How to 'get out the door' and run

What percentage of a runners intended runs don’t go ahead?

Presuming that a runner is fit and healthy and able to run, and that training is balanced to ensure they don’t overtrain, then if they can hit 90-100% of their runs then without a doubt that consistency will see them achieve great results. 

Runs do however get missed, a lot. There will be people who miss more runs (or training sessions) than they take part in, and others who maybe only miss the odd one but then they beat themselves up mentally about the missed session which affects motivation and performance. 

How do we ensure better adherence to training and how do we ensure that all runners ‘get out the door’ to do their workout?

Get a coach (accountability)

Without someone checking in on you, often you are the only one that knows that you have missed out on a planned training session. Whether you are soft or hard on yourself this can make it easy to skip workouts. Hiring a coach without a doubt increases adherence to a plan. You also then have this mentor to discuss any missed sessions and to also help you plan your training to ensure that the workload is realistic to your lifestyle. 

Get a training partner

Whether this is instead of having a coach or in addition, having or being a reliable training partner will help you ‘get out the door’. It’s one thing cheating on your own workout but surely you wouldn’t let down a friend!

Social aspect of running

Training isn’t always easy and enjoyable. If it was then everyone would be super fit. We can however try and make training more fun in order to increase attendance. Joining a running group/club is a great idea as sharing a workout with friends can make it more fun. It’s also a way of ensuring you are doing your workouts correctly, under the supervision of a coach, and you are less likely to miss that last rep if you aren’t doing it alone. Do the sessions that you struggle to do alone in a group such as strength work, intervals, or that long run. 

Technology 

For some people they enjoy a run to get away from the noise of an office environment, home life, or maybe to escape technology for an hour. For others perhaps running is a time that they can enjoy a podcast, download a new album, phone home etc. Looking forward to episode 5 of your new favourite podcast might just ensure you don’t miss out on a run!

Change of scenery 

Variety is the spice of life! It can get a bit boring if we just keep on doing the same workouts. Think about what options you have to change locations / running routes occasionally. There are lots of different types of training sessions that you can do all with their benefits. Get the balance correct and enjoy the variety to your training. 

Train for something 

The fear factor works for a lot of people. Sign up for a race, especially a tough one, or one that you know that you will enjoy, and that should motivate you to train better. 

Tick that box 

Most of us work with lists in various forms to ensure we do all our work and home life tasks. Add your workout to your to-do list!