What is more awesome than running around a lagoon to the original movie score from Predator?

Maybe running around a lagoon to the movie score from Predator imagining that you’re IN Predator. And oh, did I mention that I wasn’t actually wearing headphones – no – this music was being played FROM THE LOUDSPEAKERS that surround this lagoon. It’s beyond amazing. They blast epic movie scores to motivate evening runners. I.Love.It.

So as I was completing my Thursday run (I’m on week 7 you guys!!!) I was thinking about running and motivation and how freaking awesome I’m feeling compared to 7 weeks ago. And I figured I could speak with some authority on the subject of starting to run – for all you folk out there who don’t have an awesome lagoon nearby that plays inspiring movie scores to keep you moving.

Start really small

I have no doubt that you could get up tomorrow and run 10kms. Most people could. But the day after tomorrow your body would most likely disown you. So put the ego aside and start small really small. If you’ve never kept a regular running program, start with running for ten minutes every second day, building up to fifteen, then twenty minutes.

Put your shoes on

Not feeling motivated to run? That’s cool. Just convince yourself to put your shorts and shoes on, then tie up your laces. Still too hard to get out the door?

If you get too tired, walking is OK

If you can only run for 10 minutes before near-heart-attack, then bring it back to a walk. A great way to start building endurance is to alternate run/walk. Run for 2 minutes, walk for 1 minute. Repeat. Play around with this until you build endurance.

Just keep going

Honestly it’s gonna suck at first. There’s no getting around it. But just.keep.going. You won’t lose weight at first, you won’t look different at first, but you will feel different almost right away. And after the first week, everything will gradually start to get easier.

Follow a programme

It doesn’t have to be fancy. Just take a piece of paper and draw up a calendar for one month. Write down the days you plan to run and how long you plan to run for. Here’s my running programme, or if you have never done much running before, check out the programme I wrote for Ivan. There’s also heaps of running plans online that you can follow.

Find a friend or a community

It can be so easy to let ourselves down. Sometimes all it takes is knowing that someone else is relying on us to kick our butts into action. So find a friend to run with. If they run faster than you – great, schedule them for your hard run. If they run slower than you, great, schedule them for your easy run. The point is, they get you out the door.

Pick a race

There is nothing more motivating than a looming deadline. Especially when that deadline is going to see you get your ass out of bed at 6am to join thousands of other people run a pre-defined route with little timing chips strapped to your ankles. So get online and find something that motivates you. Maybe it’s a 5 or 10km run. Maybe it’s a half marathon or a crazy adventure race. Whatever it is, find it and register!

[image source. And quote by John Bingham]