What keeps you running?

124

Replies

  • 28ways
    28ways Posts: 2
    The first mile is tough for me, but when I get a good rhythm going I start thinking about work, family, church, writing, or anything else in the world than what I am doing. Once my mind is significantly away from running I can run for a good long while. The worst runs for me happen when I am thinking about running (form, breathing, pain, etc.).

    Music is great and I get lost in it - but really getting into my head is the best.
  • sevsmom
    sevsmom Posts: 1,172 Member
    I usually pick visual landmarks way out ahead and tell myself I'll take a walk break when I get to that landmark. Then, when I get there, I realize I can go a bit further and push on. But, there have been times on a long run when I'll take a 20 second walk break. No shame. Especially if i am trying to refuel/hydrate. I can't open and eat those fuel packets AND run nor can I run and drink. So, I'll unashamedly take a quick walk break then.
  • acstansell
    acstansell Posts: 567 Member
    nothing right now, unfortunately. A bout of sciatica benched me and when I tried to start back up, my legs felt like lead. But I need to do something - I loved the way I felt when was intervalling. A natural endorphin. :)
  • Tribbey143
    Tribbey143 Posts: 388 Member
    races and beating my time.
  • futurestarz
    futurestarz Posts: 510
    I count how many songs I have till I am finished. If I am just doing a 30 minute run I count 4-5 songs worth.

    this is what I do :)
  • normaleverydaymom
    normaleverydaymom Posts: 9
    So I thought I was the ONLY ONE who actually hated running WHILE I'm running! I feel so much better listening to everyone- I'm not such a lazy-only-pretending-to-run sort of gal after all! :) During my 1st (and only so far....) 5K, I kept telling myself that my legs weren't giving out, my brain was giving up. It helped then, but not always anymore. I like the mantra "I don't quit when I'm tired, I quit when I'm done", but honestly sometimes I just get bored... the whole 1 foot after another thing, the repetition and that's when I have the hardest time to keep going. Yes, I see the irony as that is the definition of running...lol
  • tarynnmichelle
    tarynnmichelle Posts: 27 Member
    bump
  • sjtreely
    sjtreely Posts: 1,014 Member
    Thigh 1 and Thigh 2.
  • buudharich
    buudharich Posts: 50
    My continued weight loss. Before joining here, I was down about 26 pounds since February. I am transitioning into running and will do my first 5k in less than two weeks. I want to get in shape again.

    I have a body image problem. Running will help get me in shape so long as I keep it up.
  • HauteP1nk
    HauteP1nk Posts: 2,139 Member
    I run with others so I try to distract myself with conversation. We talk about anything and everything.

    I try to avoid running with music as I find I will run to the tempo...fast, slow, fast, faster, faster, slow, fast...etc. Running with only the outdoors and my running companions helps me to go at a moderate pace so that I don't tire myself out and I will last the whole 5km.

    And sometimes I just let myself stop to walk. I take 10-20 steps and then start right back up. Sometimes you just need a minor little break that will give you the extra little energy needed to finish that last leg of your journey. No shame in that....
  • msmith2020
    msmith2020 Posts: 365 Member
    When I'm at the Gym:
    I tend to always compare myself to other girls that are running, say if i'm already running on the treadmill and someone new gets on the one next to me I make a point of running until they get off... I never realised how competitive I was before joining the gym!

    When I'm road running:
    I just keep telling myself that I've done it before and I can do it again.. also I come from a town where everyone knows each other so I keep running in case someone I know drives past me .. Hate when they go past If i'm just walking! I also love passing people out that are ahead of me.. walkers, people on bikes etc it feels so good ha!

    ^^ This! Funny that is it I never knew I was competitive until I joined a gym either! i would Always run until the other person got off. or if they were walking I would feel 10x better about running my 6 min interval then! lol miss that feeling.. its not something you get running at home on the treadmill..
  • KJoy7
    KJoy7 Posts: 246
    Beer and hot wings :happy:
  • sparkley_panda
    sparkley_panda Posts: 2
    I started running because of a quote that I found,

    "I run because I can.

    When I get tired,
    I remember those who can't run,
    what they would give to have this simple gift I take for granted,
    and I run harder for them.

    I know they would do the same for me."
  • susiebear29
    susiebear29 Posts: 266
    my music keeps me going-couldn't run without it!! if i really start to struggle i just keep telling myself 'think of all the money you are going to raise for cancer charity when you do the half marathon next year!! no matter how much it hurts it's nothing compared to what alot of people suffer on a daily basis'.......bit depressing i know but helping others is my motivation!! :smile:
  • susiebear29
    susiebear29 Posts: 266
    I started running because of a quote that I found,

    "I run because I can.

    When I get tired,
    I remember those who can't run,
    what they would give to have this simple gift I take for granted,
    and I run harder for them.

    I know they would do the same for me."


    ^^^LOVE THIS!!!^^^
  • hjfischer
    hjfischer Posts: 250
    I have a monthly goal. It was 100 miles, then I upped it to 150 miles, I think I will lower it this month to 125 miles. 150 was a bit hard on my body (woman issues and that sort). I have a love/hate relationship with running. I love it, I get jealous when I hear or see people running and I am not. I have great runs and bad runs. What keeps me going??? Me. I feel freaking awesome when I am finished running and no other exercise does that for me. I will be 39 on Sunday and I have been running for 20 years. I hope to be running for 40 more!
  • mateo57505
    mateo57505 Posts: 83 Member
    The ice cold 16 oz beer waiting for me when I finish!
  • rose_mortem
    rose_mortem Posts: 147 Member
    I can't run now, because of an injury, but when we had to run laps in school I always pretended I was being chased by a lion to keep running.

