So the first major challenge for the year was last weekend and it was in the form of the Bournemouth half marathon. I hadn’t really done any significant running, up to that point, but I have cycled a bit, so my thought was…. I should be ok.
I was supposed to be running with a mate of mine and this was a milestone, working towards the Ironman in August.
Unfortunately my mate had a family matter that was significantly more important to attend, so I had a choice: Do I run it on my own or do I have a well deserved lie in?
It was going to be a wet, grey morning and I was really having a dilemma, then I made a decision – I’m running.
I got my kit prepared, read all of the race info, spoke to Sandra to arrange a lift to the start line and a pick up after, so I could get home, ASAP, then take my Son to football in Brockenhurst by 12:45
The pressure was on! I needed to complete the run in under 2 hours so I could fit everything else in and I hadn’t run over 3 miles this year!
Most people who know me will say “That’s typical of Darren” but as I am getting older, it’s getting tougher to ‘just turn up’ – which is why I have milestones.
I completed it in 1:53 – not my best, but good for the day and a tick in the box.
The next milestone is a bike ride in Mallorca at the end of this month, it will also be a challenge as I have been doing 2-3 hour bike rides and Mallorca will take up to 8 hours in the saddle.
I will let you know how it goes!
The reason for sharing this is so you know that I find it hard to motivate myself to get out exercise and do events. It’s the reason I normally do a challenge with someone else. I use them as my motivation, especially if they are training harder than me! I use WhatsApp groups so when someone posts and shares their training, it spurs me on.
I don’t normally jump on my bike smiling when it’s raining and windy, but if I’ve agreed to go out with Tony, like on Sunday, I turn up and we just do it! If I hadn’t agreed to meet Tony, I’d have stayed in bed for longer, had a nice breakfast and got ready to watch the football on TV.
How do you motivate yourself to do the things you don’t like doing, but know you need to do? What are you putting off, at the moment, and are meaning to start ‘tomorrow?’
Time to JFDI, maybe? This video (click here) is worth a quick watch 3:34