Question: How can I keep going when motivation is low during a run?
Answer: There will be periods of low confidence during some training runs, and the marathon itself – even when the training has fully prepared you for the event. Here is a plan that can be practiced in advance, that has helped runners push through to the finish:
- Don’t give up! Confront the doubt by keeping the feet moving and saying “I can do it”.
- If your training has not been as good as it should have been, back off the pace early and take more frequent walk breaks than usual – to save resources for the end.
- When the going gets tough, don’t focus on how much farther – just the next running segment (“Three more minutes”).
- If the amount of the running segment is still tough, keep reducing the amount until you know you can do it (“One more minute” or “Thirty more seconds”).
- There have been some race situations when I’ve had to go down to “One more step” to get through a rough patch. This got me through.
- Don’t push through a real medical issue, as you could make the situation much worse.
Learn More about Marathon Frequently Asked Questions in Jeff’s Book, Galloway’s Marathon FAQ
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