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The mental part of running

I like to say that running is 50% physical and 90% mental. Yeah I know it doesn't add up. It is probably 50/50. Some days it seems like the mental part is the biggest. Sometimes just getting motivated to run is the hardest part. If you can make it that far there is a good chance that at some point in the run you will think "I am done, I can't take one more step". Usually the problem is all in your head. Your body might not feel like running but your head is what is making you not want to run. If your head is not in it you can convince yourself that something is wrong physically or that you really don't need to run today. One way to get yourself to keep running is to pick a landmark to run to. You just need to make it to the next mailbox or driveway. Then once you get there you can set a new goal. If you are on a treadmill maybe you can set a time goal. You can tell yourself to keep running until you reach an even number. The one thing that works best for me is to remind myself that I might not be enjoying  it right now, but when I get home I will feel better and I will feel like I accomplished something. When I am training for a race I have all the motivation that I need. Right now I am not training for any races so some days I have trouble staying motivated. I don't have trouble getting started. My problem is those slow easy runs that can get boring. Sometimes I will say "well I wanna run three miles but I think I will just do two and go home". Now, two miles is great but I lost motivation to do what I really wanted to do. The days when I can do speed work are the easiest days. If you have run or worked out with me you know I like a challenge. But it is those damn easy runs that can get me off track. On the rare occasion that I can find someone to run with me I get that motivation I need. If I am running with someone I am going to run at their pace and I am not going to let them down by quitting early. Also I can motivate the person I am with to keep going or push harder. Keeping yourself motivated is sometimes a difficult thing to do, you just have to get in the right frame of mind.

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