Staying Motivated to Run

I have almost always been motivated to run. The simple fact of knowing how agonizing it is to take a break and then get back into running motivates me to run. However, you probably can’t always call it running. The ground may be moving underneath my feet, but I’m not sure if you can call it running.

Here are a few tips if you have taken a break from running and are just finding it too tough to hit the road.

1. Schedule Your Run or make a date with yourself to run. Write those days down on the calendar and the time frame, so that nothing else get’s scheduled in place of your run. Make it a priority above all else. I love to run first thing in the morning. When I arrive back from my run, I shower, have my coffee and start my day. Nothing can replace the euphoric or invigorating feeling that gives me. When I’m struggling to get going on my run, I think of how great I’m going to feel when it’s done.
2. Find a running partner or easier yet, join a running group in your community. Running groups aren’t hard to find. I live in a small community that has three running groups. They are either free or nominal costs. Running groups are welcoming and offer a healthy social outlet.
3. Sign up for a race - personally this works well for me. As I mentioned, I’m usually motivated to get my running shoes on and get out for a “so-called” run. But signing up for a race really motivates me to train, which ultimately makes my running easier and feel much better.
4. Set goals that are achievable - this could mean signing up for a race, or it could mean that you are going to set a goal to run “??” times this week for “??” minutes on each run. Or, you may want to challenge yourself further by incorporating speed bursts or fartleks into your run. It could be by the clock or from telephone pole to telephone pole. You be the judge.

Victoria Marathon Race Review

Sunday, October 12, 2008 - the 29th running of the Victoria Marathon.  My 3rd running of the Victoria Marathon.  Along with the marathon, there was also a 8K and half marathon events taking place.  The marathon started promptly at 8:30.  And prompt it was, I know because I was still sitting on the porta potty.  That was a first for me.  The lineup for the porta potty just didn’t go quick enough even through the encouragement of the fellow marathoner standing in front of me as he called out to those in the porta potty to “pick up the pace”.  It didn’t matter too much, as by the time I got out, scuttled across the racers (as they were moving forward) to meet my husband on the other side and run through the starting gates, only 1 minute and 40 seconds had lapsed.  Because we were using timing chips, it was all irrelavent.

Other than the shaky start - the race day itself was beautiful.  I had heard that there were 10,000 racers out that morning.  We were treated with sunny, clear weather and phenominal views!  The race course itself winds, twists and undulates and was much more challenging than I had remembered it being in 1997.  Runners run through downtown Victoria and Beacon Hill Park before hitting the coastline and smelling the salt water and feasting their eyes on stunning water views.

Personally, my race was great.  I was pumped and in a very positive frame of mind.  After the half-way mark, I was still feeling great, so I just kept my pace up.  I passed runners who were starting to fade and I have to admit that it felt great and fuelled my fire even more.  My goal for this race was to beat my Vancouver Marathon time earlier in the year (4:24), I didn’t care how much I took off, but I knew that I had trained more for Victoria and had the distance under me.  You can only imagine how proud I felt when I came through the finish line at 4:04 - a whole 20 minutes off my Vancouver time.  Next year my Boston Marathon qualifying time is 4:05 - I now think that I can do it!

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