Run Your Race Podcast
When I first listened to David Goggins' book in 2019, I was hooked. If he could run 100 miles without training, I thought I could do it with training! It unlocked something in me, leading to my journey into ultramarathons. Since then, I've completed multiple 100- and 200-mile races, something I once thought impossible. This podcast aims to give you that same mindset shift. Each week, we interview elite endurance athletes to inspire you to believe more is possible and push yourself to the next level.
Run Your Race Podcast
#019 - The biggest mistake new runners make
The biggest mistake new runners make is setting expectations too high, often due to comparing themselves to experienced runners on social media. When we judge our beginning steps against someone else's years of training, we set ourselves up for disappointment or injury by trying to match mileage we're not physically prepared for.
• Unrealistic expectations often come from seeing others' running achievements on social media
• First-time marathoners shouldn't fixate on ambitious time goals like sub-3 hours
• For any first race, make your primary goal simply to finish
• Start with 2-3 runs per week of 20-30 minutes, using run-walk intervals if needed
• Building a base over time is crucial before attempting speed goals
• Focus on competing with yourself rather than comparing to others
• My personal progression: from a 3:43 first marathon to 2:51 after six years of consistent running
Run your own race and measure your progress against who you were yesterday, not against someone else's highlight reel.
What is up guys? Welcome back to another episode of the Run your Race podcast. I'm your host, pierre Hsiao, and I am excited for this one today. It's the biggest mistake that new runners make and, through working with people running marathons, ultra marathons, 100 mile races, 200 mile races and also being a runner myself for the last six years, this is the biggest mistake that people make when they get into running, and I'm just going to jump off the rip with it. That mistake is that they have too high of expectations. They think that they should be further along. I'm not sure if this is you, but if you're just starting anything, chances are it's going to take a little bit of time and hear me out real quick. This is a huge danger, because the biggest mistake I see is people have their expectations set too high and if they see someone on Instagram running 50 miles a week, 60 miles a week, even 30 miles a week, and they're not running, they think, oh well, I'm not good if I'm not running that much. And so instantly this comparison gets created in their mind to think, oh, I'm not good if I'm not doing what they're doing, or they're running. Pierce is running 90 miles a week and I'm only running 30. He's so much better than me or whatever. Just play that out in your head. That's just an analogy, and I know it because I did the same exact thing too.
Speaker 1:I would compare myself constantly, time and time again, to other people, and it is one of the most draining things because, regardless of the progress that you're making, it's draining, it's not good enough, because you're judging your step one, step two, on their step 20, 30. You don't realize you just started running, but they've been running for six, 10, 15 years. You think you're going to get a lot better in 10 years. Yes, even just one year, even six months of consistent running. You're going to be leaps and bounds ahead of where you were before. Okay, so I know I just dove right in, but I am just so passionate about this because here's what happens People see other people running on Instagram and they think it's cool and they're inspired, and so they go out and run, but then they realize that they can't do the mileage that other people are doing, and so then they start to question, start to doubt, or maybe they go and do 30 miles in a week right off the rip, and then they get injured, they start having shin splints or IT band issues or plantar fasciitis or all these different things, because their body is not ready to go the distance yet.
Speaker 1:They've seen what other people are doing and they try and just go do that right off the jump and it's too quick of a leap. Your ligaments, your tendons, your bone structure, all of that isn't ready for it. Okay, and so that's what I want to dive into today. The biggest mistake that new runners make and it's really simple it's we get our expectations set too high. We think before running a marathon hey, I want to make sure I run a 330. Or if this is, you just hear me out when I say this. But I laugh when people say the first marathon I want to do is a sub three. I'm like are you serious? That's stupid. That is stupid. Like I'm all for having big goals, but that's just not smart. I mean, how can you expect yourself to run in elite time your very first marathon? Now, if you want to go out and do it, you know, and train forever and then do your first marathon, go for it. But my school of thought is I'm going to get out there, I'm going to go and do one marathon, see how it is before I make these arbitrary time goals that are unrealistic a lot of the times for people just getting started. I always tell all my athletes in my Run, your Race coaching is guys, when you're doing the first of any distance, just make the A goal to get it done. Make the goal to get the thing done, period, end of story. You don't need to focus on running a sub-3.
Speaker 1:Your first marathon, my first marathon, was a 343 and, to be honest, I just went and I'm like, hey, I'm gonna go as far as I can go. So I went from marathon to 50 miles to 60 miles, 100 mile races, 200 mile races, and then I decided, after six years of running, basically, hey, I'm going to try and run a fast marathon. And so I set aside a three to four month block. Did I think it was about a 14 week training block? A little bit faster than a typical block? Yeah, and guess what? I ran like a 2.51, and I don't say that to brag at all, but I say that to say because I had spent so much time getting in mileage when it came time to get up the speed. I had the base, I had the strength, my body was used to the mileage, so I didn't get injured in the training and boom, boom, overnight I went from running a 343 marathon to 251 not literally overnight, because it took six years.
Speaker 1:But I, I went from you know, not even running marathons to um, because I was focused on ultra marathons, not running speed, but focused on distance. And then I did one block and boom did it. And so I hope that's a good illustration. It took me six years and, granted, I think I probably could have done that faster if I went straight from running my first marathon to running a faster and faster and faster marathon, running a faster and faster and faster marathon. But I didn't.
Speaker 1:That was just what I was interested in, that's what excited me, and so I just want to encourage you don't let your expectations hold you back because they're so high and it ends up working as a disadvantage and it ends up working as a disadvantage. Just go after it. Enjoy it. When you get into it, enjoy it. If you're starting running, go out and run two, three times a week. Go for 20, 30 minutes at a time and just do a run-walk. If you need to walk for seven minutes and run for three and just keep repeating that do it. It's way better than nothing, way better, way better than nothing. And what that's going to do is it's going to create sustainable training for you so that you can keep showing up, week after week after week after week Okay, up week after week after week after week. Okay Now, I know this probably feels like I'm just ranting and I am today, but I wanted to hit you with this quick bit because I see so many people, and myself included, like, for instance, for this half marathon challenge, I had these arbitrary goals of the impact that I was going to make and the things that were going to happen and the brand deals that were going to happen in my mind, and so, when certain things didn't happen, I was disappointed when, in reality, god is doing so much more than I literally could ask, think or imagine.
Speaker 1:But because I'm so focused on things that aren't happening, it's causing me to not see the things that he is making happen. Okay, so that's it for today, keeping it real quick. The biggest mistake new runners make is that they have their expectations set way too high and a lot of times it's rooted in comparison. So I want to challenge you, I want to encourage you after this episode today. Root your expectations and what you want to do in being better than who you were yesterday and go get after it. Run your own race. Run your own race. All right, guys, that's it. Hope this helped you to run your race. Go out, have an amazing day.