Ep #212: The Easiest Way to Start Running

Welcome to The Not Your Average Runner Podcast. If you’re a woman who has never felt athletic but you still dream about becoming a runner, you are in the right place. I’m Jill Angie, a certified running and life coach, and I teach women how to start running, feel confident, and change their lives. And now I want to help you.

Hey Rebels, how are you on this gorgeous day? Because I am assuming it’s gorgeous where you are. Because you know what? I know it’s cliche but any day that I wake up on this side of the dirt is a fucking gorgeous day. So before we dive into this week’s episode, I’m going to go completely off topic.

I just have to tell you the weirdest story about one of my cats, her name is Eunice. And I know a lot of my listeners are pet people and I think you’re going to appreciate it. And I’m just still laughing because it’s so weird.

So a few nights ago, Andy and I, when we went to bed there was a Dave and Busters metal token on the dresser. And I have no clue where it came from, I haven’t been to a Dave and Busters in at least 10 years. Somehow it ended up on the dresser with some other change.

So okay, so Eunice likes to sleep under the covers with us sometimes down by our feet. It’s very cute until you switch positions in the middle of the night and she gets mad and bites your toes. Which I’m sure other people can relate to this.

So anyway, this is the weird thing. The other night we went to bed and the token was on the dresser and then early in the morning Eunice woke me up by little love bites on my toes. And I kind of like shooed her off the bed with my foot and I went back to sleep. But then an hour later, when I finally got up, I pulled the covers back and the Dave and Busters token was right where she had been sleeping. And I’m like, “What the hell is that?”

I mean, I can see if it was one of her toys. She’s got these like little mice, and her balls, she’s got a million toys. She carries them all over the place. That’s happened before, they have ended up in the bed before. But in this case, she basically had to carry a piece of metal between her teeth while jumping up on the bed and working her way under the covers. What kind of freak animal does this?

So if you have a cat that carries coins in her mouth, I need to know about this because it seems very unusual to me. I’m a little concerned that she’s like collecting her treasure. Andy says that she’s kind of like Smaug the dragon from the Hobbit. I don’t know, it just seems really unusual.

And she’s a weird cat, she’ll eat basically anything. We caught her the other day like gnawing on a zucchini. And I was like I don’t know what to say, at least it’s – I don’t even know. We took it away from her. She’s such a weirdo though. I’ve had a lot of cats in my life and Eunice is far and away the strangest of all of them.

So anyway, I just had to get that out of me and share it because it just seems strange. Anyway, so for the past two weeks here on the podcast we’ve been talking a lot about how to stay consistent with exercise and stop quitting on yourself. And I’m hoping that that’s been super helpful for you and that you’ve gotten some ideas there about how to keep yourself coming back to exercise over and over again.

Now, this week I want to help you get started as a runner. Okay, so we’ve just been talking about exercise in general. This week I want to help you actually take those first steps towards becoming a runner. Or maybe if you’re somebody who used to be a runner and you’ve taken some time off, I want to help you get back into it.

So if you took my workshop last week, I actually taught an online workshop on Sunday called How to Become a Consistent Exerciser. If you took that workshop, you know that it’s way easier than you think to get started. And the exercise that I love most is running. I’m a running coach. I love when people start running.

But the number one comment that I get from people who don’t run is, “Oh, I’d love to be a runner but I just can’t seem to get started.” Actually, that’s probably tied with the other comment, “I’d love to be a runner but I hate running.”

Like, okay, you hate running. Why would you love to be a runner? That sounds kind of funny when you say it like that. But I swear I’ve heard people say those exact words more than once, “I’d love to be a runner, but I hate running.” It’s like, “Oh, I’d love to live forever but I hate breathing.” Like, okay. It just doesn’t make sense to me.

But the thing is, if you believe that you hate running, it’s simply because you’re not doing it the way I teach it. All right? I mean, for real, I have a much different approach than most coaches and running apps because guess what? I really want you to succeed. I actually care that you enjoy yourself with it, and that you stick with it and get all the benefits, rather than giving up because you think it’s too hard.

So I take a very different approach than most coaches and most running apps because I want you to be happy with running. I don’t want you to suffer. So, I mean, my mission, really, with this podcast, definitely with this episode, but with this podcast in general is I want to break down the barriers that have been set up by the fitness industry that teach us that running is only for super fit, thin people. Or that you need to be genetically blessed to be a runner because it’s not true.

