Finding Motivation

I recently got asked if I struggle with motivation. Being dedicated to the sport of running I do suffer with lack of motivation from time to time. Being unmotivated is an obstacle every runner deals with. Its overcoming that obstacle, “the desire to run is always greater than any obstacle”. We as runners need to find out WHY we are unmotivated and WHAT we need to do to overcome this, to bounce back, to focus on the task or goal ahead. The 2 obstacles I have faced are time and injury recovery that affected my motivation.

It’s too early, it’s too late, it’s too cold, it’s too hot.  These are little motivation killers we deal with a lot. Whether it’s the time of day or the weather- not every run is in perfect conditions. But we know as runners that a “bad” run was better than “no run”.

Finding time is hard- finding time to do ANYTHING outside work, family and social obligations is hard let alone to go running for hours a day. That’s why having that strong support system there who understands your love for running. Who will understand that you need to get in that 20 miler on Saturday morning- and still wake up at 5 am on the days to get in what you need before heading into work. Waking up at 5am to log miles before work is tiring and draining as everyone else is still sleeping we get jealous and there goes our motivation again- gone. We need to stay focused, if we don’t run at 5 am we have to run at 5pm and miss out on family time or even sunlight. Running is part of our life, but it’s good to remember that it’s not the only part of our life. Yes, even if you run 100 miles a week, you are still doing other things more than you are running. 

Injuries not only hurt us physically but mentally we struggling. We are regretting maybe it was something we did, over training, wrong nutrition, not stretching, too much stretching, etc. The time we take to recover from an injury our minds become stronger, because we miss what we absolutely love to do. When it is time for us to begin running again we notice that we might not be in the same shape as we were. We then get unmotivated- some get motivated, to focus on getting back to where we were. Coming back stronger and faster from an injury is always motivational- our minds are stronger, we’re more focused, we’re determined.

A few ways to help..

Take a break Sometimes losing motivation is an indicator that you are over training. Maybe just over training mentally, but a week break from running can help you take time to build up that motivation again, and a week break won’t hurt your training. You can do it!! 

Run solo or with a group.  As much as we love to run we tend to get bored and that will kill our motivation out there. If you’rerunning solo, try finding a local running group. Running with others will help can your mind preoccupied and time go by faster. Also, for those who always run with a group, sometimes solo runs can help you focus on yourself, lose yourself in your run, let your mind wander, think about life, goals, etc. You will enjoy it.

Run trails That’s right you road runners, eek! Just slow it down, take in the fresh air and scenery. Hey this might encourage you to register for a trail race!

Competition can motivate us. Register for an event to spark that fire under your toes. Sit down and write out your training schedule. Setting goals will help, make A, B, C, and even D goals. We all have bad days out there and this way you can fall back on to another goal if things go wrong.

Example:  

Goal A: Win

Goal B: PR

Goal C: Place Age in Group

Goal D: Finish

 

Run and Don’t Compete  That’s right run a race not for competition. Don’t tell anyone you are running this event, show up run and have a good time. Take in what running is all about. Watch all the other runners before the race, the excitement, see runners run their first race and the smile they have of finishing, that’s what running is about, happiness. Running and taking the competition out calms you, and you may enjoy the run a little more.

 

Lastly, Remember why you love to run. Running is part of our lifestyle, we run when we are happy, sad, hyper, tired, etc. We are all going to have up and down days, we just have to hope we have more up days. Focus on falling back in love with running, look at what you have accomplished already, be proud of that and move forward. Like any race, you will get a second wind of motivation and even a 3rd and 4th so stay focused.