I have always been an athlete, but one thing you could never pay me to do was to run. I could do sprints or the occasional mile if I needed to, but long distances were never for me. It was always painful, and it was hard to stay consistent, but running never gets easier if you lack consistency. It wasn’t until my junior of college that I began to run regularly and, even more surprisingly, I even began to enjoy it.
Everyone has heard the cliché advice that running is so good for you in so many ways, and that advice always elicited an eye-roll from me. Whether it was wanting to be better in sports or wanting to improve my mental health, the answer was always to start exercising regularly. This task can be extremely difficult, however, especially when you struggle with mental health. As much as it pains me, I must admit that the advice is spot on. Once I started working running into my regular routine, I felt more energized, happier, and I felt physically stronger. It wasn’t as easy as just picking up running every day, but there were definitely things that helped keep me motivated to keep going.
The first thing that helped make exercise a regular thing for me was finding friends to go with me and keeping each other accountable. One of my friends started getting into running on her own and she started training for 5Ks. Another friend started training with her and, eventually, they convinced me to start running with them too. I was nervous that I wouldn’t be as fast as them and I was embarrassed at how out of shape I was. But I knew I was with friends who wouldn’t judge. Our little group kept each other accountable for running regularly, and having friends to run with makes it more fun.
Another thing that kept me motivated was signing up for 5Ks with my running friends. Having a race to train for and look forward to makes running a lot easier. Once you set a goal to reach, like running 3.1 miles without stopping, motivation comes much easier.
Finally, the biggest thing that keeps me running is that I have grown to enjoy it. Yes, it still hurts and yes, there are days when I really do not want to run. However, running gives me time to be with my thoughts without distractions. It also feels good to make progress and feel your body getting stronger. This part may take a while, but eventually you may start enjoying running too.
Running regularly has not only made me feel better physically, but mentally as well. It has become an outlet to cope with my emotions and I always feel better after. So, whether it’s running or not, I suggest trying to incorporate exercise into your routine. It might help you more than you think!