Why a picture of a shoe? I always say, "Just put the shoes on". That's the easiest motivational tool that I have, it's a good pair of running shoes. I wear Brooks Ariel shoes, they help with my flat feet. Once the shoes are on, I can head out the door and have a good workout. If I look at the shoes, or think about the shoes in the closet and don't put them on or touch them, I won't work out.
It sounds so simple, but we all know when it comes to working out that it never is that simple. There is always something else to do, whether it is actually important or not. I need to eat dinner, I want to play with the evil dogs, I need to make 5 phone calls or I need to check my email and oops, now it's dark outside. I know all the excuses, it's amazing that I have ever completed a race. When I was in high school, I was not good at cross country and my old stand by excuse was that my shoelaces were untied, it was a great opportunity to stop and rest. Terrible.
| Encinitas Sunset, much like the one I saw tonight |
What is motivational? I am so fortunate, because I can walk out of my house and go for a run on the beach at low tide, or I can run along the road and still hear the waves crashing and usually see a beautiful sunset, like I did tonight. That's motivational, especially when you see people taking pictures of the sunset. I don't do that, I want to keep it exciting to see and I need to see it live, that is what gets me out of the house most evenings. When I didn't live near the ocean, I would find nice places to run that were in parks. I would look for wildlife, like deer or rabbits, that kept it exciting. I would also notice the changes in the plant life from run to run. It's nice to pay attention to the change of seasons on the runs. Spring to summer to fall, one of my favorite runs that I could extend as far as I wanted to was from the Pennsylvania border into Delaware, in White Clay Creek Park. Finding several good running routes to keep the workouts different is so important. A good tool to use is mapmyrun.com, you can find popular running routes in your area and even add your own.
What do you do to stay motivated?
I wear Brooks Adrenaline shoes, but my motivation is the friends that I run with. They look forward to seeing me twice (or 3x) a week, and I look forward to catching up with them. What a beautiful picture of the sunset.
ReplyDeleteHi Peachy,
ReplyDeleteI forgot about how great running with a group is. I used to run with a group when I was training for a half marathon several years ago. It keeps you accountable, you get your workout in and you get to talk for an extended period of time depending on your fitness level. Conversation runs are the best! And, Brooks shoes seem to last for a long time.