healthy living

4 Ways to Stay Motivated When Running

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Good morning Loves.  Last week I shared tips on how to get started running.  If you want to start getting active I highly suggest running because it’s totally awesome.  It’s addictive and it’s a true test of yourself.  I like it because I can only get better.  I started running at 5 miles per hour and now I’m up to 6.3 on a good day.

Some people say golf is a good sport because you’re only playing against yourself, but they still give you a par on each hole and for each course.  Running is really you against yourself – or even the world if you want to think that big.

Here are four ways to stay motivated and fall in love with running:

Get a good playlist

I always run for 30 minutes.  That’s a time commitment I can make on a regular basis and it’s usually my threshold before I start about thinking all the other things I should/could be doing.  Music really helps determine my workout for the day.  I have everything from Britney Spears to Rick Ross on my iPod.  I like to run to upbeat dance music and walk at an elevation to hard core hip hop.

Don’t worry about other people

There’s nothing worse than being at the gym and feeling bad about yourself.  Running is all about you and what you can do.  Don’t worry at what elevation the skinny girl beside you is climbing, don’t think about how fast the man in front of you is running – just do you!

The great thing about running is your workout is never the same.  My 30 minutes can be as intense or as low impact as I want them to be.  Even though I workout for the same amount of time every day each workout is different.

Know when to walk it out

Don’t push yourself too hard because if you don’t like what you’re doing you’ll stop.  I like to run intervals because the high/low intensity shocks the body, I don’t get too tired too fast and I have something to look forward to each time I switch to a faster speed. If I run 10 minutes total at 6 mph the next time I try to do it at 6.2.  It’s really all about overcoming mental and physical obstacles.

Find your sweet spot

This is where you feel the best and your stride is perfect.  If you are stable, not wobbly, your knees and back aren’t hurting and you can focus for several minutes at a time then you’ve found your running sweet spot.  Mine is 6.3 mph.  My form is perfect, although I can’t do it too long my max is four minutes in a row and 10 minutes total) but hopefully my stamina will work up to it over the next month or so.

Photo from I’d Pin That

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