Staying Motivated

 

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit.”- Aristotle

I have recently stepped up my training. It is going to be hard to stay motivated, the St. Louis Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon is on 10/27/2013. I am going to be training hard for over 4 months in an attempt to run the marathon in 3:30 and qualify for Boston.

I found an article in the Internet written by an Olympic Marathoner.In this article he discussed the strategies that he used to stay motivated during weeks of constant training.

When running 5 or 6 times a week for months on end, often for hours at a time, running can consume your entire thought process. Elite runners create a system so they don’t even have to think about running.

1. Identify the specific areas and times that most often lead to you not wanting to run. It is important to be as detailed as possible.
2. Next think about creative ways you can eliminate the above issues, distractions, or weak moments.
3. Once you have developed your solution for the issues that challenge your motivation most, keep looking for new and creative ways to take the thinking out of running.

Do not be afraid to have a little fun. Some examples of things I do to accomplish this is to download a new song to run to. Change my training up a little bit such as interval training , hill training, or run at a different time or place. Buy some new running clothes or sign up for a race.

It is important to remember your goals. Remember in goal setting it is often important to set a series of short term goals along the way to accomplish your major long term goal.

 

What strategies do you incorporate to stay motivated during weeks of marathon training?