Running is one of the best physical activities to stay fit and strong even after our 40s. Your running motivation helps you to stay disciplined and constantly look for self-improvement. Running also plays a vital role in engaging our mind and focus for an extended time. Each second counts until you reach the destination.
It is not just about the body. Physical and mental strength training are the main components that keep runners going for years and decades. By working on these skills, runners or athletes can handle tough challenges. It helps them pursue their goals by staying motivated and building a positive attitude towards daily stress.
When you think about mental and physical training, you may feel it is meant only for sportspeople. The truth is that it can help anyone manage stress and promote well-being in their everyday lives.
Running Motivation can only take you so far
Similarly, mind training is the key to achieving the best results in running because the body does what your mind tells it to. It is mind over muscles. We know that the finishing time of each athlete is different from others even though they started together and did the same distance. All of them are well-trained and have similar physiques, but the person with strong willpower will somehow manage to come out victorious. Strong willpower with a supporting body can achieve just about anything.
Strong willpower is a crucial component even when you are running alone. You must go beyond motivation to run every day because you will not feel like doing it on some days. Beginners may find it boring because of the absence of a competitive factor. You may have body pain, and your mind is begging you to skip the session today. This is where your discipline comes into the picture because you are low on motivation.
Like it or not, you must turn up daily and do the miles. You are competing against yourself to better your results. It takes time to discipline the mind to go out there and do the miles, no matter what. The best motivation is seeing performance improvement. Then, you are already at a different level and will be looking forward to the next session. You may better your performance by just a few seconds, but it makes a world of difference to your love of running.
Your age is not your barrier, but your mind can be…
Some people think running is not for them as they have crossed their 40s, which is now impossible. You cannot let your mind approve this thought. Running, jogging, and exercises do not have any age limits and will work for anyone willing to try. Here are some tips that can work for some but not for all.
Running partners
Running can be fun with partners, preferably of your age group. It helps to motivate each other, share feedback, and develop healthy competition. You will feel more confident when you have someone to watch your back if something goes wrong.
However, you must not get habituated to running only with partners. You may not find it easy to find running partners in your 40s because not many people are willing to try and have given up on fitness. I have seen people stop training because their partner stopped turning up. You cannot say, I did not run today because you did not come. Your fitness is not anyone else’s responsibility. You may start with partners to explore the joys of running, but you must also learn to train alone when your partner is not around.
Local races for running motivation
Another way to develop running discipline is to participate in local marathons. You can choose from categories like full marathon, half marathon, 10 Km, 5 Km, etc. These events are a great way to measure your performance against others and an excellent opportunity to make new friends. Your newfound running motivation will push you to improve your performance to give your best on the race day.
However, beginners must tread with caution here. Don’t just jump into the race without preparing first. It takes 5-6 months to prepare for a marathon. Choose the race category wisely. If you are not prepared, choose a smaller distance.
Then, there are others who give their all to participate in an event. They prepare well for a few months, complete the race, and share their picture with a medal on social media. That’s it—the end of the story. They feel so burnt out that they stop training after that. That is not discipline. Motivation took them to the race but fizzled out after the event.
Race events might be the target but should not be your last. It should pump you to do even better next time. Don’t allow the motivation to die after you peak. You will see many peaks and valleys in your journey as a runner. There will be pain and discomfort sometimes, but you will learn to deal with them and keep going.
Go beyond running motivation
That is why we should go beyond running motivation and build discipline. You might not have motivation for a few days, but if you are disciplined, you will do it anyway. Make it a part of your lifestyle, just like your morning coffee. You may not like making coffee, but you will love it once you start sipping it. The process may be boring, but the result will be satisfying.
It is not just about those good days when you feel fully charged with running motivation to go hard on your training. It is all about how you respond to your mind on those bad days that make you a happy runner for life – Nady