. No doubt there are other factors that might drive our ideas of success but, regardless the habits required to sustain success are much the same. Habit 1: Nutrition No matter if you want to run 3 miles comfortably or win your age group, creating good eating habits will improve your running. Eating the right foods that provide sustainable fuel is critical to all runners and something that must become a habit. I am terribly in consistent with my choices and the results are apparent in both the consistency of my runs and at times my weight gain. Too many sugars (potatoes, sweets and breads) which have no value and often not enough healthy foods that provide sustainable energy and other benefits. The habit of thinking through every bite we put into our mouth will directly impact our running and overall health. Running with proper fuel and less weight both enable us to move with greater ease. This is the number one habit I have to work on! Habit 2: Recovery Recovery is the area we see most that becomes the biggest challenge for us to coach. Helping our runners develop the concept of the importance of recovery may be the single toughest part of being a running coach. Most runners think more and faster is the best for gaining success however, in very few cases is this accurate. Depending on the runner and the goal more and faster need to be thought out and utilized as an intelligent part of a training plan. Not having active recovery runs and actual rest days will prevent our bodies from maintaining sustainable success. When we create personal running plans we are trying to create a habit where our runners have specific days where they are actively running but, are also actively letting their bodies recover. Often runners, run too fast too often and that habit can lead to a list of problems and plateaus success. The exact same can be said for more mileage without any thought for the risk or even the actual need. Recovery is often the key ingredient of successful running. Habit 3: Cross Training vs. strength & conditioning To some cross training is non-existent or mostly just another cardiovascular exercise. While there is great benefit to adding another cardio activity to your training however, sustainable success in your running requires strength training. Not necessarily lifting heavy weights but a good functional strength training plan or a routine of Pilates will pay great dividends to our bodies in multiple ways. Runners need to have muscles that protect the impact as well as the range of motion required to move freely. Pilates is a tremendous habit that targets all the functional areas of our bodies that running requires. Strength & conditioning have great value if done properly and that usually requires the right guidance. The challenge is that most runners usually feel like they have barely enough time to run and any habit such as strength and conditioning is impossible. If our goal is sustained success, finding time twice a week for Pilates or some specific strength training is a habit that will benefit us greatly! There are more habits that contribute to successful running but, I have run out of time. I hope you got something from these 3 habits and consider how they might take your running to the next level. Have a great Friday and see you on the roads! God Bless! Mike