Running Motivation: Find It Within

Saturday's 20k race was a great reminder of the thrill of racing—and the challenge of staying motivated during those difficult stretches. 

The race was one of my few annual competitions, and while I found myself only in moderate shape, I still had some high-charged spirits.  I'd also forgotten how  the moments of courage keep alternating with moments of challenge.  They just keep hitting like a miserable wind in the face.

This week in observance of the one year anniversary of the Runners' Lounge blog, we're republishing some past posts.  The remainder of this post is from last July when a rash of runners were struggling with their motivation.   

Sometimes our best expressions about running have already been written.  For this week's Take It and Run Thursday, feel free to dust off and re-publish your past brilliance.

Recent conversations with running friends seem to have a common theme: motivation.  A good friend mentions she’s losing some drive & motivation.  Another commented on one of my Chicago Marathon posts saying she’s still looking for her motivation.  Another blogger says he needs to watch more films of Pre to get him motivated.

We often confuse motivation with how much we want something.  And we often look for motivation externally.  What consistently predictably works for me is shifting my focus from wanting to achieve running success to believing in my running success. 

Wanting running success isn’t enough.  Is it more important to want to achieve a goal or to believe in achieving a goal?  Would you rather have someone want something for you or have them believe in you?  The answer is obvious.

Ask a typical runner how badly they want to succeed, you’ll get a definitive “100%!”  Ask the same runner how deeply they believe they’ll succeed, you’ll get a fraction of that. 

My motivation to run is within me and not about waiting for an external force to kick in.  To the extent I believe in the immense impact running has on my life helps me make time to run, train smarter, rest better, eat healthier, and support other runners.  So for me, it’s about tapping into my beliefs that:

• Running brings out the best in me
• Today’s run (or recovery) can benefit me in multiple ways
• Running achievement comes in small, incremental progress
• Running is integral to my success in other life experiences
• I have already and can continue to achieve running success

Believing in my running breeds the motivation I seek, and everything else—the discipline, excitement, enjoyment, and achievement—follows! 

So kudos to those deep believer runners aiming to achieve fitness goals, or the countless others aiming to manage their weight, enter a local 5k, or finish a charity-based race. 

Deep rooted belief in our running is more powerful than watching all the Pre films put together.

Heart x-ray on Flickr by kingleyzissou

Comments

[Lisa]

I couldn't have said it any better, Amy. :)

[Joe]

I took up running again in a roundabout way. My goal in every run is to find my limit for that day and push myself beyond it. Two miles or 12, I'm always looking to see what I can't do, and then find a way to do it. Great post and keep it up!

[Database Diva]

I once read that you can have anything you want, but you can't have everything you want. I consider this to be one of life's great truths. Sometimes, in order to achieve that one thing you want the most, you must sacrifice many other things that you also want. Sometimes we realize that the cost of that one thing is much too high. Could I ever be a world class marathoner? No, but if I gave up everything else in life to pursue running, I would probably be a much better runner than I am. When it comes to motivation, the real question isn't whether you want it, or even whether you believe you can do it, it is what are you willing to sacrifice to get there. The answer for most of us is not so much, which is why we want things but don't achieve them.

A year ago, if you had asked me what I needed to do to be a better runner, I'm sure I would have told you I needed to train harder, and by training I would have meant running. Today I realize that in order to be a better runner, I need to take time away from running to focus on overall strength so I can run as much as I want without injuring myself. Last year I would not have been willing to make the sacrifice, this year it was easy/necessary. However, now that I've had time to get a little perspective on running, I realize that I need to move away from the "I am a runner" mentality, and see myself in the broader sense. As I mentioned in a post on my blog, when I run, I think about becoming a better runner. When I walk, I think about becoming a better person. I want to learn how to run without letting it become the defining force in my life.