In Running, consistency is greater than performance and here is why.
The cultural norm around running is angled to be the ‘best runner you can be’ and this is more often than not defined by running as fast as possible for as long as possible.
Performance in running comes from consistency
How often has your motivation for running stemmed from a place of desire to beat your personal best or how often have you asked another runner what their PB is? One of the many reasons we define our personal performance by numerical figures is because it can manifest into emotional investment that can provide a strong base for regular running. We are more likely to base our confidence as runners (and humans) on a tangible data point (a number) rather than on the unquantifiable benefits of running that we may experience mentally or emotionally.
Research shows that almost one quarter (24%) of people adopt running as a regular part of their lives in order to exercise. This indicates that the competitive elements involved in being performance-driven are not a prevailing motivation for runners, while exercise is. In the words of Scientist Tim Noakes,
“what is really required is a little exercise constantly; this will benefit you permanently to a far greater degree than a single heavy dose at long intervals”.
In addition to Tim Noakes, there is an array of research that highlights that the long-term benefits of building good habits outweigh the short-term high of achieving something in competition with oneself. Runners can tend to use their personal best as a benchmark for themselves – a reminder of what can be achieved if one truly applies oneself - but there is also an avid culture of sharing personal bests with other runners, comparing the minutes and seconds and sometimes within this culture, one can forget the ‘personal’ aspect of ‘personal best’.
Each runner is different: their stamina, the way running impacts their bodies and minds and the way that they want to enhance their performances can vary significantly. In fact, research has signified that the focus on performance rather than consistently running everyday can do more to hinder a runner’s evolution rather than benefit it. A 2016 study out of Australia showed that athletes who maintain a steady, high load of stress are less likely to get injured than those who have less volume of training. But if you increase your weekly load by 20 percent more than the average of the past four weeks, you slightly increase injury risk, and that risk becomes three to five times greater if you have a spike of 50 to 60 percent.
Consistency is harmonious with habits and habits can be a complicated but truly rewarding aspect of our lives; it is super interesting that the maintenance of a habit is interlinked with activity. To explain this further, in the 1990s, a group of researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology discovered a neurological process that is at the core of every habit. This simple 3-step loop is very powerful – it is hard-wired into our brain. So, to change the rules, you have to know the rules first.
Lupa can help with your running consistency
1. Cue – is any trigger that tells your brain when and which habit to use.
2. Routine – is an activity, emotion or behaviour.
3. Reward – is how your brain determines if a loop is beneficial to you or not.
For example: Cue – You want your fix of exercise. Routine - You go for a run. Reward – You feel fantastic, refreshed and have completed the loop.
A habit like this is likely to feed into consistency and consistency can be parallel with truly using running as a tool that enhances your life and is not just something you are forcing yourself to do. We are working on creating a community that can better understand the transformative impacts of running in a mental, emotional and physical context not just the latter. With regard to keeping running as a consistent in your life, you should know how to formulate it as a habit:
1. Examine the routine – This would be the behaviour you want to change. If you want to get more exercise, then what is stopping you? How long before you realise that it should be a priority? If you would like to be running with more consistency, think about how difficult it can be to re-build stamina with long breaks in between or reflect on how wonderful it feels to have that burst of endorphin when you do sporadically go running – would that not be a great feeling to sustain?
2. Analyse the reward – Running has been proven to improve your health. Your muscles will feel utilised and you will feel refreshed. You do not need special equipment or prep work, you can grab a pair of running shoes and start wherever you are, whenever. Runners that we have spoken to have described running as ‘freeing’, ‘relaxing’ and important for their mental health among other things. That indicates a lot of reward would be on the table if this habit was created – for some of your routine commitment, you could gain a range of benefits.
3. Identify the cue –What are the barriers stopping you? Triggers work in mysterious ways so you might need to observe your own behaviour in an objective way to understand what is happening. You need to learn to appreciate that whenever you choose to break a bad habit or form a good one – there will always be a day 1. It can be easy to see amazing runners training regularly and feel a sense of imposter syndrome, but you are just earlier than them in the running journey – and that journey is only yours to own.
If you are still looking for ways to motivate yourself to run more, here are 25 simple running motivation tips.
Written by: Umarrah Javed
If you want to run more consistently, why not try the Lupa app, download on iOS or Android for free today!