I love running for several reasons. The reason why I love running is the networking ability it brings to each and everyone of us.
The people we meet at races, training with loved ones and friends is what it is all about.
My satisfaction does not come from being a sub-2:20 marathoner. How does that help you? The reader. What does bring me satisfaction is being able to help another athlete achieve what they thought was impossible.
I coached a guy who dropped over an hour off his marathon time. He went from having a 4:40 marathon PR to 3:36.
His achievement brought me more satisfaction than running 2:19 for the marathon.
Sure, it was a great feeling to run that time but it was the process that brought me to that time. I love running because it teaches lessons.
Ultimately, we have to make the decision if we are going to be fully committed or merely interested.
Lukewarm work ethic will bring lukewarm results.
I Love Running Because It Tests Whether We Want It Or Not
Running results do not lie. You have either put in the work or you haven't.
You can't break a 4 hour marathon running 2 days a week and running 95 percent of your mileage at 12 minute mile pace.
There is specific work that needs to be put in in order to run 3:59:59.
For most, running does bring some form of happiness to their lives. A lot of people hate running but can learn to love it if they only fully committed to it.
There is a massive difference between interest versus commitment.
Are you fully immersed and committed to achieving your goals or are you merely interested?
If you are interested in your goal it isn't necessarily bad. It tells me you are on the path to success but to achieve you have to take action.
Furthermore, there is no easy path with this sport. I started running in 1992. My first attempt at the mile (1600m) in high school as a freshman was 5:30.
15 years later I held 5:19 per mile for 26.2 miles. Who wants to put in endless work for 15 years straight? I don't know of many.
Ebbs and Flows
To love running you have to also have an enormous amount of enthusiasm. Why? There are a lot of ebbs and flows when it comes to middle to long distance running.
You have to be willing to experience the ups and downs of training and still be happy.
In addition, if you can find a way to see running as a pleasure instead of pain you will be light years ahead of most.
How does me having run 2:19 for the marathon help you? Do you care I ran 142 miles in a week? Who cares right?
This doesn't do a thing for your running. What will create waves is the content here on the site found on the archives page.
In addition, the RunDreamAchieve Academy is a resource that will help you break the 3 or 4 hour marathon barriers.
The rundreamachieve training schedules created for beginner to advanced-level 5K to marathon specialist will make an impact.
People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care – Zig Ziglar
I Like Running Because…
You have a choice in how good you truly want to be at this sport.
We all have a choice of what we want to be and do in our sport. You have three choices. Be average. Be good or be great.
If you are getting up each day working toward your goal and you have no regrets you are great in my book.
I love running because the results don't lie. I didn't break the 2:20 marathon barrier by being interested.
It took me over 7 years to make a video because I was too scared to stare into a camera. Additionally, I wondered if anyone would listen.
Our mindset and the so-called phobias we have often times can be overcome. It is a choice. I took action and created the RunDreamAchieve YouTube Channel in December of 2018 because I had to practice what I preach here at RDA.
Why?
To get out of my comfort zone. The reason why I love running is because it takes us out of that comfort zone. We already live in a very soft society. In addition to that, we take so much for granted.
If you eat today, you run today. You don't miss – Dr. Joe Vigil, Olympic coach
Do You Hate Running?
If so, why? What is stopping you from getting out the door and giving it your best shot for an extended amount of time?
My brother hates to run too. Here is a dose of tough love for you. You hate it because you have never given complete commitment to it. What if you did?
Would your viewpoint change? I think so. No one ever was great out of the gate. Running becomes easier through repetition.
Will it be difficult if you never do it routinely? Of course.
An entrepreneur by the name of T. Harv Eker said something powerful pertaining to this very topic.
Every master was once a disaster
We often hate the very thing we could be very good at if we only fully committed to doing it. Running isn't easy. I'm not going to sit here and write that it is.
It takes work. Think of something you can do very well. Now, ask yourself why am I good at that activity?
One, you practice that activity often and due to repetition you can do something someone else would view as painful.
