You know how to develop a habit?  Repeat the step over and over.  If you want to be a writer, you don’t sit down and write a novel in one day.  If you want to be a partner in a law firm, you don’t apply for that position right out of law school.  And if this year, you want to become a fitter and healthier person, you don’t come into Running Wild and buy your shoes to run a marathon the next day when you have never run before and declare yourself a runner!

Accomplishing goals takes consistent behaviors day after day, week after week and month after month until you are publishing books, winning cases and running or walking daily.  Well, we don’t really know much about the first two, writing and lawyering, BUT we can show you how to keep moving your body so that you can reap the rewards: lower blood pressure, weight control, heart health and just plain ol’ feeling better after months of BAD habits.

Enter our model motivator, Bill Buckland:

A young, vivacious man at 69 who had once been a very accomplished marathon runner had developed some BAD habits.  We have all been there, even the best of us.  “I think I will take three days off” can slowly turn into a week, a month and so on.  A couple of extra pounds each year suddenly leaves you feeling sluggish and tired.  And then more problems can arise.

Last January, Bill started a goal of walking 15 miles a week.  He had been walking before that, but without consistency.  He felt OKAY…but now he is definitely feeling better.  With the support of the Running Wild staff, he met his goal of 780 miles for the year, lost 10 pounds, cut his blood pressure medicine in half and looks and feels better than he did 12 months ago.  Using The Frozen Feet Challenge as a springboard to keep him focused on doing the miles helped him to accomplish this goal AND set a bigger one for 2022.  He plans to walk 20 miles a week for 1000 miles for 2022!!!

His advice for the newbie:

-Sleep.  Make sure you are getting enough sleep.  He had to rearrange his schedule some to wake up earlier and get some walking in.  That meant he also had get to sleep a little earlier.

-Nutrition. Think about what you are putting INTO your body to help you recover.  Nutrition and sleep are both key when recovering from one workout planning for your next one.

-Consistency.  Slow it down; consistency is more important than quantity miles or pace.

And finally, work within your own schedule, not someone else’s.  Yes sometimes it is motivating to have a partner or a group to train with, but you can’t always rely on someone else.  Ultimately, in order to fully make that habit it has to be on YOU!  So start small and stay consistent.