Motivation without batteries
The chap in the UK Nike+ advert (see YouTube) is "addicted" to running. For those of you who haven't seen the Nike+, see this post.
Now motivation to run has long been a problem for me. I don't really enjoy running yet, and it always feels soooo sllooooowwww (probably because I'm doing it wrong). Why plod along at 12kmph when I could be whizzing along on my bike at 40kmph instead? Goddamit people, I've got places to go! So I don't run as often as I should, and when I do run I tend to get bored pretty quickly. Normally boredom sets in after about the first 1km, which makes 5km more of an achievement that you might have thought!
As a geek who can't run far without getting bored and who has a need to learn how to run 10k for an Olympic distance triathlon next year, the answer seems obvious. I need something addictive. So an ipod nano and nike+ has been on my wish list for some time. But my wish list is quite long (and my pockets are not that deep), so I've sulkily coped with poor running motivation for some time. But it turns out I was wrong. I don't need to spend money to go faster.
Now motivation to run has long been a problem for me. I don't really enjoy running yet, and it always feels soooo sllooooowwww (probably because I'm doing it wrong). Why plod along at 12kmph when I could be whizzing along on my bike at 40kmph instead? Goddamit people, I've got places to go! So I don't run as often as I should, and when I do run I tend to get bored pretty quickly. Normally boredom sets in after about the first 1km, which makes 5km more of an achievement that you might have thought!
As a geek who can't run far without getting bored and who has a need to learn how to run 10k for an Olympic distance triathlon next year, the answer seems obvious. I need something addictive. So an ipod nano and nike+ has been on my wish list for some time. But my wish list is quite long (and my pockets are not that deep), so I've sulkily coped with poor running motivation for some time. But it turns out I was wrong. I don't need to spend money to go faster.
But what's this? Motivation without batteries?
Oxford Tri club have their annual club event on September 15th, and it's a 'halfway to Olympic' kind of thing: 1200m swim, 18km bike and 4.5mile run. It's the run that worries me, as it's a couple of km more than I've ever done before. So, I figured it's time to hit the running track (or treadmill in my case) and start upping the miles. But oh lordy it's boring running that far.... when can I get my nike+...?
Tonight I was plodding along at 10kmph (I had been going faster, honestly, but thought I'd better slow it down if I was going to manage 7.242048km), having done about 4km. It was a steady pace so again I was getting bored rather than tired. I was starting to talk myself out of the distance again: "Maybe I don't need to do 7.242048km tonight, I could do it next time", "7.242048km is something I don't need to practice, I can just push a bit harder on the day", etc. I'd done about 4km and was winding down to stop at 5km.
Then along came Denise. Denise is ourbully friend from Eynsham Roadrunners. It's Denise's fault encouragement that caused me and Dan to do our first triathlon last year, and Denise is always the first one to force us into suggest a new challenge.
Denise had just finished the RPM class (indoor cycling but more so), and I waved to say hello. She stopped to say hi (and at 10kmph I could just about keep up a conversation), and quickly realised I was bored and needed some help. So she joined in.
She's been telling me for ages that running in a group (specifically this group) would help me run further and better. I've always said "thanks, but no thanks" because I'm worried about the extra pressure this'll put on me. The Roadrunners are pretty serious runners on the most part, and so if I'm running with them, I need to run not walk, and I can't stop when I get a wee stitch. And I probably need to go faster than 10kmph on the most part. Oh, and 7.242048km run is a walk in the park for them (well, you know what I mean).
But it turns up she was right. As Denise plodded along beside me at an easy pace for her, the time did go by more quickly. We kept up a reasonable level of conversation, and this just helped take my mind off the running, and the constant glancing down to see that another... 5... seconds... has... ticked... by.... She helped me count down the kilometres. "Only another 12 minutes", "Last 1km", "Nearly there, let's speed up".
I'm certain that even if I hadn't stopped at 5km, I wouldn't have pushed quite so hard (we even sprinted at the end), so I was really proud of myself, and very grateful to have had a running partner for a few minutes to help me do better.
I can't always have Denise running beside me - even if her husband loaned her out she'd normally be quite a way in front of me and getting smaller. And the nike+ solution of music and motivation "coming in your ears" (as Alan Partridge would say) is probably a bit too expensive right now.
So maybe it's time to give in to the peer pressure and just join the Roadrunners? I just hope that they know what they're letting themselves in for. I can feel a stitch coming on already...
Oxford Tri club have their annual club event on September 15th, and it's a 'halfway to Olympic' kind of thing: 1200m swim, 18km bike and 4.5mile run. It's the run that worries me, as it's a couple of km more than I've ever done before. So, I figured it's time to hit the running track (or treadmill in my case) and start upping the miles. But oh lordy it's boring running that far.... when can I get my nike+...?
Tonight I was plodding along at 10kmph (I had been going faster, honestly, but thought I'd better slow it down if I was going to manage 7.242048km), having done about 4km. It was a steady pace so again I was getting bored rather than tired. I was starting to talk myself out of the distance again: "Maybe I don't need to do 7.242048km tonight, I could do it next time", "7.242048km is something I don't need to practice, I can just push a bit harder on the day", etc. I'd done about 4km and was winding down to stop at 5km.
Then along came Denise. Denise is our
Denise had just finished the RPM class (indoor cycling but more so), and I waved to say hello. She stopped to say hi (and at 10kmph I could just about keep up a conversation), and quickly realised I was bored and needed some help. So she joined in.
She's been telling me for ages that running in a group (specifically this group) would help me run further and better. I've always said "thanks, but no thanks" because I'm worried about the extra pressure this'll put on me. The Roadrunners are pretty serious runners on the most part, and so if I'm running with them, I need to run not walk, and I can't stop when I get a wee stitch. And I probably need to go faster than 10kmph on the most part. Oh, and 7.242048km run is a walk in the park for them (well, you know what I mean).
But it turns up she was right. As Denise plodded along beside me at an easy pace for her, the time did go by more quickly. We kept up a reasonable level of conversation, and this just helped take my mind off the running, and the constant glancing down to see that another... 5... seconds... has... ticked... by.... She helped me count down the kilometres. "Only another 12 minutes", "Last 1km", "Nearly there, let's speed up".
I'm certain that even if I hadn't stopped at 5km, I wouldn't have pushed quite so hard (we even sprinted at the end), so I was really proud of myself, and very grateful to have had a running partner for a few minutes to help me do better.
I can't always have Denise running beside me - even if her husband loaned her out she'd normally be quite a way in front of me and getting smaller. And the nike+ solution of music and motivation "coming in your ears" (as Alan Partridge would say) is probably a bit too expensive right now.
So maybe it's time to give in to the peer pressure and just join the Roadrunners? I just hope that they know what they're letting themselves in for. I can feel a stitch coming on already...
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