Christmas and the New Year have come and gone and tens of millions of people around the world have made resolutions for the next 12 months. New Years goals about getting into shape are the most common, probably brought on by the binge drinking and food comas.

 

Unfortunately many people fall short of these aims. This isn’t to say that these people are lazy; rather their system is not working for them. It is one thing to say “I will run 3 times a week”, but that is not enough. You must use tactics that work to help you stick to your New Year’s goals, whether they are to run more, eat healthier or get a new personal best. Use this 4 point plan to get running this year.

 

1. Get a plan, Get a Program
If you don’t have a plan in place then you are unlikely to achieve your goals. This saying can be used for all your resolutions, fitness or not! If you want to run a marathon in the summer make sure you know how to get to that stage.

 

Beginners can use the Couch to 5K program like Val did (read about Val here) that will take you from not running at all, to completing your first 5k run.

 

It also helps to keep track of your runs, how long you went for, how far you ran. This doesn’t have to be anything smart and sexy; a piece of paper on the side of the fridge will do, as long as you can see your progress.

 

2. Shout about it
Tell your friend, family, co-workers what you want to achieve. If you are constantly being asked how for you have progressed there is less of a chance that you will hang it up to dry. It also helps being proud about what you are doing, enjoying the run or the outcome can really help motivate then next one.

 

3. Make it work for you
Convenience is the key. If you don’t have a gym in your office, or within 10 minutes of your house don’t get that membership. Driving to the gym is an inconvenience; it is too difficult to “try hard” to go to the gym.

 

Instead get up a little earlier and run before work. It is hard to skip a run when there are no other pressing obligations (aside from going back to sleep, I’ll leave you to not press snooze). If this doesn’t work, maybe take your running clothes to work and run home.

 

4. Make it a habit
They say it takes 30 days to make something a habit. If you can start, and stick with it for 30 days then you won’t event notice when February rolls around.

 

Try and stay consistent as well. The number one way runners improve their performance is through consistency, one step at a time, one mile at a time, one day at a time. When you’re consistent, you develop and maintain a solid base of running fitness from which you can improve.

 

Life is short. Be pro-active about reaching your goals and keep pushing yourself to get better. You can succeed by changing little things in your routine to make your run easier.