Running is Hard Sometimes
It’s even harder for people who don’t run. And for those people I have this question: do other people motivate you to do things? If the answer is yes, then they could probably motivate you to run.
While motivation is often temporary, running with at least one other person extends the shelf life of that motivation. People have difficulty doing things on their own without the influence of outside help. It’s just a fact. When there’s someone at your side telling you to keep going on that 5-mile run or cheering you on at the end of that marathon, it’s easier. That’s the support aspect of running with people.
Last summer, when I was running on my own, it was challenging to keep a running routine going. It was so easy to just sleep an extra hour or two in bed. By that point I was hungry and didn’t feel like running on an empty stomach. Even when I did manage to get out of my comfortable bed, I wanted to stop running the second I started.
If I had my cross country teammates with me on every run, it would have been embarrassing to stop because I simply didn’t want to run anymore. In addition, my teammates could have also acted as my pacers. Runners know that having someone beside or in front of you helps immensely in maintaining a pace.
Envy is Good
The other part of running with other people is the part I resonate with the mot— envy.
Now that I’m in college, I see competition with my running club teammates. Even though they’re my support and we go on runs together daily, having a competitive spirit pushes everyone to run better. Whenever the club participates in races, the club team tries to stay together in a pack, not leaving anyone behind, yet pushing everyone to maintain a pace and achieve a desired placing at the finish line.
I see older and faster members of the club as people to learn from. While the word “envy” might not explain what I mean completely, it does well at demonstrating the feeling that comes with admiring faster teammates or friends. You want to be them. You want to be faster.
Aristotle defines being envious as thinking “those who have what we ought to have.”As if you’re entitled to it. But in running, and many other parts of life, you have to earn what you want.
Because I run with the older and faster members of the club almost everyday and follow them on Strava, a collaborative running app, I see the work they put in. Therefore, I know what it takes to get to their level.
Having an insider scoop of the training is involved to achieve what they have allows me to replicate what they do and learn from them daily. I can use envy to motivate myself. That’s what envy is good for.
The Ease of Running with Others
Surrounding yourself with people who want the best for you and help you achieve the goals you desire will help more than you think. It becomes easier to enact self-discipline when the people around you are doing what you want to do.
Once you start working towards your goals consistently, having others around you working on the same thing is inspiring. You don’t want to be left behind while they run more miles per week. Running is hard sometimes. But it’s extremely rewarding and satisfying. When you can share that experience with the people around you, it becomes twice as fun.
If you don’t have anyone to run with you, look up running clubs in your area to run with, ask your friend if they want to start running with you, or better yet, download Strava on you phone. The Strava app has groups you can join that allows you to connect with other runners working on the same goals as you. The app allows you to see other peoples’ runs and like or comment on them. It’s helpful for people just starting out or for daily runners.
I you don’t have a watch that allows you to track your runs, Strava can take care of that for you. It has a built-in GPS running tracker that tells you time, distance, pace, net elevation, and much more.
So the next time you decide to go for a run, ask your friend if they want to join you or meet up with that Strava group. I promise you’ll have a more joyful experience running.
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