The Background
What is with a runner’s mind and mentality ? Often we talk a lot about the runners’ physical body and injuries and not much about the soul and mind. It is also an important part for the mentality of a runner so that he can continue keeping up with the motivation and joy of running and also achieve the best results.
Runners mindset for motivation
Everyone runs for different reasons, some hopes to get away from problems they face in life, some run for health reasons. Running is also the fastest way to shed off those fats and get in shape fast. However, sometimes training alone can be very mind torturing especially when you do not have time and can only train at certain times of the day.
Join A Running Group
It is not easy to get that vibe and resolution going. One of the ways is to meet like minded people through social media, join in running groups or simply get in touch with the people you see running along your usual routes everyday. Some smart watches and sports watches have apps an softwares that connect you and your friends, you can work out at different timings but still log on and see each other’s progress. In that way, you can virtually encourage each other at workouts!
Read up Running Blogs
Read up the many running blogs available, from road races to trail races, there are so many types of running activities going on. A few of the Blogs that are pretty informative can be found here:
Reading these websites will get you all excited about Races and stuff, thus keep your Mojo going on.
Juggle between Different Exercises
Some runners just run ONLY, running is a good exercise, but keeping yourself all rounded in also important. Doing too much running tend to develop injuries and strains to certain parts of the body, this will not be good over the long term. Try to do less strenuous and impactful activity like swimming, simple Hatha Yoga ( can really help you to stretch those strained muscles), or some ball games to train your reflexes too. Going to the gym to build up your core and back is also important for your running form. In other words, when one day you cannot run anymore, there are still other activities to keep you motivated and look forward to keeping a healthy lifestyle.
Taking Part in Overseas Races
Ideally to as many different parts of the world as possible, you will be able to see the difference between the way runners perform in different countries and experience the local culture too. It is killing two birds with one stone. Going for overseas race can be quite addictive and requires you taking annual leave and spending money for it. Therefore, try to balance out the number of races you sign up in a year.
When there are times that I do not feel like clocking that mileage or just so tired from running, I take a break off and simply take sometime to enjoy with my family for an outing. Avid runners, triathletes tend to take long hours for training , maintenance and going for sports therapy, sometimes they neglect the important part of sharing some family and friends time. So do take your break and let it go once a while!