I am six weeks into training for a half marathon, and on May 9th, when I’m toed-up at the starting line, I’ll be staring down the road at the longest distance I’ve ever run before.
The L.A. Times published an article recently about motivation, and why people run. They found that almost 15 percent of people who sign up for the L.A. marathon drop out of the race. The runners who make it through to the finish line do so because they have some kind of internal motivating factor, like achieving a personal goal. People who run just to loose weight, or because of a bet are considerably less likely to finish.
I call myself an athlete (although my rec-league basketball team may beg to differ), and I do something active nearly every single day, so I’m no stranger to long workout, but I’m fickle, and I like variety. And I have never, until now, been a serious runner. Sticking to a self-made training plan, and an assigned number of miles every day has been harder than I expected.
Luckily, I’ve had some time to think about motivation as my runs get longer and I push farther into the hills around my house. At this point I don’t think it’s just the $75 I plunked down that’s keeping me going.
The article talks about how intrinsic and extrinsic motivators impact running. Extrinsic factors are ones like peer pressure, or feeling like you HAVE to accomplish something before a milestone birthday. Intrinsic ones are a bit subtler, like self-satisfaction, or the mental health benefits you get from pushing your body. Those are the ones that keep you going through side cramps, rainstorms and inner thigh chafe.
The line between the two isn’t always clear, for instance, running to raise money for breast cancer could be an external motivator, or it could be so close to home that it drives you from the inside.
I have some external factors, like the friends who will harass me if I don’t show up, but for me, what’s keeping me psyched is feeling myself get stronger. Now I can crank out six miles when three used to feel like an epic. I may be a little bit self-involved, but I think that’s pretty awesome.
Runners out there, what keeps you putting on your shoes and heading out every day?
