‘Newbie Gains’ in running & how to avoid the pitfalls thereof

The title is a little confusing so lets jump into that first. Newbie Gains are a set of improvements which a non runner experiences as soon as he/she gets into a running habit (say consistent running for 6 weeks or more). The gains could be one or a combination of the following:

a) Distance (Eg – “From not being able to run 1km, I can now easily run 5K/10K.”)

b) Speed (Eg – “From just about walking speed, I can now sustain 6:30min/km pace for 30 mins.”)

c) Feel (Eg – “From feeling lazy all day at work, I feel energetic all the time, sepcially the days when I run.”)

This feels awesome at multiple levels. You feel to be doing stuff which you thought was a distant dream (I felt like a king the day I broke the 60 min barrier in 10K and sent down more beers than I should have!). Some lucky folks will also see drastic physical transformation – weight loss, high metabolism rate, high energy levels and generally high level of cheerfulness vs earlier. Your family and colleagues will commend your efforts and achievements. From being a part of non-runner herd, you would find yourself on the other side where people will ask about how you went about buidling this awesome habit. In nutshell, you will feel awesome and will feel like you can go on on this immprovement journey at the same rate and forever!

But, as you would realize the newbie gains are obvious. As one runs more consistently the calorie equation (calorie in vs calorie out) gets better, the muscles become stronger, the aerobic capacity of the heart improves & so on. The gains mentioned above manifest from these improvements and early in the running journey the gains are more pronounced because the baseline is low!

And, as time passes the rate at which gains happen reduces drastically. And a runner (no more a newbie) would feel one or more of the following:

“I am stuck on 10K for a long time now & struggling to graduate into the HMs.”

“Damn, its taking me forever to break the 30 mins barrier in 5K.”

“I get some niggles everytime I try to push more distance in my long runs. Will I ever be able to run longer than 10K?”

When you are going through the above, please be aware that it has happened to all the runners as they started out. And, it will continue to happen to runners going forward too. Simply put – the gain increments are hard to come by as the time passes. This Is The Way! The important thing here is not to fall into the trap of negative thinking – the so called newbie gains pitfalls! The endeavour should be to keep running without getting bogged down by the outcomes.

The magic formula here is as follows:

a) Be Patient

You have got from couch to 10K. The hard part is over! You will eventually break the 60 mins 10K barrier too. All you have to do is just show up everyday and run – one step after another every time!

Give it some time, and things will surely happen! Remember that ‘good things come to those who wait’.

b) Set Realistic Goals

Goal setting is the key to progress so goals are important. But, its always better to avoid setting overly ambitious goals. The journey from a 5K to FM is always going to take longer and more effort vs couch to 5K. You can only shorten the time needed for this to a certain natural limit.

Consult your coach, trainer or other experienced running friends and set-up realistic goals. They keyword here is ‘realistic’.

c) Have a Plan

One you know your realistic goals, put a good plan in place and stick to it. A broad stroke plan is a also fine so do not kill yourself to get a plan designed to the nth level of details. While a structured training plan with a coach is the ideal state scenario, it is absolutely fine to not have such a rigorous paid plan.

A good training plan should cover 3 bases – 1) endurance building, b) strength building and c) pace buidling. There are several free resources available on the web to help you make one algined to your goals. Here too, take advice from other experienced runners in case you do not have a formal coach. These days free plans are available with watch brands like Garmin/Coros too.

d) Enjoy the ‘process’

We took up running to become runners for life and not necessarily to belt PBs after PBs! So, its important to enjoy the process. Being too obsessed about the goals/milestones, kills the joy of running during the training. Rather, enjoy every km that you run as a blessing!

The outcomes may or may not come as desired but when you enjoy the process of running, it ceases to be a chore and turns into a happy and enjoyable journey.

e) Celebrate Small Wins

Never forget to celebrate small wins. Like, treat yourself with a beer or two everytime you slash a minute of your 10K PB. Have a little cake everytime you run your farthest distance. These milestones may be small but they are a definite progress towards your ultimate objective so savor them.