I spent some time last week motivating my friend to return to the gym and her workout routine.
When she made the following statement, I had to laugh out loud…
“I am not like you. You like to run and it’s always great. You enjoy getting up early every day to exercise.”
In some ways, I think that my workout recaps which I post every week can be misleading.
With just a quick glance, all that running and Pure Barre, which happens so consistently for me, makes it seem like getting up to exercise is always sunshine and unicorns.
Even people like me want to sleep in sometimes.
Even people like me lose their motivation, get cranky and have less than terrific workouts.
That doesn’t mean that I give up on my routine though.
As a runner, I believe the following:
No one can run for me. If I want to exercise, I have to make it happen for myself.
Running is not always easy. Even the easy runs require me to show up.
Some days I can feel great, get outside to run and feel awful. Some days I can feel awful, get outside to run and feel great.
Not every run or workout will be amazing but the feeling when I finish is always better than when I start.
Running is a priority for me and it’s important to have my own priorities.
I don’t run to burn calories and I don’t care that much about races but I do run to stay healthy, balanced and in shape.
The winter months can be terrible.
I whimper my way in the dark and cold weather to the treadmill in the gym because I can’t always run outside.
It’s not always fun and most of the time I am just waiting to be done. I don’t quit though because mentally I know it’s good for me to keep going.
Lately I struggle to get moving in the morning. I want to sleep later and I don’t want to take off my pajamas because doing so means the day needs to begin.
Somehow, I still make it all work.
Maybe I run a little bit less or maybe I adjust my schedule so that the workout meets how I am feeling.
I know deep down that even if I am struggling to run this week, next week will be a better week.
I ran outside yesterday morning in my new pair of Boosts!
It’s all about mindset and working with your mindset.
Some days are better than others but overall, you just have to want it.
You have to want to feel good about yourself and understand what it takes to make those feel good moments happen.
You have to want to make a change and you have to want to push yourself even when you would rather sit on the couch.
It takes time to find that type of mindset and routine. It takes time to develop the habit to the point where you feel lost without it.
There’s no quick fix.
There’s no miracle workout plan or diet regime that’s going to magically make you a fast runner or have you dropping the pounds you want to drop without putting in the work.
Consistently.
You can’t expect it to happen in one day or one week but over time, it will happen if you make running and your workout routine a priority.
My friend rejoined the gym and I am really proud of her. She has three kids, one is only seven months old. I put her on a three-day a week routine (Monday, Wednesday, Friday) and so far, so good.
Even if she is tired, even if she feels unmotivated, I told her to go anyway for 30 minutes because that’s what it takes to develop a routine.
It’s not supposed to always feel easy.
[bctt tweet=”Even people like me want to sleep in sometimes #running #fitness #motivation #fitfluential” username=”cookiechrunicle”]
Who else out there wants to sleep in more often than usual?!
Do you have friends who think it’s super easy for you to run every day?
What keeps you motivated?
The Cookie ChRUNicles 
Im pretty sure all my family and friends think its easy for me to work out every day. I really don’t ever want to sleep in though lol….but some days I want to lay on the couch in my pajamas drinking coffee. But the rest days are so much better because of the work we put in on the other days!
When you write “you have to want to feel good about yourself and understand what it takes to make those feel good moments happen” is so TRUE!!!! Proper mindset and pushing yourself is the key as well as making a daily(meaning set amount per week)life routine. This was so perfectly expressed and the model I was raised on (my dad’s a runner)and live my life by regarding weekday running and now my daily weekday two hour yoga class as well. Emotional and physical wellbeing is so driven by how we manage our daily routine and really making it a routine. Have a great day!!!
You nailed it 100%! I couldn’t agree with this post more. My friend Lora and I were running and she’s going through a tough time in her life and she reacts to stress by wanting to stay in bed but she said she forces herself to go for a run, even if it’s just for 30 minutes because we agreed that once we take on the mindset that we can quit and let difficulties keep us from doing what we love, it becomes harder and harder to get back into the habit of running. And we both agreed that running saves our lives.
I always want to sleep in…..
Back in the day when I exercised, I found it easy to keep going once you’re in a routine. It’s almost hard to imagine stopping because you’re just in the groove. It’s part of the norm. Once you stop though, eep…it is so hard to get back into the swing of things.
I’m pretty sure most of my friends and family think I’m a robot when it comes to exercise. Not really, even in the later years of college I would run at 6 AM before classes. It takes a lot of discipline to stay consistent – of course I want to sleep in sometimes, but I also want to run and be fit. A cup of coffee always helps, as does just letting myself sleep in one day per week on the weekends.
I would love to sleep in more! Its pure will power that gets me up at 5am every morn to get in my run but I know if I don’t I’ll feel like poop all day!
Who else out there wants to sleep in more often than usual?!
Do you have friends who think it’s super easy for you to run every day?
What keeps you motivated?
Ha, apparently I clicked enter 😉
Some mornings, like this morning, are crazy hard to get up and get motivated! A few things help me to stay motivated though. Signing up for races helps. Having people to work out with helps, and just knowing how I will feel at the end of the day when I work out helps.
People make comments all of the time about what I eat, working out, etc. Ha, if they only knew!
Lately, I’ve definitely wanted to lie in bed longer and have lazier mornings. I still make it to work out, just takes more motivation and happens later. I expect I’ll get in a more natural morning routine when I get back to school, but I’ve spent my super long spring break taking it pretty easy.
every now and then I guess we all have lazier mornings!