Okay, yeah, you need to be genetically blessed if you want to run a four minute mile. That’s pretty fucking fast, right? There’s just a handful of people that have actually run faster than a four minute mile. But running a 16 minute mile or even a 12 minute mile, that is available to you no problem.

Anyone can run, it is literally not a special skill. You learned how to do it organically right after you learned how to walk when you were a toddler. You’ve actually been a runner since you were a toddler, you just haven’t been doing it a lot lately.

So let that sink in for a moment. You already know how to run. It is not a skill that you need to learn how to do, you already know how. You’ve mastered the basics. You are a human, which means running is quite literally in your genetics. You evolved to be a runner. This is how humans have actually evolved. If you look at our bone structure, how our bodies are put together, we are built for running.

So I’m just here to help you refine the basic skill that you already have so that you can have fun and keep doing it and feel kind of badass. That’s all. So in this podcast I’m going to demystify the world of running and help you get started. And the first thing you need to know is that to be a runner, you don’t have to run the entire workout without stopping. It’s true.

I teach an interval approach where you alternate running and walking and running and walking for specific amounts of time for the entire workout. This whole like, “Real runners don’t take walk breaks” thing is an absolute falsehood. It is an alternative fact. It’s not true.

I know tons of runners personally, even professional runners who use the interval approach. In fact, within just the past six months both of the running memoirs that I’ve read, I’ve read two running memoirs in the past six months, and both of them were written by accomplished runners who use the run walk method.

So if you are thinking, “Oh, I can’t be a runner because I can’t run more than 20 seconds without stopping.” Let’s just like stomp out that thought right now. Because when you think that way, you feel defeated. And when you feel defeated, your action is to not run. Or to kind of half ass it and give up early. And that’s not what we want.

A way more helpful way to think is that run walk, the interval method is just one way to be a runner. All right, I’m going to give that a try and see how it goes. I want you to really practice thinking that, “Run walk is just one way to be a runner and I’m going to give that a try and see how it goes.” Because when you think that thought you might feel, I don’t know, curious or excited. And then the action from those emotions is to put on your shoes and go out for a run.

So, a lot of people ask me about this. They’re just like, “But I can’t, I can’t run more than 20 seconds without stopping.” And I’m like, “No, no, no, my dear, it’s okay.” All right. And then the next question I get is all right, well, how much should I run and how much should I walk? And then my answer to that question is always it depends.

In my Rebel Runner Roadmap class that I teach I help my students figure out the ratio of running to walking that works best for them. But it’s different for every person. So I encourage you to experiment. Try different things to see what works best for you.

And, of course, you can absolutely join the next round of the Rebel Runner Roadmap, which is coming up very soon, and get my help. That’s something I highly recommend. But really, I want you to recognize, it’s like running shoes, there’s no perfect running shoe. There’s only the shoe that works best for you. Same thing goes for your run walk intervals, there’s no perfect run walk interval, just the one that works best for you.

Now, here’s what I want to do next, I want to talk about the three most common mistakes that beginner runners make that are super easy for you to fix. And when I say beginning runner, I mean somebody who’s never gone running before. Or even somebody who used to run and is coming back at it after several years off. Maybe you ran in high school and now you’re in your 40s and you really haven’t done anything super athletic in the intervening time. And it kind of feels like you’re starting over again. So this is for you, too.

So the first mistake is not warming up. And I get it, you’re busy. And you think, “Oh, I don’t have time to walk for five minutes before I start running. I just need to get to the running so I can get it done.” But guess what? When you do a warm up, and I recommend a five minute walking warm up. You just walk for five minutes before your first interval.

When you do a warm up two things happen. The first thing is that running feels easier. So you walk for five minutes to warm up, and then the running part feels easier. And here’s the cool part, you can also end up running faster if you warm up first.

And the reason that is, is because if you warm up first, then when you start the running your body’s ready to go. But if you don’t warm up, you have to spend the first five minutes of your run warming up. And you’re running slower and more uncomfortably during that time period.

So I got to tell a story of a couple years ago, I had a client who insisted, she flat out insisted, she’s like, “I do not have time to do a warm up. I have to get up early. I have to be to work early. I have 30 minutes. I do not have time for a warm up. I’ve got to get my two miles in.”

And so I said, “All right, I get it. Just try it my way one time. Just one time get up an extra five minutes earlier, do a five minute walking warm up, and then do your 30 minute two mile run.” I’m like, “It’s five minutes, right? You can do it, or you can be five minutes late for work, whatever, we’ll figure it out.” And she grudgingly agreed. She’s like, “Okay, I’ll try it.”

