How to get excited for all the work that lies ahead

One thing about starting over is that because you’ve done it before, you know you can do it, but you are also keenly aware of how far you have to go. That can go one of a few ways. It can either be demotivating, or you can approach it in an entirely different way, and get excited about it.

You can’t really kid yourself, it IS going to be a lot of work.

The trap can be that you let that work intimidate you, rather than seeing all the opportunities in it. What’s that old saying, people miss opportunity because it’s dressed in overalls and looks like hard work?

It’s a bit like a race, it can scare the pants off you in the beginning, all that road stretched out in front of you. So far to go, no idea what you are capable of or how much it will hurt, or how deep you will have to dig into the well. But also, while we tend to think or races as distances, they are actually a whole bunch of tiny moments strung together. You might think of it as 10km or 21km or whatever, but it’s actually that moment when you got to start and you felt free, and then that bit when you thanked a volunteer for being awesome, and then that kilometre you helped someone out who was struggling and then the moment where you saw a friendly face when you needed it, and then that final stretch when you knew you were going to do the impossible. It only looks like a straight line from far away. So in the beginning, it could feel like you have to grind out all the things you’ve worked so hard for and already done. Or, it could be an opportunity to fall in love with all of those things all over again.

Don’t undervalue where you are

Going back to less runs per week or walk/run when you normally would be continuous can feel like a step back, but those building blocks are important and you can enjoy that building process. How often do you get a do-over with the process of learning to run (again) embrace how fun it is to see that big progress week to week.

Take your time

It took time to get where you are, it’s okay to take the time again. You might even discover along the way that there’s something you like even more than what you were doing before. It’s a great time for exploration and adventure.

All work is worthwhile

Not all work is in workouts, sometimes the work is in building a base that is strong, broad and resilient. That doesn’t mean that work isn’t worthwhile just because it happens to be repetitive.

Maybe this is a chance to do something differently

Looking at your running history, has there been an obstacle in your way? Maybe it’s time to re-write your story.

I’m writing a book about how to love running enough for it to change your life.

The book is going to focus on my journey so far, the when the why and the how of the workouts and of training, but also how it all connects to things that are far bigger than running. I’m taking up the challenge of writing a book in 30 days. Which is a lot of writing, but hopefully just enough pressure to keep the momentum going. You can sign up to read the daily words on patreon and get access to a whole range of bonus podcast episodes, and an ebook with 52 running workouts, so you’ll never be stuck for ideas ever again. Stay up to date on: