How To Keep Running When Motivation Fades
One of the biggest challenges that many new runners face is keeping motivated. Any time we add a new habit to our life, we start with a jolt of excitement and adrenaline that gets us off to a good start.
After that initial excitement fades, it can be hard to keep the motivation up. This is when it’s really important to find new ways to keep our running motivation high!
Easier said than done, right?
I created a Running Motivation Guide with some of my favorite tips to stay motivated to run, especially when races are canceled:
So Why Is It So Hard to Stay Motivated to Run?
Motivation is an Emotion
One of the reasons that it’s so hard to stay motivated to run is that motivation is an emotion. Emotions come and go. We may feel highly motivated one day, and the next day, we are feeling completely differently. Our moods change, and our emotions change. We can’t depend solely on our daily emotions to guide our behavior, or we won’t get much done!
Life is Full of Distractions
We live in a very busy world and there is always an endless list of things we need to do on our to-do lists. It’s easy to get distracted from our goals because we have so many distractions and options at our fingertips. When it’s time to do our daily run, it is easy to be distracted by all the other things we can do. We can watch TV, have a snack, go on social media…the list goes on and on. There will always be a distraction that seems more appealing in the moment than going on our run.
Change is Hard
We get started with a new goal with the best intentions, but the difficult truth is that change is hard. We often fall back into our comfort zones when it comes to our daily habits, and changing those daily habits takes effort. If you’re willing to put in the effort to drive change in your life, you’ll surely reap the benefits!
You Don’t See Fast Results
When we finally do implement new habits in our life, we hope and expect that we will see results right away. We expect that we should lose weight, feel better physically, or emotionally after every run. That won’t always be the case. When you first start running, you will need to push through physical and mental hurdles to keep going. You shouldn’t expect to see instant results every time.
Running Motivation Guide
The good news is I’ve created a Running Motivation Guide to keep you motivated to run even when you run into these roadblocks and hurdles.
How do you stay motivated to run?
You May Also Be Interested In:
- 5 Exciting Running Goal Ideas That Aren’t Races
- How to Start Running When You’re Out of Shape
- Advice for Running Your First Half Marathon
13 Comments
I’m having such a hard time finding the motivation to run. Kids/distractions are definitely are holding me back. I just signed up and am looking forward to checking out your Motivation Running Guide!
I always had difficulty finding the motivation to exercise or any type of physical effort. I’m very busy and a very active person however all my acttivities are static.
Yes, it is really hard to stay motivated, especially with young kids, but no pain, no gain.
It used to be having a goal race to train for — but I haven’t done that in a few years. Although I haven’t given up on them so I know I don’t want to let my running fitness go.
Now it’s a lot more about stay fit cardiovascularly.
If I don’t run, I feel awful mentally and physically. Plus I had a string of injuries after my daughter was born, so i’m incredibly grateful for every day that I get to run. Being sidelined due to injury is a great motivating factor!
The past year I have really had to tap into what my true motivations to run are. I find so much joy in the physical act of running and running and feeling my heart beat fast. I am addicted to the endorphins I get from exercise. I also love the social aspect of running
I usually don’t have too much trouble staying motivated to run; for me its doing all the other little things like core and foam rolling that can be hard! But I have to remind myself that those things will help me run better. I am typically motivated by the feeling I get after I finish a run.
I don’t normally have issues finding motivation to run. I love running. But I love the social aspect of running with friends and racing. This is the best part. During the pandemic, I have only been running solo. It has been hard to keep motivated to slog it out by myself on some of my long runs. Hoping some of these tips will help keep me motivated.
I’ve been running a long time and I don’t usually have trouble staying motivated. I know that many people do, though. These are great tips.
Running is something where I fake it til I make it, if I’m struggling to get motivated. For some reason, I just always manage to get myself out the door.
I’m sure that running motivation guide will be helpful for many, Lauren!
Personally, running comes very easy to me and it’s my therapy. I get grumpy when I can’t get outdoors and run!
I do not have problems with motivation; I have been running for so many years that it is a habit now and I feel weird when I don’t run. But I am less motivated to do necessary things like foam roll!
Such a true post! And you know what they say, motivation is waiting for you at the end of a run, not the start! The power of endorphins! ๐คฉ