My Top TEN Ways to Keep Motivation without Losing Your Love for RUNNING!

I think most people would agree that runners are a strange, weird, and unique breed. Runners do things that other people don’t like to do, runner’s eat weird food, hate time off, and get up way earlier than most people and even on the weekends to pound the pavement and the miles in before the sunrise.
Yes, we as runners are weird, but I would rather use the word motivated. I will be honest though, not every run I am dying to do. Some days, I would rather sit on the couch, curl up with a good book and take a cat nap. Some days, I would rather sleep in than roll out of bed at five in the morning. Some days, I would rather skip my run and eat ice cream instead and while taking time off is okay (and necessary even!) daily motivation is key to any successful runner.

I hear this question a lot ‘how do you stay motivated?’  ‘I figured once you had your baby you would stop running.’ ‘How do you find the time to run as a new mom and balance everything?’

Again, I’ll be transparent, it isn’t always easy. But it is always, 100% worth it.

1. Remember/ visualize my why.  – Everyone’s why for starting running and living a healthy lifestyle is different and more than likely your now “why” will change in a year or so. I started working out/running to be healthy for my family and future kids. I now run and workout for the same reasons, but to take care of the body God has given me and to enjoy “me” time.
2. Remember I am an example to my son and others. Along with remembering my goals, I try to remember that people are watching <<< in a totally non-creepy way. 😉 Whether that be my husband, Benaiah, family, grinds, my running community or strangers, I want to be a good example to my circle of influence.
3. Picture success. – When I hit a hard run or feel lack of motivation to get out the door or am honestly, hesitant about how the run will go; I picture success. I imagine finishing strong. I envision showering afterwards. I plan my route and dream about all the fun things I will see. Visualizing a successful run doesn’t always mean it will be perfect run, but it does help that mental battle.(which I think is 80% of running!)
4. Chase after goals. Something else I like to do to keep my motivation up, is to chase my goals. If I have a goal to increase my mileage or speed, I need to be putting in the work to get there. This helps me as I think about every run being a deposit into our running “bank account.”
5. Sign up for a race. When I sign up for a race, there’s money on the line and a bit of pride. I don’t want to be bragging about how I am running a certain race and the not train for it and fail. Signing up for a race really spurs me on to pushing myself when otherwise, it would be easy to get comfy and “coast.”
6. Think long-term. Another motivational thought is thinking about all the long-term benefits running gives. Does running mean I’ll live to 114 years? No. But, even if it never gave me extra years to my life, it does add life to my years. And that is worth running for.
7. Imagine the finish line. Similarly to visualizing a successful run, I like to picture how GOOD it will feel as I cross that beautiful finish line. I believe there is nothing so invigorating as a finish line. Imagine how awesome you will feel as you cross that line of victory!
8. Picture how good it feels to finish a run. This really doesn’t need any explanation.
9. Trick my mind. I like to play this game with my mind. If I am running a certain distance that I just don’t feel like going, I trick my mind into think it is easy. For example, if I am running a 10 mile run, I just tell myself I am running 5 miles 2x through. I’ll also convince myself that I have a lot longer left in my run than I actually do. That way I am surprised when I “realize” just how little I have left.
10. Just do it. Don’t over think it. Lastly, I just do it. I try not to listen to my mind as it tells me of all the things I could be doing or tells me how tired I am, etc. Usually, I will, simply, shut my mind up and break out the running shoes.

Questions of the Day

1. What about you? How do YOU push through when you have a tough run?
2. What is your least favorite thing about running?
3. What is the hardest part about running for YOU?