4 Excuses Not to Run and How to Shut Them Down
I was on the cross country team in high school for a short period of time. I was pretty busy with other extracurricular activities and school and one of the only reasons I joined was because there was a girl I was interested in on the girl’s cross country team. I was on the team long enough to race in my first and only race and at least got the team t-shirt. The shirt had the greatest slogan, “Our sport is your sport’s punishment.” It’s a known fact that a lot of people hate running and coaches have used it as a form of punishment (maybe that’s why people subconsciously hate it? Epiphany…).
Flash forward 20 years later and I’m married (not to the cross country girl) with 2 kids and I make running a priority 3–4 times per week. I could spin the wheel of excuses to not run but I’ve formed the habit by combatting any excuse that might arise with tools and processes. I run for two reasons; health and meditation. When the number one killer in the United States is heart disease, I’m going to do everything I can to mitigate the risk. The other reason is to have alone time to be mindful and just be present during my runs.
Lack of Motivation — Put it on the schedule, make it a priority. I use Google Calendar which syncs to all my devices and I literally schedule my runs with a motivating title such as “Run Motherfucker!” or “Run Fool!” These are little motivators when the current you is not as motivated as the past you.
There is a sacred time of the day when no one needs me and most of the world is still sleeping. For me, this time is around 6am which prevents me from blaming any other outside forces to not run. I’ve never considered myself a morning person, but there are processes you can put in place to make waking up early less shitty.
One of the obvious ones is going to bed earlier. Lights out, phone out of my face, anywhere between 9:30pm and 10pm is a sweet spot for me. The best alarm I’ve ever used, especially if you have someone sleeping next to you, is the silent alarm on my Fitbit Charge 4.
I wear my watch to sleep not only to track sleep, but for the simple vibration on my wrist that wakes me up versus the blaring noises that might come from your phone or alarm clock. Personal accountability by putting it on the schedule is key when you don’t have any other outside forces motivating you.
Start simple. Invoke the 2-minute rule, wake up and just put on your running shoes. That’s it. See what follows.
Outdoor Conditions Not Perfect — Too hot, too cold, too dark, too turtley. I’m not talking about occasional mother nature hell storms that arrive; hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, Earthquakes, etc., where primitive survival becomes number one priority. No, I’m talking about your average weather excuse.
Weather predictions are fairly accurate for a 24 hour period so all it takes is to check your weather app or ask Alexa what the weather will be like the next day. Take 5 minutes the night before your scheduled run and lay out all the necessary running attire. You’ll thank your past self for minimizing the friction in the morning to get going.
The beauty of running is that it doesn’t require much equipment, some people don’t even wear shoes (watch out for rusty nail tetanus spikes…and rocks…and lost Legos). For darkness, I have eliminated my excuses and face plants by using Night Runners. Not only does this product keep my path lit but it also makes others aware that I’m running the in dark.
Booooooring — I disagree! This is time where you can jam through that Podcast you’ve been meaning to listen to or the Audiobook that you claimed you need to get to. Get an armband to hold your phone too, no point on holding the extra weight. This system is the best I’ve found.
I’ve also come up with some of my best ideas on runs because I’m alone with my thoughts. I play little games when I run such as seeing if I can make it to the traffic light before it turns red or counting the number of squirrels that wait to cross right in front of me.
I also have a made it point to wave differently at people depending what activity they’re doing. For example, other runners get a thumbs up, walkers get a regular wave, bikers get a nod, people I know who are walking get an enthusiastic wave, and runners that I know get a point and a “you got this!”
My Kneecaps Will Fall Off When I’m 70 — I’m halfway to 70 so I can’t quite report back just yet but research shows that “…the arthritis rate of active marathoners was below that of the general U.S. population.” I also believe that proper running technique is critical in preventing injury. The best description I’ve heard about proper running technique is that running is just controlled falling.
When I was training for my first half marathon, leading up to the race I had terrible pain in my left leg, so much so, I took 2 weeks off from training just so I could get through the race. After the race, my leg was on fire and then I took months off for it to heal. It was only then when I went to my doctor about the injury and he asked if I’ve heard about Chi Running. I desperately needed a change and took his suggestion to heart. Since then, I’ve adopted the idea of Chi Running and two more half marathons later, I haven’t had a single injury (*knock on 13.1 pieces of wood*).
Going back to the first excuse of lack of motivation, another motivator for me has been that running has eliminated my lower back pain. Even senior year in high school, I would have constant back pain and sometimes completely twist my back. Most of my 20s was more of the same, nagging back pain that would affect my mood and a back twist that would bring me to my knees. I got serious about running when I hit 30 years old and it essentially cured my back pain which has been a huge motivator ever since.