Steal This 3-Step Plan to Get Out of a Running Rut and Rebuild Momentum
I haven’t run consistently in months. In March, I followed the four-week Runner’s World maintenance plan and Race-Ready Strength plan to come back after a period of post-marathon burnout. I had gone from six months of peak fitness to six months of not wanting to leave my couch. I thought the maintenance plans were enough to rebuild momentum, but after they ended, I fell into a slump.
I initially told myself I would build off that comeback by training for a 5K, but my mental health and a busy work schedule took a toll on me.
At some point during this three-month slump, I had a conversation with a friend where I mentioned my frustrations around my avoidance of running. I always knew that I run to sit with and process my thoughts and emotions; I run toward my feelings, rather than away from them. She suggested that I might have been avoiding running because I was also avoiding something emotional under the surface.
I immediately knew she was right. After a few difficult therapy sessions, I realized what I needed to do to stop avoiding my runs and actually look forward to them again. I turned to these three steps and now I’m excited to start training. Save these steps any time you fall into a running slump.
My 3-Step Plan for Returning to Running
1. Actually Ease Into Training With a Base Plan
When I first started to realize I was in a running rut, I decided to test out my tolerance with one weekly easy run and a lifting session at the gym. But too eager to get back to where I once was fitness-wise, I kept lifting too heavy or running too fast, which resulted in major soreness and a few necessary days off. I figured I needed to find a way to start small that actually made me feel motivated.
Then, I interviewed my friend and colleague Stephanie Kasulka about training for her first 10K. One of her hacks for motivating herself to run consistently was to tell herself, “You only have to do two miles,” even if she had more on the schedule. She knew that once she made it past that two-mile point, she’d more than likely want to keep running farther anyway.
This inspired me to do the same. So I circled back to the beginner maintenance plan, starting with simple two-mile easy runs. This made me feel like I was still checking something meaningful off a schedule. Before, I didn’t consider repeating this plan because I put pressure on myself to train for a 5K race instead, but sometimes it’s best to stick to what works. (If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right?)
I’m also learning how to take baby steps in strength training. I really wanted to jump back into heavy lifting with barbell squats and deadlifts, but my sore and achy muscles pushed me to consider starting with mobility, core, and physical therapy exercises with bodyweight and dumbbells first. So I traded traditional strength moves for exercises like planks, glute bridges, clamshells, and other core- and hip-strengthening work.
2. Get Real About My Why
I like to think that I’ve always known what my “why” is in running: to sit with my thoughts, process my emotions, and connect with my body so I feel strong and present. Losing so much motivation over the past six months, though, made me question and disconnect from my reasons for running.
I lost faith in my training: I didn’t understand that starting with rebuilding a base meant believing shorter, slower runs would eventually pay off with consistency and progress. I got so caught up in missing my past fitness or planning some sort of future goal that I didn’t feel motivated unless I had instant or obvious signs of gratification, like the ability to lift more weight or run faster.
Starting from scratch is something I had to be honest about with myself. Instead of thinking about how much fitness I lost, I reframed my mindset to think of all the potential that lies ahead. “Although it feels like a failure or lost opportunity in that immediate timeframe, and you don’t know what’s going to happen, it could be understood more like a spring loading,” two-time Olympian Molly Huddle previously wrote for Runner’s World.
Now, I picture my current fitness like a spring loading; I have the opportunity to build myself up again for strong future performances.
3. Tweak Goals to Meet My Current Fitness
There’s a balance between having a race on the calendar to shoot for an end goal, and feeling so overwhelmed and pressured that you have to check a running goal off within a specific timeframe. Before I really entered my running slump, I set expectations for myself that I would train for and run a 5K, after years away from the distance. But when it was time to train, I felt overwhelmed about having to commit to a plan and nervous about what I could handle, so I pretty much gave up on the goal before I even started training.
I thought about what timeline and what race distance might actually work well for me and my mental state in the present moment, not the goal I wanted to check off months ago because it seemed right. I like the idea of keeping this goal to myself, but I feel comfortable enough now that I’m rebuilding my fitness to tell people that I’m signing up for a fall half marathon this year. I don’t feel pressured to follow an ambitious time goal, and keeping it on the down-low from friends and family (for now) helps take the pressure off and allows me to go at my own pace.
Kristine Kearns, a writer and avid runner, joined Runner’s World and Bicycling in July 2024. She previously coached high school girls cross country and currently competes in seasonal races, with more than six years of distance training and an affinity for weightlifting. You can find her wearing purple, baking cupcakes, and visiting her local farmers market.