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MOTIVATION
This page includes the thoughts of some good athletes and
others who have found ways to maintain their motivation while facing the concerns,
injuries, and sometimes just doubts that tend to plague all of us from time to time.
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| A concept that
has helped me with training and staying motivated is the idea that running a marathon is
not linear. Running 26 miles is not logical. Getting up at all hours of the
morning to train is not logical. Running in temperatures above 90 ( in Florida ) or
running in the rain is not logical. Running in less than perfect health is not
logical. It's a little hard to explain - but I try to let all of that go. I
have to. I am an accountant by trade where things seem to make sense, ( in a bean
counter sort of way). Debits = Credits. etc. There is agreement on what is right and
wrong. I have found that in distance running no such criteria exists. I don't
think of a run as getting from point A to point B. I would encourage you to not
think of how far you've gone, or how far you have to go. Try as best as you can to
savor each moment, to feel alive, to give thanks that you have the ability to
run or walk, to acknowledge the grass, trees, sky, water - to feel part
of all of it.
Sometimes I laugh out loud when I'm running. Sometimes I cry. For me running
is emotional, spiritual, and physical. You've already contracted with
yourself to run
a marathon - and you will. Don't worry about the details or the distances. If
you can empty your mind while you are running, it can be filled with amazing things you've
never even contemplated. Honor your commitment and enjoy the ride.
Ed (the Head) Holland
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It has been my
experience that motivation goes in and out a little. When I am in low motivation
mode, I
just take off a day or two then just come back and work through it. Don't worry about
it though... The best part is meeting all the running people that you have been
getting email from.
Charlie Cangialosi
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It may be that
your body is telling you to take a break for a couple of days. Rest is a key
component to training. When your body is at rest it is getting stronger from the
training you have been doing. Take a look at how much you have been doing and see if
in fact you need a little break. Your statement that you are worried about your body
holding up is a little concerning. Do you have a physical problem that has cropped
to cause this concern or are you just worried about the distance? As you increase
your mileage each week or every two weeks you build up your body to be able to handle the
distance. If you are increasing the distance no more than 10% each week you should
be fine. Some folks cut back on the third week and do a shorter run for the long
run, then bump back up for the next two weeks. If you are burning out on running in
general, look at running with some folks, run some different courses, run at
different times of the day. I do most of my runs during the week in the very early
am, like I get up at 4:40am or so and run 5 to 10 miles depending before work. It is so
beautiful at that time, the air is clean, the stars are out, I get to see a meteor every
now and then. I like it. My long run on the weekend is during the day and its
a change and I like it as well.
We all go through little mental problems now and again and sometimes you just have to get
through them by pushing yourself to get out there a couple of times and then the fun and
exhilaration you feel when running kicks back in and you are over it. Try to listen
to your body. It usually knows best. As I said before, you may need a little
rest but it may be that your motivation has dwindled some. Find a local 5k or 10k
race to run in a couple of times over the next couple of months to keep your interest up.
When the goal is so far away sometimes it is easy to lose sight of the work you
have to do to get ready. If the voices are telling you to lay on the couch and eat
ice-cream all weekend then sometimes you just have to tell them to shut up and get out
there on the road. Stay motivated. Have some fun with your running.
gil gilliland
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| Doubts while heading for
Disney World Marathon? Make a list of all the things you don't really enjoy doing. Maybe
things you like sometimes, but every now and then it's just a chore. For me it would be:
Work, school, cleaning my house, exercising, laundry, dragging myself out of bed on a cold
morning, and anything to do with Broccoli. Now take that list and ask yourself why you do
these things in spite of the fact you don't always love them. I figure if I can
motivate myself out of bed, or to show up somewhere to get a paycheck, I can certainly
force myself to get into doing a run four days a week (no luck with Broccoli though).
Usually by the second day I'm all into it and can't wait for the next run. I've found that
with running I need to "just do it" (copyright 1998, all rights reserved). If I
can get through a couple of days of saying "blah, I don't like this" I usually
find myself more in sync and motivated. Also when I run I try to visualize what going
through the theme parks is like. How great it would feel if could beat my own expected
time. Just how cool it's gonna be to hi five the mouse and goofy. Also I tell myself that
as much as I'm thinking about the big race, when I'm running in the Marathon I'll be
remembering today. How I was thinking about what it would be like, and now, thanks to the
training runs I did, I'm here, Disney World, having the best damn time of my life, and
it's all because of that training run I did when I would rather have laid in bed watching
Daria on MTV. Remember, from someone who has tried, you can NOT cheat a marathon. So get
up and force yourself through the rough spot, after a couple of days (three months at the
most) you'll be glad you did. Also, you have to go, if for no other reason
than to learn
what a "bragathon" is. Now I've taken time out of my life to hopefully inspire
you, the least you could do is pretend that it worked and just go run a little. How hard
is that? I mean really. Is it that my advice is no good? Fine. I'll just stop caring. Quit
my job, become a hobo, just because you couldn't take an hour out of your life, a few days
a week, to shuffle around the block a couple of times. Too far? Guilt always worked on
me.... Anyway, look there are a hundred reasons to not go do your long run this weekend,
but I can offer you one really great one to do it. A big piece of metal shaped like a
mouse dangling from your neck. You can't buy that. You can't lie about how you got it. You
have to earn it. Theoretically, you could earn 40 or 50 more of these things at one a
year. That would be enough to melt down into a small car. Think about driving your own
Disney car in forty years. Made from the medals you earned. Envy of all that survey you.
All because you went out for a run Sunday morning. Okay, I think I've gone off on enough
tirades today. Hope any of this helps - Jonathan Slater |
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