How Much Should You Run When You Start Running To Stay In Shape?

If you haven’t run before then you should start with a sensible distance like 0.5 mile and incorporate walk breaks if necessary.

If you keep running that distance every couple of days you’ll feel that you can go further each time.

The difficult part is not actually covering the distance, but coming out of the training session feeling positive and motivated to continue on with your running. If you burn up at the end of a run and feel awful then you’ll go into the next run thinking that it will hurt and not be fun too. It’s important to enjoy running if you want to keep doing it.

Think of all of the things that you enjoy doing in your life. Do you have to think about enjoying pizza, having sex or drinking beer? No. Running will eventually become like that if you give it enough time and put in the work.

Eventually it’ll stop feeling like work and it will be like play!

But whatever you do, don’t get down on yourself if training doesn’t seem to be going your way.

Slow down, breathe and try to silence all of the negative thoughts in your head.

Sooner or later something will snap inside your mind and you will be infected by the running bug!

Until then, you might have to fake it until you make it. Your earliest months as a runner will be your most testing. The urge to give in and to go back to being a couch potato will be irresistible at times. Don’t fall into the trap of comparing yourself with other runners. Instead focus on improving yourself and your own times and distances.

Build your running up slowly and you’ll soon be onto a winner!