And again, usually she would do about two miles in that 30 minutes. But on the day she did a five minute walking warm up, guess what? Okay, well, I’m just going to tell you, she did her two miles in 25 minutes. So do the math on that, right? She did a five minute walking warm up and then she knocked out two miles in 25 minutes.

So basically, her warm up meant that her actual run time was shorter. But she was still able to cover the same distance as when she didn’t warm up and ran for 30 minutes. So if you count the distance that she walked during that five minutes, she covered more distance in 30 minutes with additional walking. Let that sink in. She walked more, ran faster, went farther in the same amount of time.

And she also noticed that the first few minutes of her run, where normally she’s feeling really uncomfortable and struggling to breathe, were so much easier. So she covered the same distance in less time. So she covered two miles in 25 minutes. In her 30 minutes that she normally gave to her workout she covered more than two miles, and it felt better and easier.

So your results may vary a little bit but I can practically guarantee if you do a warm up, your run is going to feel easier. And you’re going to run a little faster. And you’re just going to have a better experience. So I want to make sure you’re including at least three minutes of walking before you start, but five minutes is so much better. Five minutes.

In fact, if you can give me 10 minutes of walking warm up, you’re going to feel awesome. But five is like, I find that five is like that kind of a sweet spot. It gets your whole body warmed up, ready to go, your entire running experience will improve. And if you have a better experience running, you’re more likely to come back and do it again.

The number two mistake, the second mistake that new runners make is going out way too fast. That first interval they’re like, “I got all this energy. I’m all warmed up. I’m going to go ham.” Trying to go as hard as possible because they’re thinking, “Oh, that’s what runners do. Runners just run as fast as possible, right?”

No, we call those folks sprinters. Sprinting is another type of running, just like run walk. We have run walk, we have sprinting, we have all kinds of different running. But sprinters. they’re the ones going all out for the short distances, like think 100 meter dash.

And the reason they can run so fast is because they’re only going to be doing it for a few minutes. If you’re going to be running for 20 minutes, or 30 minutes, or an hour you got to slow the fuck down. And really, go on the Olympics website or whatever and compare the mile pace of the person doing the marathon, versus the pace of the person doing the 100 meter sprint.

I guarantee you that 100 meter sprinter is probably running twice as fast as the marathon runner because they just have to do it for literally a matter of seconds. And we can endure almost anything for that short period of time.

So you’re not a sprinter. You’re going to be running a couple miles, maybe 5K, maybe 10K, who knows? Maybe more. But when you are starting out as a runner I want you to get into the groove of a comfortable, relaxed pace on those run intervals.

It’s going to help you breathe better, it’s going to keep your muscles from feeling sore afterwards, it’s going to help you avoid injury. And it’s easier. Which means you’re going to enjoy your time more, and you’re more likely to come back to it.

Are you sensing a theme here? I want to set you up for success so that you’re enjoying your running time, and you want to do it again. So to slow yourself down I want you to think first about taking shorter strides. Sprinters take really long strides, they are covering a lot of ground when their body is in the air from step to step.

But if you’re brand new runner you’re going to take much shorter strides. I want you to think of like edging out of a walk. Imagine you’re at the mall, and you know the mall is going to close soon and you really want to get to, I don’t know, Bath and Body Works because there’s a sale on three wick candles. And you’re like, “I got to get there.”

And you can see that they’re closing and so you’re kind of like power walking. And then pretty soon you’re kind of in a jog. Like it’s not a full out run, but it’s definitely like a pretty fast shuffle. That’s the vibe. Maybe a little faster, definitely faster than a walk, more effort than a walk, but not a full-out pumping your arms, breathing heavy kind of exercise, right? Just a relaxed pace, an elevated pace.

Now, if you’re struggling to recover on your walk breaks, so you’re doing run, walk, run, walk. If you’re struggling on those walk breaks to catch your breath, to feel like you’re ready to start running again, you’re going too hard on the run. And you’re possibly trying to push yourself maybe to run farther or longer than you’re ready for.

So I want you to experiment with slowing down your pace and or running a shorter interval until you figure out kind of that sweet spot. Pretend you’re a science experiment. Write everything down that you’ve tried. I tried to do 30 second run, 60 second walk. I tried to do 60 second run, 30 second walk. Write everything down that you tried on different runs. Figure out how like how it felt. Analyze the data, pretend you’re a science experiment and draw some conclusions.

