Consistency counts if you want to improve as a runner. Running regularly helps you enjoy your runs and become a better runner. Yet even if you love running, it can be hard to fit training runs around busy lives. It’s all too easy to miss a few sessions or even a few weeks, and then you feel terrible; it’s like being a brand-new runner all over again. So, how do you find your running motivation?
These are the tips I use to make the time to run. The tried and trusted methods I’ve used to fit running into my schedule when I’m juggling work and family commitments. I hope you find them helpful.
Get Motivated By Making The Time To Run
1. Make A Plan
Start off your week with a plan. Get your diary out on a Sunday night and check your running schedule. Work out how you can fit your running around your daily activities.
2. Prioritize Your Running
Your running is important. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking you can scrub a session when something else comes up. Stand firm. Emergencies aside, put your running first.
3. Run Early
If you have a family or a demanding job, running early in the day can make a big difference. Children and work can derail even the most committed runner.
Fitting in your run while everyone else is still in bed can be a good solution.
4. Look For Opportunities
Taking your children to the park? Instead of sitting on a bench while they play, run loops around the playground.
Running errands around town? Go on foot instead of taking the car. Taking an inventive approach to fitting in your running can make all the difference.
5. Get A Dog
When you’re tired, late home from work, or distracted by other events, a dog still needs exercise. That imploring look telling you it’s time to go out NOW is impossible to ignore.
6. Go For Quality
If you’re time-poor, a quality run is often better than a longer run at a slow pace. Most people can fit in a 20-minute run.
Warm up for the first 5 minutes, up the pace for 10 minutes, then cool down for 5 minutes. More experienced runners can aim for a tempo pace, but as a beginner, they just try to run a little faster than normal.
Another option is to try fartlek. Warm up, then alternate short bursts of faster running with slower recovery sections.
7. Set Short-Term Goals
Many new runners start off with some BIG goals. Having a one-year plan to run a marathon is pretty daunting.
It’s easy after a tough run to think your goal is so hard and difficult that you’re wasting your time.
Instead, break your plans down into short 3-week goals. Initially, it could be running 3 times a week for 3 weeks. When you hit this goal, make another one. Your series of small goals will make a big goal become more realistic.
8. Just Show Up And Run
For complete beginners, it’s enough to just get moving. Speed sessions or long runs are for later when you’ve built up some leg strength.
Novice runners just need short, frequent runs. Just 20 minutes a day, building a running habit will be the best way to start getting results.
9. Run With A Buddy
It’s a lot easier to find running motivation if you have someone to run with. It’s hard to make excuses when someone’s standing on your doorstep waiting to run with you.
Find a partner with a similar fitness level and running goals. You can encourage each other to keep your running plans on track.
Running Motivation Tips To Help You Make It Out The Door
10. Lay Your Kit Out
It’s much easier to get up and run if you lay your kit out the night before. There’s no need for excuses if your kit’s ready and waiting. Heading out for a run becomes automatic.
11. Build A Routine
Some people can run on empty first thing in the morning. Personally, I need a cup of tea and a few crackers before a short morning run.
If it’s a longer run, I get up an hour before my run to eat some porridge.
Experiment and find the routine that works best for you. Some people can fat-burn their way around a run, and others will need some carbs first to make sure they don’t run out of puff.
12. Dress In Your Running Kit
Of course, this depends on your lifestyle, but if you’re working from home and plan to run later on, wearing your running kit around the house helps!
If you put your running kit on when you get up in the morning, you’re going to feel pretty bad if you change out of it later without actually running. It’s a good reminder to fit your run into your day.
13. Visualize Your Run
Remember the last run you had and visualize how good you felt running. The satisfaction of getting out and exercising. How it made you feel better for the rest of the day.
14. Run Somewhere Inspiring
Find a running route you really look forward to. A place you want to go to even when you’re feeling tired or not in the mood to run.
Tell yourself you’ll head off for your run and just see how it goes. Your favorite wood or canal path will inspire you to keep on running.
Race Day Running Motivation
15. Enter Frequent races
If you’re aiming for a big race, such as a marathon, use shorter races to keep your motivation going. Racing at least once a month gives you short-term running targets.
It also helps to improve your running. Competing against other runners makes you stronger and faster. For beginners, look for local fun runs where you’ll be running alongside other newbie runners.
16. Get A Fan Club
Take your family along to watch. Having some friendly faces cheering you on can make a big difference.
17. Go With Some Friends
Races are a lot more fun with a group of running friends. Joining a running club is the best way to find other people to race with.
Keeping Up Your Running Motivation
18. Be A Bit Selfish
Your running is important, so make it a priority. Sometimes, this may seem a little bit selfish. Just remember, if you’re not running, your physical and emotional health will suffer. Fitting in runs may seem selfish, but it’s your route to hitting your goals and being healthy.
19. It Helps To Be Realistic
Dreaming big is fine, but make sure there are some realistic, smaller steps to get you from where you are now to the person you want to be.
Realism also applies when life takes over. Illness, injury, busy times at work, or family dramas don’t mean you have to give up on running. Just do what you can, revise your schedules, and get through the difficult periods on reduced mileage.
20. Flexibility Helps
If something comes up, always try to re-work your schedule. It’s better to delay your run than miss it completely.
Legendary runner Ron Hill managed a 52-year running streak, breaking it only at the age of 78. He always found a way to run – although some of his ideas, such as running a mile when injured, aren’t such a good idea!
21. Take A Break
Sometimes, big events in your life happen, and it’s okay to step back from running. Or maybe you’ve just hit a big running goal, and your body needs a rest. Or sometimes, after you’ve been running for years, you’ll hit a period where you can’t find the same enthusiasm and running motivation.
It’s okay to take a break. Maybe you’ll throw your energy into a different sport and return to running full of motivation after your non-running break. I find that if I take a break after a big ultra run, my body will tell me when I’m ready to start training again.
These are the tips I used to keep running when I had a young child, through busy times at work and difficult times in my life. You can be a beginner runner or an experienced runner and still struggle at times with your running motivation. Hopefully, these tips will help.