Staying Motivated by sarahleonardSep 19th 2012For some people, motivating oneself to get out for a planned training session is the biggest motivational hurdle. However, I find getting my kit on quick smart will usually get me past this. For me, I always find the first five minutes of any training session the hardest.
During this time I find that my body doesn't really want to co-operate, my heart rate shoots up, but worse than that the demons in my head come out to play and try to persuade me to go back home where it's safe and warm and there's a sofa for me to sprawl on. Today for instance Dave and I went out for a ride. As we left the house the sun decided to dodge behind a cloud and it started to rain a bit. My enthusiasm for the ride quickly dwindled and I started to feel the cold and wonder if I should turn back to avoid getting wet and even more cold. The benefit of riding in a pair is that one of you is usually keen to keep going and I was told 'keep going the rain will clear' and sure enough it did and we had a great time on our bikes. My question is if you don't have someone encouraging you to keep going (and I don't always have this either) then how can you keep your mind focused on the training and from wandering into 'the land of sofa'. How do you also know when your thoughts are valid and maybe you should be on the sofa instead? I understand that there will always be times when you have get over mental barriers (I've had to do this many a time in training) but maybe there are easier or better ways to keep your motivation topped up? I was interested on WeeMan's blog on motivation and the line between good and great and success and failure for example. This got me thinking about what does keep me motivated and if there are things that I'm missing. Some of the things that I think motivate me:
So that's what I think keep me motivated. What about you? | Tea Shop Rides Rule OK! Previous posts Archive • January 2015 (1) • November 2013 (1) • July 2013 (1) • April 2013 (1) • March 2013 (1) • February 2013 (2) • January 2013 (2) • December 2012 (2) • November 2012 (3) • September 2012 (2) Tags accomplished advice baby balance bike biomechanical analysis biomechanics birth blogs bounce bradley wiggins cancer celebs challenge clothing cold cross country skiing cycling daley thompson diet events exercises exhibition fatigued feet food free weights habit healthy eating illness ironman jacket jan zelezney lazy long bike long swim marathon maternity matthew syed motivation motivation lack of neck nutrition open water orthotics others patience physio pilates pregnancy product review races rain record recovery rest roger bannister rosie swale pope running running school running school bristol shake up shoulder snow socks sports relief strength stretching stupid injury stylish swim swimming technique tevasphere the running school bristol the triathlon show tired training triathlon triathlon training trx turbo virus weight world yoga yoga. pilates My Links Introduction At school I started as a runner and after a few years out I decided to revisit it again as an adult. To my horror I'd become totally unfit so I set myself the goal of a half marathon...I got there, but I'm still chasing my sub 1hr 45 target!
Later I thought cycling looked quite fun so, I bought a bike and only then realised that I had to cycle on the road (second horror moment), seven years later and I don't recognise myself. After a year at BADtri (just you know being sociable) I finally decided to learn to swim (front crawl). I've even been known to attend the early morning swim sessions (but only if a post swim coffee and croissant are on offer!). So there we have it Run, Bike, Swim or something like that! Follow me for updates on my life, my training and my adventures! |
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