Motivation

I have come to the realization that motivation is a daily endeavor. After the Canadian Death Race I took the month of August to relax and heal my body, mind, and spirit. As the end of August approaches I find myself trying to find out what to do, where to find the motivation to do what I have set out to do, and actually going out and doing it. September 01, 2010 is the begining of the end of my training vacation. I find myself wondering “how?” How to start. How to continue. How to keep on going. I also wonder ‘why?’ Why I am doing this? What do I want to accomplish? To assist me I started reading “The Athlete’s Way,” by Christopher Bergland. I read it last year, well at least the first 3/4s of the book. Just as I did then I find it very interesting, it is an easy read, informative, and full of wonderful ideas and quotes. So as September has now begun, I am embracing his suggestions of writing a log for the next 56 days tracking distance, exertion, insights, how I felt before/during/and after the exercise. The thing I really appreciate is that he is an elite endurance athlete and yet his definition of an athlete encompasses so many ‘regular’people. His definition, “Anyone who exercises regularly with intent.” He further states that ‘”The Athlete’s Way’ is the process by which you go about doing what you do.” I am also going to test out his idea of going into a trance state when you run. He acheives his by opening his mouth, having his tongue stick out a bit and with the motion of his head moving back and forth he is able to enter a trance and the running becomes effortless. Hmmm, effortless I like the sound of that!! If you have not read the book, I highly recommend it as reading material. His topics encompass who he is, what he has accomplished, the science of sport, positive psychology, a training program, nutrition, stretching, etc. Maybe he is such an inspiration because he seems like an every day individual that overcame substance abuse to win the Triple IronMan three times, and yet considers everyone who “exercises with intent” as an athlete. That makes me feel like I can be part of an amazing community and able to accomplish anything that I choose to accomplish. Which is truly amazing