Sticking To The Plan
How hard is it to remain disciplined and focused when training for a race? Especially your first race? Or taking up racing after many years? Or a race that happens at the end of a cold, dark winter? It can feel impossibly hard. There are many demands on our time everyday. It is daunting to get up and get out for a pre-dawn run, especially if you had client meetings/drinks the night before or if the weather is miserable when you wake up. The challenge under such circumstances as these is to push through and re-adjust your expectations. IF you have a late night but still have a run in your plan for early morning, make it an easy run-no watch. Do an out-and-back type of run, 20-30 minutes. You will feel better for it and you won’t beat yourself up, hopefully.
The best way I have found, to stick to your plan, is to have an accountability partner. IF you are running with someone else, you probably won’t let them down, If you plan to meet at the corner at 5:30 AM, it is a lot harder to stand them up! You can also join a group for training. Group trainings are geared toward multiple levels of experience and speed, fostering camaraderie by training together; all great motivators for keeping focused. Many of you will be training for the same races. In New York, (and many other cities around the world),you can join forces with November Project. They meet at least once a week and it is free, community- building fun. NYRR has weekly training both morning and evening in multiple locations throughout the city.
My coach, John Honerkamp, founder of Run Kamp, has group training too, and is connected to multiple organizations like Rise by WE, that also have training runs you can join. There is nothing like becoming part of a group that cheers you on and looks forward to seeing you run up in the morning.
Our daily lives, our friendships and relationships don’t always mesh with our newfound or re-kindled love for running. It feels great to find acceptance and encouragement and understanding when many of our “friends” wonder what has happened to us, we used to be so fun! Now we get up at the crack of dawn and are running miles upon miles before work and have basically quit drinking and eating burgers and fries.
You can do it! Stick to the Plan- You’ve Got This!
