No matter who you are or how much you love to run, there comes a time during training that you have NO desire to lace up those shoes and get out there. Here are five tips to get yourself out the door.
1. Picture yourself reaching your goal.
Whether your goal is to finish your first 5k or PR on your 50th marathon, picture yourself at the end of the race. How do you feel knowing you got your training in and did everything in your power to crush this goal? If you’ve ever been struggling 10 miles into a race you hadn’t prepared well for, you understand how disappointing it is and how hard it is to keep going. If you haven’t, believe me, you don’t want to be there! Always remember that every run and every mile counts.
2. Invite a friend.
Sometimes the best motivation is knowing that someone is expecting you to be there. Text a friend and set a time to run. You don’t want to let your friend down and you definitely don’t want them to know that you skipped out on your workout for the day!
3. Speaking of friends… Get an accountability partner.
Accountability partners are awesome for keeping you on track with all sorts of things from finances to healthy eating. Having someone who understands you, your situation and your goals and is willing to push you to get there can make all the difference in your motivation! The most important thing to consider when choosing your accountability partner is how tough they’re willing to be with you. You want someone who will hold you to your own goals, not someone who will enable you to skip your training runs regularly. Choose someone who you’re close enough with that they can push you, but who understands you enough that they won’t make you cry. Running is hard when you’re crying.
4. Reward yourself.
This isn’t about giving yourself permission to ‘Treat Yo Self’ every day after your run. However, sometimes frozen yogurt or a movie night with a friend is just the motivation you need to get yourself going.
5. Promise yourself one mile.
This advice stems from a podcast called The Chalene Show from celebrity fitness coach Chalene Johnson. When Chalene just doesn’t feel like working out, she sets an alarm on her phone for five minutes and promises herself only those five minutes. If you really don’t feel like doing your run today, promise yourself just one mile. Sometimes you’ll finish the mile and realize you’re still not feeling it and that’s okay, give yourself the day. BUT, most of the time, you’ll get through the mile and feel pumped to keep going.
How do you motivate yourself when you’re not feeling it? The most important thing is to find what works for you and get out there! Happy Running!