What’s Your Excuse?!
It happens to all of us. We find a reason NOT to run! For the most part, I don’t have trouble getting out and going for a run. I actually enjoy it. So, I found it interesting how yesterday I was having a hard time getting out the door. I took Saturday off from running which means my body was rested and ready for a run.
What was my excuse? The weather! Saturday was sunny and beautiful. However, Sunday I woke up to rain and gray skies. Instead of my usual morning run, I decided to head out and get a cup of coffee hoping to “perk” my spirits and get motivated to run. Did it help? Well, not so much. I entered the coffee shop to a bunch of wet, sleepy eyed, pajama-wearing, and non-smiling peeps huddled around the electric fireplace. All I wanted to do was go home and crawl back to bed! Really? how many cities in America are using the fireplace in June!!!
I really hope we are in for a beautiful and warm Summer.
That being said, I’ve put together some of the top excuses for missing a run. Feel free to add your excuse in the comments section and I will add it to this list. Keep in mind, there are reasons and then there are excuses. An injury is a real reason not to run.
Excuse 1: No time to run today
Solution: get up 15 minutes earlier, do some of your errands running, take your kids to a track or a park and run while they play, etc
Excuse 2: I don’t have the energy
Solution: run slower, but still go the distance. Also, sometimes it takes a while to warm up, in fact as you become more fit it takes longer and longer to warm up. Sometimes I do not feel like running for the first 4 miles, then suddenly everything is just fine
Excuse 3: I wanted to run but work got in the way
Solution: schedule your run in your day just as you would a client meeting. OR, schedule a 6am run when things are less likely to get in the way.
Excuse 4: The weather did not cooperate
Solution: Suck it up. Learn to run in adverse weather conditions. A little extra clothing for the cold, a rain jacket for the rain, and a water bottle or a route with water stops for the heat. If I let raining be my excuse I certainly would not be running much here in Seattle. If it’s that bad or severe conditions you can always go indoors and use the treadmill.
Excuse 5: Hungover
Solution: Well, this one is a legit excuse ( not legit that you drank so much). When you’re hung-over, you are in essence, quite dehydrated. My advice: leave the drinking for the night after your run. Of course, I would advise against running with a hang-over, but more than that it just doesn’t feel good anyway.
Excuse 6: Traveling to a new city and don’t know my way around
Solution: map my run.
Excuse 7: I haven’t yet run and now my favorite TV show is on
Solution: Tivo. If you don’t have Tivo, well, imagine yourself stopping to watch your favorite TV show during you attempt to finish a marathon
Excuse 8: My running partner bailed!
Solution: That sucks, but you don’t have to join him or her in the failure. Run anyway.
Excuse 9: I’m on vacation
Solution: Just because you are on vacation doesn’t have to mean you are on vacation from running. For me my vacation relaxation and enjoyment is running. It is so much easier than when I am working and trying to fit it in. I love running in new places. Pack your running clothes
Excuse 10: I just want to be lazy
Solution: Fair enough. But do you really want to be a couch potato? The mind is a powerful tool that you can control. Use it to your advantage. Tell yourself you want to go for a run. Remember thoughts of why you run…for sanity, for those who cannot run, for good health, to set a positive role model for my kids, etc…
Feel free to leave a comment with your excuse. Have some fun here…
I didn’t run because….
- I’m a wimp
- I’m moody
- I didn’t have anything to wear
- My shoes don’t fit
- I feel fat
- My big toe hurts
- I might fall and get hurt………
As you eliminate those and other similar excuses from your mindset, you will see amazing results. Ridding yourself of them is worth about 20-30 minute marathon PR, in some cases even more than that. Good luck with your training!
Posted by admin | in Mind Set, Uncategorized | 5 Comments
These days I don’t let much stop me from running or exercising. I think the more you do it and the more you are in a routine, the easier it is to not talk yourself out of it. I have to agree, while I was training through this past CO winter, there were many morning when a hot cup of coffee and my warm bed were much more appealing. I will say – after a run I am ALWAYS glad I did it and I try to keep that in mind. Great post!!
My kids kept me up all night.
The dog ate my shoes.
I think I’ll run later.
Nobody else is running.
It’s how cold?!
wow…you must have been at the tully’s out at Alki…HAHA =)
I ran in the sun on Saturday(12), AND in the rain on Sunday(8)…no excuses here!
Yes Mike, Tullys is where I be. Glad you didn’t let any excuses get in the way of your running this past weekend, afterall, you have a big race coming up
Great list — especially with the ideas of how to overcome such excuses. I am bad about making excuses sometimes and then I get moody/grumpy because I know I should have been tougher on myself.