{"id":681,"date":"2022-02-24T02:39:56","date_gmt":"2022-02-24T02:39:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/madaboutrun.com\/?p=681"},"modified":"2022-02-24T02:41:48","modified_gmt":"2022-02-24T02:41:48","slug":"how-to-run-2-miles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/madaboutrun.com\/how-to-run-2-miles\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Run 2 Miles"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Running is one of those physical activities that has so many benefits attached to it. You work your entire body, helping build up those muscles, especially in your legs. It can help with improving your breathing, and generally improve your cardiovascular system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plus, it’s a sort of weight-bearing exercise, that helps build your strength as your body improves and gets healthier, your increased muscle mass will help be its own exercise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And there’s even the social aspect to it. Most people will have access to a space where they can run. It’s almost always free. You get to see the area you live in and around. If you’re running with other people, it’s a great way to socialize with other people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But when you start out running, or if you’re thinking about starting to run, it can feel a little aimless at times, especially if you didn’t have a particular goal in mind. If you just started running because you wanted to, that’s great.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But often, without some kind of goal to help keep you focused, you’ll find that your desire to run and be healthier will disappear when your motivation goes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, when starting out on their journeys to being healthier, they will set themselves a target, a goal to help keep them focused and motivated. For weightlifters, that might be a specific amount of weight they can lift, or for how long they can lift it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For swimmers, that might be a certain number of laps of a pool, or how fast they can complete a certain number.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When runners are trying to keep themselves motivated, the most obvious way people set themselves a target is by completing a set distance in a run. And a common distance that people like to set themselves is being able to run 2 miles or just over 3 kilometers.<\/p>\n\n\n

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It’s a big enough distance that being able to complete it feels like an accomplishment, whilst not being so huge that it isn’t a realistic goal for a person to reach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plus, once people have completed a 2-mile run, they’ll be able to push themselves to even greater lengths, such as being able to cut down how many minutes it takes them to run 2 miles or even going on to train for a full marathon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With this goal in mind, here is some advice we have gathered on how to eventually be able to run 2 miles and above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How To Start Running<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you are someone who has been running for a while, you might want to skip to the next section, as 2 miles can seem a little underwhelming for seasoned runners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But you haven’t started running yet, 2 miles can feel like an intimidating hill to climb. But that’s okay. Everyone has to start from somewhere. And if you are someone who has been running for a while now, but feels that it might be useful for them to go back over the basics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first key thing you’ll want to do when starting out running is to establish a routine for yourself. Choose a time of the day or week when you think you will be able to regularly complete an exercise routine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make sure that it’s unlikely to be cut into by any other responsibilities you might have, such as to friends, family, or work. If you listen to any music or sounds pre-workout, make sure that they are played at roughly the same time every time you start running.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next, if you have little to no experience when it comes to running, start mapping out your running route by walking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not only will this give you a good idea of where you’ll be running before you start, but because it is a relatively easy task to do, you be able to confidently start doing this task with an idea of what your baseline is. When everything else isn’t possible in a normally active routine, walking will almost be something you are able to do. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, once you have finished your routine, make sure to give yourself a small treat of some kind, whether that’s a snack, a drink, or a small purchase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rewarding yourself in these little ways will help your brain connect the experience of completing an exercise with the act of rewarding yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the long term, this means that you will find that you will enjoy the exercise more, as your brain continues to make that connection of the routine activity that is tied to the reward you have at the end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the most important step when making a good foundation for your health and running skills. Once you have a good exercise routine set up, you are able to make extra adjustments, such as making your walking\/running route a little longer or changing your reward to something else that is cheaper or healthier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you have a solid grasp of where your health currently is, then you can start working towards the 2-mile mark for your runs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Building Up To 2 Miles<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Now that you have a routine in place, you’ll be able to take the routine you have established for yourself, and start to build on that solid foundation for your future running plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whilst there are a few plans and training methods to being able to run 2 miles, one of which we will cover later, almost all of them require you to be at least a little experienced when it comes to running.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many guides will say that you should be able to run half a mile relatively comfortably, before starting their own training schemes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With that in mind, it pays to be able to start getting some good tips for running whilst you are starting out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, if you are just starting out when it comes to running, make good use of the running\/walking method, where you break up your periods of relatively intense running with brief periods of walking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many long-distance runners will vary the intensity of how much effort they are running, and the run\/walk method makes use of this same principle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plus, it is a great way of building up endurance, if your body isn’t yet used to the strain of running constantly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you’ve comfortable enough, you’ll be able to reduce the amount of time you need to walk for, whilst increasing how long your running period is. And before you know it, you won’t even need to walk to help complete your runs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Little things like this, as well as other tips, like practicing good body motion and back posture, will be great things to pick up as you start to run harder, and for longer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you can reach the half-mile run whilst still having a little energy to spare, we can start to move up to the golden distance of 2 miles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 4-Week Training System<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Just as we mentioned earlier, there are a few training schemes that have been made to help people run 2 miles. The one we will be discussing is a 4-week training schedule that will help slowly build up your endurance levels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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To sum up the basic plan for each week, you will be exercising for 3 days, with a rest day in-between days that you practice on, plus an extra day of rest at the end of the planned week for that extra recovery time, before moving on to the more intense plans next week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n