Motivation

I have had a quite a few conversations lately with people about motivation.  Motivation: the desire to DO!  I have my days but for the most part the motivation to run has not been a problem for me.  I think it might come with the fact that I am a little competitive but I also like the way it makes me feel when I have finished a run I had scheduled.  I love that great feeling of accomplishment.  A lot of people seem to have a problem with being motivated to exercise.  Here are a few tips:

Set goals!  I keep scheduling races and running events because I know I have to run them whether I train or not.  It will be a heck of a lot easier to run them if I train so I keep running.  I also like to set time goals.  Some say that takes the fun out of running but, like I said before, I am a little competitive especially against myself. 

Schedule your workouts!  I HAVE to have a schedule of what days I am running, how many miles I am running and what time I am running.  You can also do minutes instead of mileage.  Scheduling your workouts makes sure you get them into your busy day.  Schedule them just like you do anything else.  Don't just say I am going to exercise 3 times this week, put them on your calender with a time and how long.    

Exercise with a friend!  You can't make excuses if you've told someone you are going to meet them somewhere to exercise.  And the time will go by so much faster.  I have ran by myself for a long time but I just recently joined a running group for my long runs on Saturdays and it is so much fun!  And  nobody understands my running obsession except for others with the same problem :)

Reward yourself!  I just read recently about someone who is going to pay themselves $1-$5 for every day they exercise (What a great idea Natalie!).  And when she reaches her size goal she is going to buy herself a new outfit.  I also read another blog where she made a reward chart.  10 lbs = a new shirt, 20 lbs = a massage, etc.  You could also do this with number of workouts instead of weight loss.

So get motivated and get movin!!