How to Motivate Yourself for Running - Women's Fitness

How to Motivate Yourself for Running - part of the women's fitness video series by GeoBeats. Five tips to motivate you to run are: number one, set a goal, a race, a time a distance. Let’s say you have never run a full mile before. That is such a simple goal. I want to be able to run a mile without stopping. That is a great goal. If there is a local 5K and you have seen your friends run it every year, and you have never run it, that is a great goal. The same with the time. You know, you have run that 5K in 25 minutes. This time I want to be able to bring it down to 23 minutes. That, again, is a great goal. So, setting a goal is always a great motivator. Another great motivator is getting a coach, or getting a running partner, or a group to run with. I know a lot of people say that running is an individual sport, but it is actually quite a social sport. You know, having that accountability of your training partner waiting for you at 6:00 AM on the corner, you are going to be there at 6:00 AM, whereas, if you did not have that training partner waiting for you, you might press the snooze alarm. Right? Or a group. Having your group there is a lots of track clubs, local running clubs, even for adults. Of course, there is youth track clubs for children, as well, but there is a lot of running clubs for adults. And it is such a simple sport. You know, you need a road, you need land and you need a pair of sneakers. It is so simple. You just go out and you run, and that is also a great motivator. The other thing is getting the sneakers. When you invest money you tend to do something. I mean, think about it. Running is such a simple sport. You do not need a lot of equipment. You do not need a pool, or a team or a basketball. You do not need anything. You need a pair of sneakers. Go out and buy those sneakers. Invest in a good pair of sneakers. That is going to make you want to go out. Even if getting some new shorts, a new shirt, feel like you are a runner, you are an athlete, that should help a lot. Another great tool to stay motivated is use running as a mode of transportation. For me, I am a big traveler. I love to travel all over the world. Every time I go to a new city, the first thing I do is go for a run. It is such a wonderful way to see a new place, to explore, even your hometown. I have been living here, in LA, for years. I still find new routes to run on. It is just a great way to be a tourist, or to run errands. You know, if I have to drop off my car at the car shop, I drop it off, I run home. You know, things like that . Use running as a tool. It is great. You can go and get a running log or a training log. They have lots of them online and even paper ones for people like me that are old school. Get a paper training log. Write down your progress. It is kind of cool to see, “Oh, in January I could only run this amount of minutes, or this amount of miles, but by March and April I am up to here.” Seeing that progress, it will keep you motivated. So, keeping a training log is really, really great.