Running Motivation: 10 things to tell yourself when you don't want to run
Lacking running motivation?
So often we don’t have the motivation to run even when we know it's good for us. At least that’s how I felt this weekend.
I stopped mid-stride on Sunday. Running just didn’t feel good--at all. Maybe it was too much caffeine on an empty stomach, maybe it was too much cheese plate. Whatever it was making me nauseous and it was making running feel impossibly hard.
But I’ve been doing this long enough to know that if I stay in it, eventually things come around. And they did and somehow in the span of a mile, I went from feeling as if running was impossibly hard to powering up a handful of hill repeats.
I don’t run because I feel like it.
In fact, most mornings I don’t feel like running.
I feel like making another cup of coffee.
I feel like nestling deeper into the cushions of the couch.
I feel like maybe closing my eyes and falling back asleep.
I feel like it because I run. Because I ran the day before and the day before that and the day before that. And I know that when I show up every morning and get out the door even when I don’t feel like it, I will feel like it once I start to run.
There is no magic. There is just deliberate, persistent practice.
Lace-up. Get out. Keep going.
The goal of the goal isn’t the goal, it's the journey to get there.
The journey is what you learn from lace-up, get out, keep going. The journey is who you become when you lace-up, get out, keep going even when you don’t feel like it
Resilient.
Strong.
Persistent.
Focused.
Grounded.
Confident.
Clear.
The journey is the point because the goal is not guaranteed.
If 2020 has taught us anything it is that if our focus is on a goal created by other people, when those goals disappear, so does our motivation.
When the journey is our goal our motive is to continue the practice, it’s to run even when we don’t feel like it because we know that we will feel like it once we are running.
The motivation is knowing that
Resilient.
Strong.
Persistent.
Focused.
Grounded.
Confident.
Clear.
is waiting on the other side of “I don’t feel like it.”
10 Things to Tell Yourself
Having a repertoire of motivational phrases will give you a few tools when you are lacking running motivation. Positive self-talk can be a major factor in helping you follow through with a commitment you’ve made to yourself. Try these ten phrases next time you’re looking for a little help:
Set Yourself Up for Success
Running motivation might come and go, but if you’re willing to set the stage for yourself you’ll have a much better chance of getting out the door. Along with focusing on the journey and using the motivational phrases to get you out the door, try the following tricks:
set out your clothes and shoes the night before
prep the coffee, tea, or pre-run beverage and light snack the night before
create a new playlist or pick a podcast or audiobook to listen to
post the 10 Motivational Phrases near the door
Happy Running!
New to running and looking for even more motivation? Download my Beginner’s Guide to Running Motivation.
-Sarah