No matter where we are in our journey, sometimes we go through phases where we don’t enjoy running as much. All of a sudden, the activity that we loved so much became a chore.
We started to dread going out there. Instead, we opted to watch the latest episode of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills or American Idol (kidding!). I’d rather watch Homicide Hunter: Joe Kenda or Storage Wars. Well, anyways, you get my point.
If you are a runner and you see yourself opting to watch TV instead of running or are trying to find reasons not to run, then you may need to re-kindle your motivation to run. You need to get back to enjoying your runs as opposed to dreading them.
Maybe you got injured and are having trouble getting back into it. Maybe, you allowed some personal challenges in life get in the way of your running. Whatever it is, I hope that this post will help you.
So, how do you re-kindle your love affair with running and get back out there?
- Remember why you started running in the first place. Chances are, there is a reason why you started running. Ask yourself, “why did I start”? Why did running make me happy before? If you can honestly answer those questions, then you will be able to get motivated to run again and enjoy it.
- Change how you train. Maybe you are overtraining and burning out. On the other hand, maybe you are not training enough to see results. Whatever the issue is, take a look at what you’ve been doing over the past few months and see where you fall on the “overtraining to not training enough” spectrum. This will definitely help you figure out what you need to do to start enjoying your runs again. Here are 5 Things that Changed the Way I Train.
- Run with your friends. Running with friends will allow you to spend quality time socializing. At the same time, you will get your training run in. You definitely can’t lose when you run with a buddy. Your buddy will keep you accountable. It’s always harder to stay at home in front of the TV when you have your friend waiting for you to go for a run.
- Sign up for a destination race. Think of it like a vacation during which you get to run through a new beautiful place. Destination races are fun and exciting. Take photos and keep your finisher’s medal. Ideally, try to do one at least once every couple of years. This will motivate you to keep training. The vacation is your reward for staying motivated to run.
- Set a new goal you know you can achieve. Achieving a goal will help you regain confidence in yourself and your training. We all know that achieving goals brings us joy.
I hope that you found this helpful. Please share if you enjoyed reading this article.