Week 4: Motivation
OK, the weather is starting to give us a break getting out the door should be getting easier … but not easy! Nothing good comes easy and this is especially true with running. Stick with it, the magic will come, I promise. With this comes a warning: Running can be addictive, a positive addiction with many benefits.
Why is it so hard to get out the door for a run?
It is because day-to-day life is an "almost" inescapable trap. The effort needed to step out beyond work, laundry, bills, cooking, cleaning, newspapers, television, shopping and the sludge of daily existence is huge. Throw in bad weather, colds and Flu, pain and injury and it gets even trickier.
I have been running an average of 5 days a week for about 30 years. I am often asked, "How do you find the time or motivation to do it?" It’s not magic but let me pass along a few tricks I use.
#1. Keeping a log. We went over this last week but I can’t stress this enough. Simple numbers in a log can be tremendous motivation. The log is essential for success.
#2. Visit a Running Store. This suggestion might sound like a sales pitch but... Stop by a running store every couple weeks to pick up a new running magazine, book or some race applications. It helps to visit an environment that supports your effort. The running shop folks live to run and are happy to hear about your training, answer questions, and give suggestions. Need sympathy? It’s here. Not to mention, new shoes always get me out the door!
#3. Find a training partner. Knowing some poor soul is out there waiting for you at 6 AM will force you out of bed and out the door. The guilt associated with blowing off a run date is strong motivation. Where to find a partner that runs your pace and fits into your schedule? It is tricky and you might have to make some sacrifices to make it work but it will be worth it. Go to running clubs, running store weekly runs. Strike up conversations with those around you at your pace. Get to the important question, where do you live? Running partners are not easy to find but the right one can challenge you, keep you consistent and add to your running experience like nothing else.
#4. Read about running. Motivational Running books and magazines can also get you out the door. The trick, pick up a running magazine or book and after a few pages the guilt will set in, you will soon be back in the training mind set. (Notice how guilt is a reoccurring theme?) Movies can do the same thing. Go rent the video "Without Limits" a Warner Brothers film about the life of American distance runner Prefontain, you don’t need to be a runner to enjoy this film, "On the edge" (If you can find it … an old Bruce Dern movie) or "Chariots of Fire"… are you ready to put down this Magazine and get your butt out the door! Go run.