The ‘Not Motivated to Run’ run

Date: 25 June 2020   Author: Energise Me

When you work full-time and it’s dark before and after work, it’s hard to stay motivated to run through the winter. If you weren’t a keen runner in the first place then we’re impressed if you’re still going.

Sara smiling on a not motivated to run run

Determined to find a way to love running, our Marketing and Communications Manager Sara embraced flexible working and technology to get out there.

Stubbornness and the knowledge that I feel better when I run are just about keeping me going.

My running story

It was about four years ago that I first decided to take up running. I had friends and family that were enthusiastic runners. The flexibility of an activity I could do anytime and anywhere was really appealing.

Four years, five couch to 5k attempts, a few falls and a dog incident later I’m still working on enjoying running. Stubbornness and the knowledge that I feel better when I run are just about keeping me going.

The Couch to 5k app got me through the summer but I needed extra motivation to keep running. After a couple of outings with the Zombies Run! app and a failed attempt at a free tailored training plan, Nike Run Club’s Not Motivated Run with Headspace caught my attention.

 

 

Running with Headspace

The Not Motivated Run is a guided run on the Nike Run Club app, led by Head Coach Chris Bennett and Andy Puddicombe from Headspace. Given my lack of motivation, I thought it was worth a try.

I arranged to work from home so I could start early and go for a run at lunchtime rather than in the dark after work. When it got to run time I didn’t feel like it but I’d committed. I was already in my kit and I’d eliminated all excuses.

This time I imagined an effortless finish. It was a simple shift but it worked.

The guided run was a mix of friendly banter, running tips and silence. The talking was just frequent enough to distract me from my normal negative thoughts about running. It also provided reassurance that I was making progress towards the finish line. For once, I wasn’t obsessed with how far I had run or how slow. I just followed their suggestions and imagined the run I wanted to have.

I usually start a run thinking that I’ll trip up or end in an exhausted and crumpled heap. This time I imagined an effortless finish. It was a simple shift but it worked.

The Not Motivated Run was perfect to shake up my thinking. I felt relaxed and motivated to find another guided run to try. I’m now working my way through all the Headspace runs.

 

Top tips

 

  • If you don’t fancy joining a running club straight away, or at all, try out a few running apps and find one that works for you.
  • If you don’t like running in the dark, see if your boss will allow you to flex your hours one day a week to fit in a daylight run. It’s in their interests for you to be happy, healthy and productive.
  • Start your run thinking about how you want it to go rather than how you expect it to go.
  • Try ignoring time and distance every now and again and see how it changes your run.

Contact Sara or Georgia to find out more about becoming an Energise Me Tech Explorer

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