I firmly believe that some human traits are foundational to the advancement of our species. One of these evolutionary traits is laziness. We are fundamentally lazy and avoid inefficient transportation (i.e. walking/running). Laziness coupled with creativity and cognition is the driver for efficiency. This behavior enabled development of technologies such as the wheel, automobile, trains and plains. This is problematic in that these technologies are highly efficient in the task of transportation and allow us to avoid using our feet, especially for long distances. At the same time, the human anatomy is hyper designed for long distance running - this is not new and is supported by a large number of reputable studies.
Harsh Truth
Running is hard to start because our body wants to be lazy - after-all laziness is why we have so many technological advancements that enable us to be more lazy.
Fortunately there are other evolutionary traits that we can leverage to fuel motivation and encourage us to run when laziness is at its max impact.
Jealously/Envy is an evolutionary trait that feeds motivation and competitive behavior.
What is the evolutionary logic that drives envy; e.g., the fact that you envy your neighbor (who is wealthier than you) more than Bill Gates? The answer is that the whole purpose of envy is to motivate you into action either by independently trying harder (envy) or by coveting and stealing what the other has (jealousy). This is why jealousy has an aggressive component, but envy is more positive sometimes even being tinged with admiration.
Similar to us wanting to be great at things, we also want to have the best things; this feeds into a natural materialistic behavior. That rush of excitement/motivation you get when you obtain something new (different for everyone). Think of back when you were in grade 2-3 and you got a new pencil case or a new notebook and you wanted to keep it neat and organized.
Last weapon in the arsenal is music and its ability to let us to feel. Plenty of research out there, but from what I read, we don’t quite understand why music affects the human body the way it does. When listening to our favorite songs, our body reacts: our pupils dilate, our pulse and blood pressure rise, and the cerebellum, a brain region associated with bodily movement, becomes increasingly active. Blood is even re-directed to the muscles in our legs (maybe that’s why there is an urge to move/dance).
My Advice: For Those Who Hate Running
First Phase:
Use pre-coded human behavior (motivation through competitiveness, and materialism) and the power of music as a tool to push-back on other pre-coded human behavior (laziness). The following plan is what I used to get active and start running with these human behaviors in mind. Intended to try to encourage those who hate running to start (note: this assumes you do not run):
Identify two tracks that you can really groove to, about 3-4 minutes long. Create and add these tracks to a running playlist.
Plan to run every other day for the first two weeks, but very short distances. A good model is MWF and larger breaks on the weekends.
For your first run - treat it as a listening session not a running session. Start your playlist and run until you hit the middle of the first track, at that point turn around and run back. This should be about 3-4 minute run/jog.
For your second run - same as your first run. If you feel good go beyond the halfway point of the first track.
For your third run (Friday) - try to run for the entire duration of the first track, and turn around and head back at the start of the second track. Ideally you want the second track to be longer in duration than your first (because you will be running slower or even walking).
At this point you have had 3 runs, but instead of running you are listening to some music that you really really like. This is key! Leverage a dope beat and a track that just takes over your body to override the feeling of tiredness which fuels laziness and drives you towards not running. You may not be able to complete running for two tracks worth of time, just repeat every other day until you can. My guess is 6-10 runs will get you there. Once you are able to run for 2 tracks worth (step 5 above, move to the next phase.
Second Phase:
This phase focuses on materialistic rewards. As you slowly start getting better at running past your first two songs, setup milestones for yourself and rewards to encourage you to go a bit further. Some guidelines are as follows:
Once you are able to run for a total of 3 songs (or +1 more than what you completed in phase 1) get yourself some cool running socks. These socks will in no way help you run better, faster or longer. But it’s a bit of a motivator putting on your running socks to go run.
One you hit your 5th or 6th song in your regular runs, upgrade your shoes. This is especially important actually. You are now at a stage where you are running a bit more regularly and probably have 10+ runs under your belt (thats about a months worth of running). Getting some new shoes will 1 - encourage you with something new and shiney, 2 - give you time to break in the shoes while you think about posture and running form.
Once you hit your second month of runs (about 20 runs), boost up your motivation by getting a t-shirt or new pair of shorts. This is now your running outfit. In due time, you will forget about it, but for now, use it to encourage yourself to run further and further.
It’s important to space out these purchases. Each purchase acts as a reward for hitting a milestone (set by yourself_. If you skip this process, your gains that you are experiencing (such as better rhythm, lower resting heart rates, longer distance and improved cardio) will go less noticed and could push you to not recognizing the progress being made. But progress is slow when you are running, and you have to look for it. I think this is why most people quit running. Setting these milestones, helps you track that progress and keeps you motivated. The next phase however, is where you can really hone in on improvements and actually start measuring your physical gains.
Last Phase:
This phase focuses on competitiveness, at this point you have had a few good runs and have been seeing improvement in your cardio. This step is easier if you are open to posting on social media outlets, but also has options if you prefer to keep your stats to yourself or a select group of people that care (instead of the world):
Get a watch. I use a Garmin fenix 5 and love it. Use it to measure your pace, your heart rate, your speed and your distance. Nike/Apple, Garmin and Apple watches all have great apps that can track this information for you.
Choose one parameter to try to improve on in every run. For example, try to complete the same distance in a shorter amount of time. Brushing off a few seconds here and there is all it takes. Before you know it, your speed has increased by 10-15%.
Look back frequently on your last week’s and last month’s stats. You will always be improving, that’s just how cardio works. Looking back actually allows you to visualize your gains. This will further fuel your motivation.
Sign up for something to be able to post to social medial if that is your style - Strava is a great tool. Most watches have interfaces with Facebook, Insta, etc. in addition to their own dashboards and apps. Leverage your friends and your social persona to motivate you to achieve your goals. Announcing a goal publically, and setting a target date can enable your social network to keep you accountable and motivated.
Sign up for local 5k race in 2 months. This becomes your motivator. If you are bold, tell some close friends so that they can hold you accountable.
Why this is all important?
I didn’t run, I couldn’t run, I hated running. But I was always envious and marveled at the physical and mental control of those who could run marathons or run super fast. Now I run weekly and can cover decent distances just short of a half marathon. By no means am I an expert runner, but I have learned a few things that have been really beneficial when getting to this point.
Running is one of the best de-stressors have been able to find.
The next day my lungs feel refreshed and my body has a weird lively feeling to it.
Getting past the first few weeks is the hardest. Once you get to a certain distance, running starts to become routine, and less of a constant tiring battle between your will to run and your will to be lazy. Sometimes people refer to this as the running wall. I felt it most around 1 mile, 3 miles and 6 miles.
One Last Thing
A really health close friend of mine would run regularly for several years. Last weekend he started feeling shortness of breath in one of his runs. He felt normal otherwise. On a following run he felt the shortness of breath again, abnormally tired for a regular distance that shouldn’t have been a problem for him. After reaching out to his doctor, and going in for some tests, he was diagnosed with a heart condition (genetic). If it wasn’t for his regular running habits, it is very likely that this condition would have been undetected for several years. If left un-managed, it would have costed him his life. He literally owes his life to running regularly. If all else fails, I hope this can at least encourage you to continue to push for a regular running routine in your busy schedule.