“You have to wonder at times what you’re doing out there. Over the years, I’ve given myself a thousand reasons to keep running, but it always comes back to where it started. It comes down to self-satisfaction and a sense of achievement.”
– Steve Prefontaine

I had a friend ask me about whether or not she should participate in a training group that meets at a park five days a week at 6 am.  She said it was to “force” and “motivate” her to get up and exercise.  I quickly reminded her that she was already a member of TWO gyms plus had access to one at her apartment complex!  Joining another fitness organization wasn’t going to give her that extra push to roll out of bed at 5:30 am.  It must come from within.  Motivation can’t be forced.  As an Army Officer leading 30 young men I learned that you get a much better effort from individuals if you are able to motivate them.  This was my main goal.  To inspire others to follow me; not force them.

The same goes for your running.  You need internal motivation to achieve your goals.  While joining a running group or going to a gym are both great ways to socialize and exercise with other like-minded and fit individuals, they are not going to force you to push yourself.  You can attend class but only you can make yourself listen and digest the material.  Running, exercising, and eating healthy have to become a lifestyle.  The fact is, you don’t have to come up with ways to hide your vegetables anymore.  Your Mom let’s you decide what you want to eat now!  It is up to you to decide which and how many veggies you want to eat.  I chose to eat very little but I’m fine with that.  It’s my decision.  Be comfortable in your lifestyle choices and don’t complain about the ones that you don’t make.  I know, we are all busy and have other commitments but let’s be honest, those are all just excuses to live the lifestyle that you choose.  If you want to make a change then you just have to resolve to do it.  Resolve to run.  Happy New Years!

It’s alright if you just have an internal spark but don’t have the fire in your belly yet; although it would probably be the size of a bonfire judging by the size of your belly.  Seriously, you need to get out and run.  If people making fat jokes about you does not douse your internal flame enough then try keeping a running log.  This is a great way to keep you accountable.  Keeping people accountable.  Where have I heard that lately?  Oh yeah, on CNBC.  A running log is great because running is quantifiable which makes it easy to compare and see the progress you’ve made…or not made if you haven’t been pushing yourself.  There are a lot of different tools on the Internet for training logs but I wouldn’t start up any program at this point; a pretty awesome one is coming to Seriousrunning.com.  All of the other programs out there are for jerks anyways.  Just use a pen and paper for now and we’ll make our logs available as soon as possible.  Wait.  What am I saying?  You don’t own a pen and paper.  Better yet; start tracking your program in excel, that way you can just insert your data into your very own training log on Seriousrunning.com.  See, we’re here to help you.  You’re welcome.

So make your March 6th resolution.  Resolve to run.  Warm weather and skimpy outfits are coming soon.  Don’t you want to be ready?  Just don’t drink too much water when you’re out there running; you don’t want to put out that internal flame.  Build yourself a bonefire…in your chest.  You won’t have a belly much longer!