    As a Florida girl who sees too many gators in my own backyard, I alway imagined gators chasin me :laugh:

    I wish I could run again, but I've collected too many injuries recently
  • TazzytheMotivator
    TazzytheMotivator Posts: 646 Member
    I just crank up my music and keep on running
  • rose_mortem
    rose_mortem Posts: 147 Member
    I started running because of a quote that I found,

    "I run because I can.

    When I get tired,
    I remember those who can't run,
    what they would give to have this simple gift I take for granted,
    and I run harder for them.

    I know they would do the same for me."


    ^^^LOVE THIS!!!^^^

    THIS. I think of my disabled cousin. I think of Oscar Pistorius (spelling?) and his Olympic feat. I think of everything I haven't done yet, but should be able to -- run more than 1 mile at a time. And I think of the future me with the fantastic body :)
  • eliseviss
    eliseviss Posts: 1
    Trying to get home

    I always run away from my house, so matter how tired I am, I have two choices, walk or run.

    So I end up running, as if I stopped and started walking I'd look like some mental person out walking in shorts in the rain

    thats so true! I have got the same, I always feel so silly when that happens!
  • Plates559
    Plates559 Posts: 869 Member
    When you first started (or maybe now) what kept you from slowing your run to a walk when you got tired? What did you think about?

    I say "body I am control, now listen or I will punch you in the balls"

    Also I don't run, I get enough cardio from met-con style work outs
  • Sox90716
    Sox90716 Posts: 976 Member
    Telling myself,"Not yet!"
  • SelkieDiver
    SelkieDiver Posts: 260 Member
    Right now, its the Zombies chasing me. I'm using a new phone app "Zombies, Run!" and it gives you this ongoing storyline and intermittent zombie chases. So fun! Takes your mind off things. Just don't try to sprint uphill to evade the zombies. That's how I pulled my calf. :angry:
  • sarahruizfitnessjourney
    sarahruizfitnessjourney Posts: 192 Member
    My cousin is a marathon runner and when I first started the c25k program she told me "Pain is temporary but Pride is forever" This quote has stuck with me ever since. When I am running and feel like stopping but haven't reached my distance or time I just tell myself this quote over and over again. Also a huge help is music. Music really helps and motivates me and when I feel like I want to stop before I should I always tell myself one more song and then after that song one more song etc... until I reach the time and distance I want.
  • mnstrpc
    mnstrpc Posts: 109
    I started running because of a quote that I found,

    "I run because I can.

    When I get tired,
    I remember those who can't run,
    what they would give to have this simple gift I take for granted,
    and I run harder for them.

    I know they would do the same for me."

    YES! THIS ^^ I often thought of that when my mom was alive, ravaged by rheumatoid arthritis - what would SHE have given to be able to run again?

    And then, this is going to sound horrible, but I am a working mom of two, aged 4 and 2 years, married to a wonderful, amazing husband, but sometimes . . . I just run to run away from them, LOL. I run because for 30 minutes, or now up to 2 hours on a long run, I feel free. Truly, completely free to go wherever my feet can take me. And I always come back, because I adore my family. But sometimes, it is nice to be able to run away, and miss them. :)
  • MireyGal76
    MireyGal76 Posts: 7,334 Member
    I started running because I Always thought I couldn't, and was sick of feeling like I'd been beaten. I keep running because I NEED to. It pushes me, helps me realize I can get through anything. It's during my runs that I work things out in my head. It's an outlet for frustration, helps me manage anger and hurt (one word: divorce).

    It is cathartic, intense, and exhilarating. It is hard, it hurts, it's tough.

    I wrote my blog about running WHILE running.

    I like beating my time. I like when people stop and stare because they wish they could run. I like the feel of the wind in my hair and the pounding of my feet on the pavement. I like the fact that I push to breathlessness.

    Sorry, I could keep going and going, but i will stop now :-P
  • Mtfd02
    Mtfd02 Posts: 239 Member
    music
  • willhare
    willhare Posts: 44 Member
    I think about two things…1) I think about how many people out there can't run. It's a blessing to have two legs and the health to enjoy running, so if I stop, I feel like I'm not taking advantage of the gifts that I have, and 2) I still play soccer a lot, so I start thinking about how the guy marking me on the field might be out training harder.

    Similarly to #2, I remember running my first half marathon this past May, and around mile 11 or 12, we're running next to the full marathoners where it splits. I'm tired as hell, but then I realize that those runners still have more than half of the race to go and I only have a few miles. If they're not going to give up, there's no reason for me to, either!
  • Skinny_Jeans_Soon
    Skinny_Jeans_Soon Posts: 326 Member
    I don't listen to music on the trail for safety so I have to try and beat my time each time I run. I want to see progress each run and that motivates me. I also run with my brother who is 6'3" and his comfy jog is a sprint for me and he is getting quicker. Also, the occasional snake and bumble bees always increase my run times. After the first mile I don't want to stop, it is just making it to that first mile marker and getting the "i can run all day long" feeling that is the hard part. After that is smooth sailing!

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