I know what you’re thinking.  Why is she providing advice when she’s only just started running? And you would be right to think that. However; I may be a newbie to running, but mindfulness is a very good friend of mine, so I thought I would share some of the examples of where these two worlds collide, and just how easy it is to run when you’re “paying attention”.

The idea of paying attention to what is going on when you’re running may be an absolute nightmare for some of you. Based on the blogs I’ve read so far, many people seem to love running because it is their time to “zone out” and not think about anything. I can understand that; it makes total sense! A bit of peace and quiet amongst the chaos that is everyday life sounds like total bliss, but if you’re like me and it’s a new thing, your thoughts are what make the difference between finishing your run and giving up. 

My first and probably most important point is about your breath. If any of you have ever taken a yoga class you’ve probably heard the instructor banging on about “tuning into the breath” which again, makes sense, because if you don’t breathe, you pass out and if you keep not breathing, you die. Being mindful while you run allows you to figure out what is happening to your breathing. This is important, because if you don’t breathe correctly, your muscles will fatigue and you will feel “puffed”. If you suddenly change your breathing, you’ll get stitch(!), and if you breathe through your mouth the whole time you’ll probably get light headed. SO here are my mindful running breathing tips; 1. When you start, those first few steps, tune into what your breathing is doing straight away. Try to establish a rhythm; for me, I find I can maintain breathing in through my nose for 2 strides and breathing out through my mouth for another 2 strides. If I do this, I don’t get stitch and I can run at a decent pace without feeling like I’m going to collapse.  2. If you’re tuned in, you’ll notice if and when your breathing changes; are you tempted to fall out of your rhythm when you hit a hill and pant like a labrador? Do you hold your breath when it’s hard or when something hurts? LISTEN TO YOUR BREATHING AND TRY TO KEEP IT STEADY! For me this makes all the difference for my endurance! 3. If you manage to get a steady breathing rhythm going, your mind can float to other areas of your body and check in with them. How’s your neck? Are you tensing your shoulders? Clenching your fists? Notice what your body is doing. If you feel tension anywhere, you can breathe to release it, thanks to your new found ability to regulate your oxygen intake. Imagine your muscles relaxing with that outward mouth breath. This check in is a great idea at the start of your run; a nice way to say “hey body, I’m going to do this thing; are you ready?” 

I’ve kind of primed you for my next bit of advice when I talked about checking in with your body. Being mindful means asking yourself; “how is my ... feeling?”. Notice your feet; notice how they hit the ground. Are they hitting the ground evenly, or are they collapsing to the middle? How does that make your knees feel? Do your legs feel heavy like lead or mobile like powerful pistons? My calves often hurt when I run (I’ve been told it’s a strength thing that will improve as I get fitter!) so a big thing for me is noticing how I can step in order to put less strain on them; a sort of continuous “trial and error” with each stride. If you feel a tightness or a cramping, come back to your breath, slow down your stride, and see if you can work in that deep exhalation and release some of the tension. Sounds fluffy but trust me; your mind is a powerful healer! If nothing else, you can monitor the twinges and make a better decision about whether you need to stop running. 

For me, gratitude is a massive part of mindfulness, and something I try to practice on my runs. When it gets hard (because it’s never totally easy when you’re starting out!) I glance down at my feet or look at my shadow as it’s moving and I feel an immense amount of gratitude. I feel grateful I have been blessed with a body that is mobile, one that I can train to be stronger and work with rather than against. After years of abusing, hating and ignoring my body, whenever I run I feel grateful that I am able to make positive changes, and that every single step (no matter how slow!) is helping me toward my goals. 

Last, but certainly not least, is being mindful of and celebrating the small victories. Every time you lace up your shoes you are winning! Tell yourself that even if it felt like a “bad” run, it really wasn’t because it was still a run! You got out there and you pounded the pavement and even if you had to walk or you weren’t as fast as you thought you could be, you made a commitment to your body and your health and your mind and that deserves acknowledgement. 

When I started running (keeping in mind, I’m talking a few weeks ago, nothing crazy compared to a lot of people on here) I decided I would carry with me the mentality of “if you don’t like it, you can stop”. Being as in touch with my psyche as I am (my self talk game is STRONG), having this thought allowed myself to go through the motions of what my body was experiencing, and there was no pressure to push myself if I didn’t want to. 

My first run (not my first ever, but first of late) I told myself I would walk a lamp post, jog a lamp post and repeat until I had completed the easy flat lap around the park near my house. It was achievable, and because I wasn’t beating myself up in my head, I even found myself being able to jog a couple of lamp posts at a time. In total, I think I ran/walked about 2.5km that day, and I was really pleased with myself, not necessarily for the speed/distance I had run, but because I had physically gotten myself up out of bed and dragged myself out running. I held onto that feeling of having achieved something I previously thought I couldn’t and for the rest of the day, I felt brilliant. 

And so began my journey of exploring how far my body could go; no pressure, allowing myself to stop anytime I wanted to. It actually worked, because (touch wood) I haven’t wanted to stop yet! I was thrilled to discover I was quite able to run 5km (first time running 3km, walking .5km, running 1.5km), and with my new found motivation and love for this hobby, I decided I would enter a local off-road 5km race. The location was in the forest and I was really excited just to get out and explore (whilst running). 

Let me tell you, I copped SO MUCH FLACK from my family and friends. “But why?! You hate running!” “Hahahahahah yeah right, Kate, I’ll believe that when I see it.” It didn’t bother me as much as I was expecting it to, because at this point I was surprising myself more than anything. But I went out and I completed my 5k fun race, crossing the finish line faster than I could have imagined I would have. While I was running, there was a constant stream of thought in my head that was truly amazed with what I was accomplishing. Again, I had set out to run this race with the same mentality as I had come to know; I didn’t have to go fast, I just had to finish, no matter how slow I went. Despite this, I managed to run the whole way, which was just the icing on the cake!

I loved the feeling of crossing the finish line and getting my finishers medal. Having been a competitive equestrian, lacrosse and netball player, the idea of running in a race against other people was a totally foreign concept, but the whole atmosphere was buzzing and I found myself sitting around talking to total strangers and watching other racers finish for the rest of the day. The goody bag we got was also a massive plus! (I’ve never been given anything for entering a competition before!) 

I’ve heard other runners talk about how they became “hooked” on the sport, and while I’m not sure this is a lifelong passion for me (how can you even tell that anyway?) the idea of running and getting faster and stronger is SO exciting and I am absolutely loving this journey so far.