Or, obviously you can join the Rebel Runner Roadmap and I will help you figure it out. I will figure it out alongside you. But this is the gist, you have to be listening to your own body. And when your body is not being able to catch its breath that’s a very clear signal, oh, you’re just running too fast. So you haven’t done anything wrong. you’re just running too fast than you’re ready for right now. And that’s okay, that’s an easy fix.

Finally, the third mistake that I see all the damn time and it breaks my heart every time is shit talking yourself when you think you should be farther along then you are. And it sounds like this, “Well, my friend and I started running at the same time and she can do a 5K in 40 minutes now, but it still takes me an hour. I’m really bad at this. Why should I bother? It’s not fair. I’m so embarrassed. She’s so much better than me.” Or another version of that is, “Well I’ve been doing this for a month and it’s not getting any easier. Why should I bother? I’m not making any progress.”

So if you can relate to this genre, that sort of like negative Nancy in your head. stop shit talking yourself. It’s not helping. In fact it’s making it worse. It’s making it harder for you to make progress. Because when you tell yourself you’re not getting anywhere, which, by the way, I can think of a million ways you are making progress that have nothing to do with your pace or your distance, or how fast your friend is going.

So when you tell yourself you’re not making any progress, you feel discouraged. Am I right? Nobody says, “Oh, I’m not making any progress,” and then feels excited, right? We feel discouraged. We feel frustrated. And what do people who feel discouraged and frustrated do? Well, they definitely aren’t lacing up their running shoes with a big happy smile on, ready to slay their workout. No.

When you feel discouraged and frustrated you are much more likely to quit on yourself early, or just not show up at all, or really not give yourself 100% effort. So please, stop cock blocking yourself from becoming a runner by saying all that stuff.

Instead I want you to look at what you have accomplished. Celebrate that you’ve been a runner for a whole month. Celebrate that you got out of your comfort zone and went running out in your neighborhood where everyone can see you. All right, or that when you first started running you were able to do 10 intervals and now you can do 20.

Like I said before, I can find a million things that are evidence of your progress. And if you look, you will see them too. I don’t care how small it seems. You’re a lot more likely to see the evidence that it’s working if you stop the shit talk and start treating yourself like you actually care about your own feelings. You would never talk to your bestie the way you talk to yourself, so stop it. Stop hurting your own feelings right now. Okay? Deal?

Okay my friends, I hope that you’re ready to start running now. I hope that this podcast has inspired you to take some action. And really it’s so much easier than you think. And once you get started doing it my way, you are going to be amazed at how good you are at running. Amazed. And your friends and family will too. They’ll be like, “What? I did not know she had that in her. Way to go.”

So if you want more help on getting started with running or getting back into running, the Rebel Runner Roadmap is where I can give you more guidance. We could actually work together. If you’ve ever thought, “Damn, I listen to Jill’s podcast all the time, I wish she was my running coach.” All right, I can be your running coach.

So the next Rebel Runner Roadmap class starts on September 13th. The Rebel Runner Roadmap is a 30 day online class. It’s a group class where I teach you all about things like running form, and breathing, and pacing, and how to pick your best run walk intervals, how to manage your shit talking, the best stretches to do and so much more.

There’s so much packed inside this class. And you can get so much help from me, directly from me. Like we can look at each other on video and I can help you. I can actually talk to you and help you with whatever you’re struggling with.

So you can get more details about how the class works and everything, and definitely register at rebelrunnerroadmap.com. All right, that is rebelrunnerroadmap.com. It is also linked on my Instagram profile, it’s going to be in the show notes. Or you can just go to rebelrunnerroadmap.com.

So class starts on September 13th. You have to register by September 12th. We are not taking any more registrations after September 12th. If you miss it, you miss it. So literally just stop what you’re doing right now, if you’re driving pull over, sign up rebelrunnerroadmap.com. I will see you in class. We’re going to have some fun. Okay?

All right my rebellious friends, that is it for today. I love you, stay safe. Get your ass out there and run and I will talk to you next week.

Oh, and one last thing. If you enjoyed listening to this episode you have to check out the Rebel Runner Roadmap. It’s a 30 day online program that will teach you exactly how to start running, stick with it, and become the runner you’ve always wanted to be. Head on over to rebelrunnerroadmap.com to join. I’d love to be a part of your journey.