5 Tips To Staying Motivated During Winter - Coach Tina

Happy Tuesday, everyone! It’s a new year, which means it's time to make some new running goals for the 2020 road racing season!

Coach Tina is the Elite Coordinator for the HOF Marathon

Speaking of the 2020 racing season, have you marked your calendars yet for our 7th annual Pro Football Hall of Fame Marathon Series for this April? If you haven’t yet, check out our website www.hofmarathon.com to see what race events we have going on this year!

We offer races from the walk/race 5k all the way up to the full marathon! Consider running our 5 leg marathon relay with some friends or even a work group!

Use code TUESDAYTRAINING to receive 10 dollars off your registration fee if you haven’t signed up yet.

We are officially 16 weeks out from our race weekend and would love to offer any guidance/ tips on training for those of you brave enough to train in Ohio’s winter weather. 

Training in the winter can always seem like a drag; especially when you have unpredictable weather like Ohio. 

Luckily, we have been blessed with some amazing warm training weather this early January. But as we all know, the brutal days are coming and we need to be prepared. With that being said, I am here to reassure you that if you put in the work, get up and run on days you really don't want to, it all pays off in the end. 

The biggest challenge I see during the winter time is having motivation and keeping up the momentum. So, how can we continue training in these cold, challenging months ahead while keeping morale high? 

--- Here are a few tips I have found to be helpful --- 

1. What is your long-term vision for yourself? First and foremost, know  why you are doing this. What is your future plan for yourself? What drives you to get up in the morning? New year resolutions always seem fun in the beginning, but we often lose sight of them because we aren’t fully visualizing the long-term plan and understanding the action to follow through with it. Knowing your purpose and “big picture” will ultimately encourage you to practice self control. We have all experienced a morning where we woke up and didn’t feel like running or treat our bodies properly. When you have a long-term vision for yourself, this creates meaning to why you are choosing to get up in the morning and go out in the cold. Finding purpose to your journey essentially triggers you to keep moving forward.

2. Stick with the number 3 when it comes to Goals Runners LOVE numbers and for being competitive human beings, setting goals is our number one specialty. Although, we often fill our “goal sheets” up way to high and set ourselves up for unrealistic attainability. Focus on 3 goals! When you have those 3 goals in mind, understand what they actually mean.

For instance, if your goal is “I want to race a sub 1 hour and 40 minute half marathon” understand the average mile pace that is. Do your research on realistic weekly mileage and ways to gain more aerobic fitness.The follow up action part is the most crucial part when setting goals. When you cultivate small habits and focus on the long-term perspective, you’ll eventually hit a milestone.Tiny habits lead you either in the right or wrong direction. Belief determines action.

3. Consistency Breeds Consistency! Oftentimes people want a “special” formula to what it takes to become better, lose weight or be faster. Don’t get me wrong, doing the proper training and the right amount of mileage is crucial to becoming better. Although, it oftentimes requires repetitive action and consistent behavior to see results. Remember the saying “ You reap what you sow”? Well, it isn’t much different when it comes to fitness training. When you build consistent habits of building mileage at the right progression, fuel your body properly, build muscle strength, and receive quality sleep, you will essentially breed consistency in training/racing. Results are usually the outcome of habits so make your habits good ones!

4. Have a training plan implemented It's easy to get sidetracked when you are aimlessly training. Oftentimes when we don't have things marked on our calendar, we tend to get a little slack with training. We make up excuses like "well I can always try tomorrow". When other obligations come up sometimes you have to be flexible, that is life. Although, it is when we allow excuses to show up in our training more often than none where it can get dicey. Keep your calendar full of days you will do work outs, long runs ,etc. Remember that your goals are important so make your training plan just as important. If you aren't sure where to begin or need some guidance on training methods, feel free to shoot me an email Tina@hofmarathon.com

5. Embrace the process We all have been there when we get too caught up in the goal itself rather than the journey. Focus on the process rather than the end result/goal. Too often we forget that we are on the road to becoming better versions of ourselves and that is a win in itself! Remember to be patient and to learn metabolic flexibility in your training/journey. Every day, week and month will be different because of different given circumstance. Practice gratitude on a daily and know that pain is only temporary. Remember that our brains crave comfort, but it’s leaving your comfort zone that is a true game changer. 

You got this!

***For any training questions or assistance email Coach Tina at tina@hofmarathon.com for more details.