Eat, sleep, train, repeat. The same running routine that everyone goes through every day. In every run, you put yourself in a game mode and train relentlessly like a beast.
All of a sudden, these thoughts strike into your mind: Why am I doing this to myself? Why did I get myself all beat up for nothing? What have I done?
These thoughts will hold you back from enjoying running like you used to. Yes, running sucks. It can be hard and painful. To the point where we just want to call it quits or worse, we might start to hate running. In some ways, it will lead us to hate running when we meet our worst enemies: disappointment and de-motivation.
All of us might have been there, but remember, you are not alone. It is OK to feel this way. To turn your negative energy positive, put your focus on your progress and view it as a commitment for your future self, rather than striving for perfection.
Here are five key points to learn not to hate running.
1. Discover your why
Finding your own determination to do something that you love and commit to symbolises a strength to keep moving forward.
The same goes for running; you run because it makes you stronger, confident, healthier and most importantly, become a better version of yourself. That motivation could have a positive effect on you to keep striving in your everyday run.
2. Run with a buddy
If running alone makes you bored, join a group of running buddies or a few close friends and run together. It is a great way to connect with your friends and have a healthy competition to give you something to look forward to in your running session.
Furthermore, having someone by your side through the good and bad is great support in your running journey.
3. Make a pump-up playlist to motivate you
Creating a running playlist helps to motivate you to run more miles or km. When the beat increases, your movement will speed up. Your body will start to run along with the music and make you want to keep running forward.
As you know, music has the power to inspire and uplift us. However, you may need to lower your music volume to be aware of your surroundings while running.
4. Plan your route ahead of time
Doing research and planning your running route ahead of time is the best approach to run consistently without worry. Not knowing where you are heading while running might increase the risk of getting lost, which is dangerous, especially if you are a female runner.
To avoid any incidents happening, plan your routes earlier and stick to them, so that you will know exactly where you are heading and how long you run will be.
5. Celebrate your small wins
There are days where you skip your running practise, and some days are challenging to you, and there are days when you just don’t feel like it. But some days, you unexpectedly perform better than you used to.
Even though your running practises beat you up, that does not mean you hate it. In reality, you are actually enjoying it. If you change your perspective toward positivity and plan small realistic goals, naturally, you will run better and impress yourself with what you are capable of.
In conclusion
Running is a unique sport that everyone can do for most of their life. Besides boosting your overall health, you will find joy and happiness in running. Every step of your way, you will be surprised at how you can become fit, strong, healthy and become more confident in your runs.
Feel free to write to us on how you turn your hate into love in your running journey. We would love to hear your story.
