Wedding Blog

Besides hiring a personal trainer and attending boot camp classes, I’ve been doing my best to run as much as possible. A few years ago I ran a few half marathons and ran on a regular basis. But here’s a secret: I hate running. It’s a total love/hate relationship - I hate the act of running, but I love how I feel after running. I’m addicted to the high and the adrenaline rush I get after finishing a run, but I’m completely miserable for the entire duration. I do know that running is one of the best things you can do for your body, and despite hating it so much, over time I really do feel the benefits of it, and that helps to keep me going.

I’ve tried everything to motivate myself to run, and these tips below helped. I thought I’d post them for anyone who is interested in running but can’t seem to get their foot out the door, like me.

Join Team in Training. Joining TNT was what got me to start running in the first place. A friend of mine signed up for a full marathon in Arizona through TNT and convinced me to sign up for at least the half. Before TNT, the only time I’d run was to the bar when the bartender yelled out last call. I don’t even remember running in gym class in high school. I probably came up with any excuse I could so I wouldn’t have to run. The thought of running 13 miles scared the crap out of me, but I liked the idea of doing it for a good cause. I highly recommend TNT for any first time runners because you get so much support, whether it is meeting once a week with the group to run together, or moral support when you can’t seem to get yourself to train.

Yes, I actually ran the whole 13.1 miles wearing that ridiculous red cowboy hat!

1. Run with friends. After running my first half marathon, I got addicted and forced a few friends to run another half with me. With a common goal, we met once a week to run anywhere from 5 -10 miles together. We stopped meeting after the race, but now that I’m trying to get back into running again, I met a few friends for a 4 mile run in Central Park this past weekend. I find it almost impossible to motivate myself to run alone, but when I am meeting someone to run with at a specific time and place, it’s harder to back out. If you can’t find anyone willing to run with you, join a running team. I just googled running clubs in my area and went to a meeting. It cost me 25 dollars to become a member for the year, and I got instant running buddies. Unfortunately for me, I am extremely shy and it was difficult for me to interact and run with complete strangers. I had a ton of fun, but I prefer running with friends, and eventually stopped running with the club.

At the New Jersey Long Branch Half Marathon.

2. Listen to audio books while you run. I don’t know about you, but I get bored of listening to the same song over and over again. I would download awesome running music from iTunes, get pumped up for a few days, and then find myself getting bored again and fast forwarding through them after a while.

After I read the book Twilight, I was so obsessed that I actually bought the audio book so I could listen to it in the car (me loser). I gave it a try while running on the treadmill at the gym, and I was so engrossed in the story that I didn’t want to stop running. Unfortunately, audio books are expensive at 25 dollars and up, and I just couldn’t fund something like that because it’s not likely that I will listen to it more than once.

I searched the internet for alternatives and discovered simply audiobooks, which is similar to netflix, only for audiobooks. For about 15 dollars a month you can rent audio books, listen at your leisure, and return them in order to get your next book. They have tons of books to choose from, but the only bad thing is that it doesn’t look as if they have many copies of each. I received notification that I will be receiving Eragon in the mail, but that book was halfway down my list. I’m not complaining, however. I’ve been meaning to read Eragon for years!

3.  Sign up for short races. If you are paying for races, it’s not likely you’ll back out. Also, if you’re running with thousands of other runners, you tend to run harder and faster. You don’t have to run a marathon or a even half marathon in order to run a race. Short races are a quick way to get a run in for the day, and it gives you something to look forward to. If you’re in the NY area, you can sign up for a race just about every weekend at the nyrr website. If you’re going to be running a lot, I recommend becoming a member to get discounted rates on races. I’ve run two 4-mile races so far with one BM Liz (who runs often), and have signed up for a 5-miler and another 4-miler for January. On the morning of every race, I swear I will never sign up again. But right after the race, I’m always checking out the website for more. It truly is a love/hate relationship! If you’re not in New York, you can go to Runner’s World to search for races going on in your area.

How have you motivated yourself to exercise for your wedding?