Blog 4
My sources of intrinsic motivation is the satisfaction of completing fitness goals as well as just looking healthier/better. It’s usually pretty easy to be consistently engaged in working out and being fit, but as the year comes closer to winter, like it is right now, it’s harder to work out outside because the cold is so disheartening. When I’m unmotivated by the cold, I usually just power through it and make myself work out because I know in the long run it will make me feel better post workout.
One of my fitness goals for this semester is to be able to run 12 miles without stopping at at least a 10 minute mile. It checks all the boxes on the SMART goals ideas. It’s specific. I can measure the runs in terms of when I lengthen my runs and how often I do them. It’s easily achievable because right now I can run probably 4 miles maybe 5 at a 10 minute mile pace. It’s definitely realistic, and it’s timely because of the length of the semester.
My relapse plan for running every week will be to just remember why I do it and what I enjoy about it. It sounds like something that I wouldn’t normally enjoy doing since most of my workouts were short length runs in highschool, but I really enjoy running in DC in general because it gives me that sense of outdoors that you don’t really get in DC normally. My mantra will be “I am fast, I am strong”.
To improve my self efficacy I am going to set goals for myself every week. I want to see constant improvement on my running so I am going to push myself harder than I normally would, and pull back the improvements as necessary. If I feel like one of my runs went particularly well I will increase the length by maybe half a mile, or increase my speed the next run just to see how far I can push my limits. I am also going to talk to my dad about what he thinks is the best plan for me. He has been running marathons for years and it was kind of a spur of the moment decision for him. He one day just thought he should get back into shape so he started a running program and now I want to learn how he progresses in his programs as fast as he does. I am going to also change what I think about when I’m running. I usually focus on the beauty of the run, but now that I have a goal in mind for when I’m running, I am going to focus on completing the run. I want to make sure my mind is in the right state of mind to go for a run and really focus on finishing like there is a finish line at the end of every run. I am very competitive and I feel like that strategy will assist me and complete every run much quicker than the last.