It is pleasure for you. Simple, but it is simple because of your persistent, love and focus for that activity.
If you hate running if your life depended on it and were forced to run for a year imagine how your viewpoint would change.
Everyone has an excuse. I'm just not good at running. Running is too painful. I've never been much of a runner. Says who?
How much time have you devoted to truly finding out if you are not good at running?
How To Enjoy Running
Visualize how your body and mind will feel by you overcoming your pre-conceived ideas that you are not good at it.
What if you actually are great at running? Is the reason you hate running because you are overweight and have a hard time with your breathing?
Did you try a few times and not seen fast enough results? I love running because it tests us physiologically and psychologically.
In addition, running results don't lie. You are either trained or you are untrained. We either put in the work leading into a race or we did not.
We either lost the weight or we didn't. Running is a sport that demands full commitment to see real results.
Furthermore, if you are lukewarm you are never going to live up to your capability. I believe we all are operating on a small percentage of our true potential as athletes.
This resonates outside of our athletic careers as well. We all can be doing far more than we are putting out.
I have zero talent. What I do have is a passion for this sport. I broke the 2:20 marathon barrier because I was tenacious about wanting to do the best that I could.
So, what I lacked in talent I made up with tenacity and immersion into long distance running training.
In order to improve and learn to love running you have to make up your mind to do so.
This isn't easy but can be achieved with enough guts and determination.
Get Out Of Your Comfort Zone
This website was created over 7 years ago. I didn't start making YouTube videos until just two months ago at the time of this writing.
What was stopping me? The “what ifs”.
What if my message doesn't resonate?
Will I get nervous while talking on camera?
What if I don't say my message the way I want to say it?
I listen to many entrepreneurs on and offline. My favorite is Gary Vaynerchuk. Someone had asked him.
Gary, how do you make so many videos and content each day? His reply?
I don't give a fuck about perfection and I am not caught up worrying about what people will think of my content.
His quote really resonated with me and now am making 1 to 2 new videos each week.
It is losing that fear and taking action on what you know in your heart you should be doing.
Sometimes the things we fear most are the things we should be acting upon.
Subscribe to The RunDreamAchieve YouTube Channel
I have a friend that I work with who is a complete extrovert. He is smooth, great presenter, strong leader and charismatic.
He is, just like I was, afraid to make youtube videos. This guy has all the knowledge in the world to be a relationship consultant and fear has stopped him.
That being said, he is taking action now and working on his own YouTube channel revolved around relationships.
You don't have to swing for a home run right from the start. Get involved. Go out for a half mile jog. Keep doing it.
I am certain you will learn to love running if you give yourself time.
Be Tenacious
The reason why I love running so much is it has taught me valuable lessons. If you want to be great at this sport you cannot merely be interested.
Is it snowing or raining out? Are you not going to go run because it's cold or because you will get wet?
Furthermore, I can promise you this, someone who doesn't give two shits about the weather will. They will because they are hungry, determined and focused.
These athletes are committed. They're all in. I had a gentleman purchase my Sub 3 Hour Marathon Pro course recently.
In addition, he hired me to talk to him for an hour about breaking the 3 hour marathon.
This guy is immersed. He's all in. Investing in your self-development is one of the best things you can do for yourself.
Additionally, if someone has done something I aspire to do I will also invest to learn from them.
I have done this several times over the years either with other athletes, coaches or business seminars.
8 Motivators To Help You To Learn To Love Running
Stop comparing yourself to others
Your job isn't to compare yourself to me or anyone else. I mentioned Gary Vaynerchuk above. Gary has been making content now for nearly two decades.
People know about it because he persisted and didn't give up. He has 1.9 million subscribers on his youtube channel for a reason.
So, if you hate running be yourself. Do you. If all you can do is jog 5 minutes a week starting off so be it. Congratulations. Also, you are creating waves and that persistency you are displaying will pay you handsomely if you are patient.
