It’s been a tough summer. As a running coach, I hear all kinds of excuses.
Races are fun. There’s music, cheering spectators, food and swag. We get to go on Facebook and Instagram with our finish line shots. Training? Not so much fun. You often have to get up before the sun to get it in. Or after work when you’re dog tired. The miles are long. Boring. Face it, it’s hard.
What can you do to overcome the inevitable obstacles life throws at you to nail a strong training cycle? Lots of things:
Make the Commitment. This is big. State your intention out loud. Write it down. Shout it from the rooftop. Running is hard. Training is harder. It has to become part of you. It’s not something you can turn on and off at your convenience. You have to go after it. Make it happen. All in.
Make time. Schedule your workouts in on a calendar just as you would any other appointment. I love to suggest early mornings because, speaking from experience, unless you’re a parent of an infant, most people don’t have a whole lot going on then.
Have a plan. Look at it often. The sooner you get your head around each workout mentally, the more successful you’ll be when you execute it physically.
Have a contingency plan. Look ahead and see where challenges lie. What are your obstacles? How will you overcome them? Traveling? That’s a whole post in itself but I will say running while traveling can be a fantastic experience. You just have to plan it.
Prepare in advance. Lay out your workout gear the night before. Sleep in it if you have to. Speaking of sleep, hit the sack early. If getting up early is a challenge, get out and sleep walk at first if you have to until you’re more awake. But promise yourself to get out there. This gets easier, I promise.
Be flexible. Just because you have a plan, doesn’t mean it is set in stone. If you see the weather this weekend is filled with thunderstorms, or oppressively hot, do your long run earlier in the week and do a shorter, more manageable run on the weekend. The same goes for if your’re traveling. Squeeze a workout in before you leave if you’re going to be crunched for time.
Listen to your body. If you truly do not feel recovered after a particularly hard workout, shuffle the plan and swap in an easier workout. You know your body best. Remember recovery is part of training.
Join a group to keep you accountable. This could be an actual running club you meet up with or a virtual one online. Peer pressure works wonders. The social aspect of running and fitness is pretty fantastic too.
Build a support system. Trade childcare duties with a friend so you can workout in peace. Hit the gym with your spouse, enlist a relative, get a jog stroller or include older kids in parts of your training. Having the people and tools who will support your efforts makes training worlds easier.
Make it fun. Practice positive self-talk while you train, celebrate small milestones along the way rather than waiting for after the race. Think of training as a gift you give to yourself.
Recognize excuses when they arise. Then shut them down with a positive solution.
The biggest victory of running is not crossing the finish line but arriving at the starting line knowing you successfully completed the training journey.
How do you reinforce your commitment to training?
I’m linking up today with Deb for Wednesday Word, which is Commitment.
Great list. Look for the positives in every workout is key for me too.
I love your excuses/opportunity quote. I have been suffering from loss of opportunity with this foot injury.
Great tips. There really is no excuse for not going! Unless you’re injured, of course…
I always lay out my clothes the night before if it’s an early run.
I make baked oatmeal for long runs & I put it in a mini crockpot the night before so all I have to do in the morning is take it out & eat it – works great for races, too!
Great tips. Long-term commitment to a plan is hard. I find it useful to respond to training posts on facebook saying I’ll be there. Once I’ve committed to others, it’s harder to back out. I also like that you mentioned listening to your body because that is so important. I have bailed on workouts when my body really feels exhausted; sometimes it’s harder to do that, but knowing your limitations is key.
Ok ok, no more excuses :/ Got it!
I could not agree more with all the ways you listed! That being said….guess what I did today? Slept in! My body told me to so I listened to it 😛
Injury has been my excuse for a while now. Mentally i’m there and I want to do SO much but I know I need to limit myself for now. It’s been frustrating! -M
Great tips on how to stay on track! Commitment is big!
Wonderful tips. I like that…looking at training as a gift. I’ve actually enjoyed training this summer, with the exception of a few just-too-muggy runs. (But ask me on Sunday and I’ll probably be swearing.) I’m always a little in awe by what I can get this old body to do. I definitely celebrate that.
Great post and tips! I almost came up with a few of those excuses myself this morning when I over slept! I did have to cut my run short but I got out there and did what I could! 🙂
I have had pretty much every single excuse on that list, and then some! LOL. But YES on being flexible and listening to your body. There is very much such a thing as overdoing it – but at the same time, there’s almost always an alternative for something else to keep you moving towards your goal!
Great tips! There really are a hundred excuses to skip a workout and honestly, sometimes I use them. But I think scheduling my week really helps.
Great list! It helps following all of these tips you named! Preparing in advance and having accountability really help me.
Love this! There are always a million excuses on why you can’t do something.. you have to find the one reason why you CAN and get it done 🙂
Love that positive quote! Training/working out is a gift to yourself!
Great tips! Having a plan is so important. If I don’t know what I’m waking up to go do, I probably won’t wake up to go do it.
Very good tips! I do think it’s important to separate excuses from your body really does need a rest though! Honoring that helps you stay committed!
When I listen to my body, I feel like my workouts are the MOST productive!
I used to be so good at making excuses that now I have to double check if that I’m not if I miss a run.
If it’s not in the google calendar then it won’t happen!!
I used to be one that said “there’s no excuse” to not stay committed to running/training. I used to hold myself to that statement quite easily, each and every time I signed up for a race. But in the last several months, I realized that juggling a high stress full time job, raising two daughters and maintaining a home primarily on my own takes precedence to running. Because my first commitment is my kids. And they need at least ONE parent to be present in their lives, and right now-that’s me. So I’ve started back up slowly with working out and walking to have a little bit for me, but my reason (vs. excuse) for stepping back a bit is to keep my family together, if that makes sense. Yikes, looks like I have a blog post whirling around in my head, lol! Sorry for the long comment!
Love this! Excuses don’t get you anywhere, so leave them behind! It’s important to be flexible, but it’s also important to stick to your goals!
I have been at this for 35+ years. I made it life, not a diet or anything else. It was just part of my day & I scheduled it in just like work. 🙂
These are all fantastic tips! I use many of them with myself and the women I work with. I think one of the most important things is to not only have a plan, but a realistic AND flexible plan! I encourage people to come up with Plans, A, B, and C because you never know what curveballs life is going to throw at you!
I do plan my workout schedule a couple weeks at a time- it makes a huge difference. I look at it daily and when there is a workout listed- you just gotta get it done! Great tips!
Good tips! Thankfully I’m at the stage now where I am really committed to my training and I only need to take a break when I’m over-tired or burned out (in which case I usually do something active but unstructured).
I think there are a few very important things you can do to help yourself stay committed when training for a race. Write it down, like you said – put the race on your calendar(s) and write down a training plan. Also, tell someone about your training and race. It doesn’t have to be the whole Internet. It can a few someone’s who are close to you, who will support you and help you remember why the training is worth it (even if they don’t really get it). It’s much harder to stay committed when you’re trying to go it alone without anyone knowing.
Great tips! The first one is one that I make my clients do… Put. It. On. Your. Calendar!
Thank you for linking up!
Great tips Marcia! I especially like your point that the victory is arriving at the starting line knowing you’ve done all you can.
I love this 🙂 I have the heart to do it, but sometimes my body can not keep up. I have been going through a phase with this the past few weeks.
I keep trying to find a group here, but it never seems to work out. Thank goodness for blog friend who listen 🙂
you hit them all!! i’m all about the commitment, fun, and plan! 🙂