Written by Steve Jackson
Hey, what’s the weather today? Oh! Low 30’s, chance of showers with gusts of 40 miles per hour! Oh! High humidity, temps in the 80’s! Oh! Beautiful day, maybe I’ll skip the gym today and go out to lunch!
Like me, I’m sure anyone reading this Tip Tuesday has been inspired to get fitter, or run better, or faster, or further than before. This inspiration then led you to be motivated to attempt that desire; you reached out to teammates or googled training plans to develop your own plan. The plan is in place but why is it so hard to keep to the plan, how do I keep myself motivated?
Inspiration is the “Why” we attempt something, that emotional spark that makes us visualize a goal and see its possibility. I’m currently inspired to continue my recovery of my hamstring tendon tear and do the “non-running” stuff that will help me not to repeat the injury.
What are you inspired to do?
Motivation is the “Want” that gives us the drive to get started, this can be very emotional and can waver over time. I’m motivated to get back to consistent running, get to a point where I’m comfortable to attempt racing again and to improve my overall fitness.
What is your motivation?
Accountability is the “How” we take actions to keep us aligned to the plan, especially when our motivation withers and we just don’t feel like doing it. I’m going to spend more time on this important aspect of the subject trio.
So how do we keep ourselves accountable? Here are a few things I do that have helped me in the past and a fourth item I’ve just started using in the past year.
1. “The will to win is not nearly as important as the will to prepare to win”!
This an anonymous quote I found many years ago, which I printed and tacked up on my office wall. I would read this many times to myself over the course of a long training cycle. It always motivates me to keep to my plan, do the long runs, do the intervals and speed work that I knew would prepare me to attempt my goals.
2. Keep a log of your activities. Writing it down helped to remind me what I needed to do day-to-day and could see my progress week-to-week. I would also be able to refer back when preparing for the next training cycle and could tweak my plan based on notes stating what went well and what didn’t work out.
3. Get yourself a training buddy, that person that has similar goals and you are compatible training with. One of you will always tend to reach out to schedule a run or ask how are you doing. You will keep each other accountable.
4. The fourth item I’m currently using is a calendar whiteboard. I have this on the wall where I keep my running stuff, my PT stuff, and my weights. I mark on this everything I do each day, take a picture of it at the end of the month (sometimes I even post it to Strava). I added this when I found myself struggling to keep a regular cadence of hamstring/glute physical therapy and upper body strength work.
How do you keep yourself accountable to sustaining the motivation and the actions to help you reach the results that you are inspired to achieve?
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