Love running? You are already ahead of the game. That being said, be humble about it. Someone else may need your advice. Slow your role and take the time to reach out to someone else who may need a pick me up.
Learn what successful people do and duplicate their work habits
This is one of the most powerful tips I have ever been given. Successful people didn't just get that way. There was a process they followed which no one sees.
It is not as glamorous and sexy as the event. The event is the finish time, the boston marathon qualifier or that huge 5 minute personal best you just dropped.
Everyone sees the event. What they don't see is the work ethic and hustle.
Additionally, it is the hard, boring, grind of putting in work day in and day out whether people see it or not which matters.
What are successful people doing that you are not? Let's be real. It is just as real for me too.
Find out what they do and duplicate their work ethic. Be persistent, not lukewarm.
Support Systems Are Powerful
Find a group to run with
If you currently hate to run find a group of runners who love to run and spend some time with them.
Get out the door and let that group atmosphere hold you accountable. I promise you that if you stay persistent and consistent you will eventually learn to love running.
In addition to that, it is much more difficult to do it all on your own. The process of getting into shape is so much easier with a strong support structure in place.
Never suffer in silence – Marcell Thomas, US Army Officer
Cut Out The Nonsense
Watch motivational content and turn off the Idiot Box
The amount of garbage people are choosing to consume each day is staggering.
Did you know the average American is watching 5 to 6 hours of television per day?
How much easier would running be if you wiped out the negativity in your life and traded it for positivity?
Also, running is much easier if you don't have any stress stemming from the daily news and from your social media news feed.
Facebook is the worst at this. Great to network with friends on these platforms, horrible if you read everything negative contained within them.
So, change up what you are consuming. Read a book, turn off the radio and listen to a podcast. Get inspired and consume positivity.
Lastly, focus on what you can control and leave the rest for others to focus upon.
Mix up your training
You don't have to run 7 days a week like me. Athletes can get more out of running 2 days a week than some can in 7.
Try swimming or cross training during your off days from running.
Get in the weight room and away from the roads, trail running and track.
Optimal performance doesn't come overnight. You can only learn to love running by gradually allowing your fitness to come to you.
This process cannot be rushed.
Stay Relaxed
Focus on your breathing
Budd Coates created what he calls the three-two method where we breathe in every three steps and out every two steps.
The name of the game when it comes to running is staying as comfortable as possible.
Obviously, if we are just starting a training plan it takes effort to move our body from point A to point B.
Taking in a few deep breaths during your run can also help you love and enjoy running. How? It will help you to stay relaxed and calm while you are exercising.
Furthermore, what you want to do is offset any tension you are feeling while you are running.
Listen to your body
Allow your fitness to come to you. Expect some challenges. What you are doing is not always easy. Running can be difficult for even advanced-level athletes.
That being said, be patient with yourself and know that weeks and months from now the hard work will pay off.
Learning to love running takes time. The feeling you get after you have completed a run is extremely gratifying.
It feels good to have a few miles put in before you head into work. Always listen to you body. If you are not feeling it, back off or take the day off.
Sometimes an additional day of rest will make the difference.
Closing Thoughts
Write down your training
Go out and purchase a weekly planner or get a notebook and start documenting your training.
Invest in a training schedule that will help you run your first 10K.
Do you have a goal to break the 3 or 4 hour marathon? RunDreamAchieve academy may be the resource you were searching for.
Writing down your training goals and daily training can keep you motivated. It often times helps to see what you are aiming to do in written form.
Also, hang up sticky notes on your refrigerator or at your workstation at work. Do whatever you need to do to keep yourself motivated and happy.
Cut out the distractions and negativity commonly found in your social media news feed, radio stations and television set.
Replace it with the opposite. Something worthwhile and worth your time.
Think about it. When was the last time CNN put any money in your bank account or helped to improve your health?
I love running because I can help others get inspired to achieve more than they think they are capable.
Lastly, I hope this post will have served a purpose and helped you make that necessary change in your own life.
My last gift to you is a video I made with the same title on youtube. I hope you enjoy it.
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