Motivation: key to success.

For many runners maintaining a healthy balance between running and rest can be a challenge. Runners must schedule easy days and rest days in order not to overdo it. For other runners, maintaining motivation is a challenge. When interest fails to move you, there are things you can do to maintain your fitness and keep yourself running.

The key to motivation is to evolve into a runner who wants to run as opposed to one who feels he should run. In psychological terms this is known as intrinsic motivation--it is the difference between running as an end in itself versus running as a means to an end. Running for protection against cardiovascular disease, or to help control weight, for example, will not keep you running for a lifetime. Developing intrinsic motivation means running for its own sake rather than for the rewards it can produce.

There are ways intrinsic motivation can be developed. First, you should shift your focus from the ends to the means. Focus on running itself rather than any long-term goals. Set very specific short-term goals. For example, work on running posture or practice optimum breathing patterns for intense workouts.

Mix things up. Part of the outcome of setting specific goals can be to add variety to your usual running pattern. If you are a runner who heads out for the same route, at the same pace day after day, that can be a dead certain motivation killer. Variety can defy boredom. Add intervals, track work, long runs and hills to your usual running schedule.

Go for the flow. One of the hot topics in exercise science is flow--the result of pure focus, total absorption, the feeling all athletes experience when performing their best. This Zen-like state of intense involvement in the moment may be one of the most important keys to intrinsic motivation. It is a feeling that can be addictive. All other input and all the day to day worries and irritations of life vanish with intense absorption in the act of running. Many athletes recognize a post-exercise feeling of bliss and well-being, which may be in part the aftermath of achieving flow.

Probably the most important key to staying motivated is to have fun. Play a little. It's not just for kids. Think of your time to run as time to play. If running becomes too much like just another obligation, like housework, you will soon find excuses to avoid it. Run for the joy of moving your body, enjoying its strength, the air on your face--just like a child. Imagine yourself as one of the greats, ahead of the pack in an important race, crowds cheering on either side as you sprint to the finish. What you will achieve is motivation that transcends and sustains you through the other ups and downs in life.