I believe training for an Ironman is more of a lifestyle rather than a hobby. It touches everyone and everything in your life. You try your best to plan your training around all of life's other commitments and responsibilities. About 6 weeks out from your race (where I am now), you remember how hard your training is, how exhausting it is, and how much time it requires. I always find motivation in things I read. Why do we do what we do? What keeps us moving forward? Whether your training involves 20 hour weeks or your just trying to find the time to get fit for your first 5K...read on.
Kristin Armstrong is an author of several motivational books and has written articles in Runner's World. I love her perspective and insight into running and friendships and what motivates us. Below is an excerpt from her book "Mile Markers: The 26.2 Reasons Most Important Reasons Why Women Run"
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"People keep
asking me about my next marathon like I must have a next marathon. It's
valid, though, to wonder why someone would go on a 2 hour plus run on
weekends without a plan or goal in mind. "Why?" one might ask. "What's
the point?" I know I always feel better after my run, even if I'm
depleted in my body - my soul is full. One morning this week I read a
devotional before my run by an author by the name of Bertha Munro. It
began by saying "Bless me and make me a blessing"
Then it went on to explain that the biggest way we can help those we
love is by having already helped ourselves. We are suppose to work at
our fitness in all capacities (spiritual, mental, emotional, physical).
If we are fit, in every sense of that word, then when someone we love
needs us, we can make a difference. Fitness has a purpose far beyond
vanity, beyond even good health, when a person is trained to think of it
in these terms."
"The other part of the devotional read "You
cannot always do something to help your friends, but you can always be
something to help them..." Okay that's it. That's why I train, right
there. I don't train because I want to be able to do things (run a
faster 5K, make someone eat my dust on a trail, though those things
aren't bad). I train because I want to be someone better than I would
be if I didn't train. If someone I love is faltering, I want to be the
kind of person who
can haul some ass. I want to be first on the scene. I want to be
strong enough to carry some of his or her burden along with my own. I
want to have a clear head and a clear heart so if I'm asked for advice, I
can offer wisdom. If my big opportunity arises to serve, I want to be
ready. If it takes more out of me than I anticipated, I want to know
something about endurance. If someone I love looks at me with eyes full
of fear, terrified that she won't be able to finish whatever happens to
lie ahead, I want to look at her, wordless, with unblinking eyes that
assure her that there is no way that she won't. That right there is why
I run."
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"The secret to life is to put yourself in the right lighting. For some, it's a Broadway spotlight, for others, a lamplit desk. Use your natural powers - of persistence, concentration, and insight - to do the work you love and work that matters" - Susan Cain
