Bike Shop Girl

Empowering daily life by bike

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How to Become a Runner in 5 Steps

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I started “running” in September for a challenge that was different (and less time than cycling). I really committed to the practice in October, and finally at the end of October started to feel like I was looking forward to the next run. Here’s what worked for me. What works for you?

how to be a runner
runner header image
  1. Essential first step – Meet friends that love running, but seem normal.
  2. Find a local running company to buy new shoes, sweet shorts, and a running watch (with a lap button!) that make you feel good.
  3. Start running, it will hurt, it will take a few weeks for it to hurt less. (Yes this is step 3, I found in the past if I didn’t have the friends and stuff ready – I stopped after a couple of weeks.)
  4. Sign up for a run and a coach that you trust. The event should be bigger than you think you are able to do. The coach will enable you to show up for your workouts and not think about the process too hard.
  5. Document the experience. It is really easy to forget where you came from, how hard it sucked, but photos and Strava will remind you where you came from.

A few weeks in you’ll feel like you are finally a runner after running 30 minutes consistently – and enjoying it. Congrats, you are a runner. Keep going.

You Can Do Hard Things

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Today, my wife reminded me of a mantra I’ve chewed on during many long hours on the bike and in races…“You can do hard things.”

biking on a peloton

Our mind is our strongest muscle and the greatest gain I receive from being an athlete is remembering those moments – I can do hard things. I have done hard things.

Those moments I need to remember it the most are as a mom and as a content creator. Being an athlete chasing after goals I’m not sure I’ll accomplish gives me more trust in myself, more patience in my day, and passion for what I can bring to this world.

Move, for tomorrow.

The Need for Daily Habits

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My most productive and content months in life have been those days I have purposely scheduled daily habits and rituals into my day. The goal of this article is to list out where I’m at, and what I’m working on. This article is mostly for me, but I always find other’s habits fascinating so maybe you’ll get something out of this, too!

Why all this talk about habits? Well, life is hard. We overschedule, over commit, and I’m personally an idea creator and dreamer. I can get caught up in new shiny object projects, forgetting the habits and routines that make me my happiest until they aren’t habits any longer. I need some constant pillars or habits so on turbulent days these daily habits ensure I’m getting done what I need every day for mental and physical health. If not, as a primary care giver and “fixer” by nature – I can often put myself (and my need for a routine) last when things get tough.

One last thought on habits, creating them, and sticking to them…

Many behavior change theories hold on to the 30-day benchmark of when something becomes a habit. I have found that to be true BUT it is 30 active days of doing (or not doing) something, not simply letting 30 days pass where you try doing something 3 days a week.

The habits below are ones that I have greatly enjoyed over the last few years, and a couple that I am working on engraining into my daily life (they are currently calendared reminders at this point to push me to get them done.) Some people may look at these as rules, I find them as sanity markers in my day to day, you do you. Again, this article is mostly for me, but I always find others’ habits fascinating so maybe you’ll get something out of this, too.

Wake before the kids

Aim to do this 5-6 days a week. This one is pretty critical to my intellectual happiness and dealing with anxiety or creating a deeper well of patience by making time for myself first.

I’m typing this at 5:25 am. By 6 am, my brain will feel warmed up, my coffee will be drank, and I’ll be ready to move on with my day.

Drinking the morning coffee alone is something I crave. Setting my brain and emotions for the day before anyone else can set them for me. I start my day not feeling rushed, not jumping out of bed because the kids woke me up and now I need to get them ready for school, etc.

It is worth mentioning for honesty, sometimes I have to switch up my biological clock to work through the night due to have meetings overnight with my office in Taiwan or I need to find more hours in the day for video editing or shoots. It is much easier to do this through the night.

Water before coffee

Self-explanatory

No Coffee after 2

This is slowly becoming 1 pm.

Intermittent Fasting

3-4 days per week. This is one I’ve been trying on for size over the last couple of years. I enjoy focusing my eating between 10a-6p as my schedule allows. Some week I have overnight meetings with my team in Taiwan and I often deal with this by eating comfort food. Focusing on intermittent fasting allows me to avoid comfort eating at 1 am AND I have fewer sugar cravings or sugar crashes during the day.

Commit to Realistic Athletic Goals & Trust the Process

Daily (with weekly checkins). I’ve been a competitive athlete my whole life, mainly in biking as an adult. One of the best things I’ve done for my brain is to work with a coach who sets the plan, does mental and emotional check-ins, and most importantly – that I trust to get me to my goal. I focus on putting the work in and don’t have to plan or overanalyze. (If you are looking for an endurance coach, I LOVE RyseOn.)

Walk the Dog

Daily. No, not the yoga move but really walking the dog and scheduling that into my day. This is one I recently added in, selfishly for my own brain space but also for the health and happiness of our pup. I plug in a podcast and walk for 10-25 minutes every day with our golden retriever, Kristoff.

Yoga (As Stretching & Meditation)

4-6 times a week. This is a good one, and something I did really well last winter but then let it be pushed aside as the kids’ bedtimes slipped later and later in the summer. I have some of the tightest hamstrings, a slow flow yoga with an emphasis on hamstrings, hips, and calves. This also doubles as a pre-sleep meditation, so good. My favorite is this 30 minute from Anna Greenberg with Peloton.

What are the habits and rituals you are working on? Let me know!

Move, for Tomorrow

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Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing. – Macbeth (Shakespeare)

For so long, my mantra has been bike more & worry less. A singular focused mission, a tag line for a bike shop, a YouTube channel. Something that helped motivate many more bike rides, and something easy that rolls off the tongue to prompt memories of joyous bike rides.

Life though is more than bike rides, and as I come to focusing as an individual on my whole body and mental wellness, along with the long-term impacts we are making on sustainability, and climate change, I realize we must move, for tomorrow.

Move, for tomorrow is my new mantra for life.

This is something that initially hit me a few weeks ago as I ran (shuffled really), recognizing my voice as a content creator is not limited to bikes but also that the idea of “move, for tomorrow” was my unique answer to a favorite song, “Fear Tomorrow“. What can I do to ensure things don’t get worse (for myself, climate, relationships, etc.)?

I must move for a healthier mind and body.
I must move my choices to better ones that don’t use up so many resources, for the tomorrow I leave my children.
I must help others move, in whatever way that is healthy and functional for them.
I must empower others to move with active living, so they drive that car a little bit less, think about planning their travels in a sustainable way, a little bit more.
I move, for tomorrow, for health, for climate change, for cleaner minds, happier hearts, a stronger self, and my children.

This isn’t solely about bikes, or electric cars, or how you work out, or what you eat. It is picking the things you can handle today and starting so you can move, for tomorrow, and then the tomorrow after that.

I move, for tomorrow. For myself, but for you. Push yourself, for your tomorrow.