NO EXCUSE FOR NOT RUNNING

Flickr image Good Morning Pittsburgh" by Rich McPeek uploaded May 8, 2016; 2.0CC license

In “How to Beat Six Common Excuses for Not Running” Mark Eller, for Competitor.com, lists some of the most common excuses for not performing a workout.  If you employ any of them but really wish you would run more consistently or follow a training plan, read the entire article. The excuses, re-capped below, are:
 
“Not a morning person…”
“Weather is bad…”
“Too stressed out…”
“I suck so why try…”
“Burned out on running…”
“Running hurts…”
 
Eller doesn’t give a pass for these rationales, and offers reasons why you might no longer wish to consider them valid.
 
His article links to another Competitor.com article “Rise and Run: How to Become a Morning Runner” by Linzay Logan. The last of the three ‘how-to’ suggestions (behavior change) may be difficult and more of an obstacle to making the switch to morning running than the first two (gradual change, exposure to natural light) offered by Ms. Logan.
 
The behavior to be changed involves watching TV. Needing to watch favorite TV series shows on a certain night of the week is not as much of an issue in these days of boxed-set binge watching, video streaming, and encore repeats.  But keeping up with current events-based shows, like the late evening news or post-news late night talk shows might be more difficult to eschew. The topics are timely, dated, and in the case of late night shows hosted by comics, provide a humorous look at what might otherwise be grim daily happenings. From them we can learn what the weather will be the next day, sports scores, and about local community doings. Such shows might help us get through each day to its end. How to break this habit and go to bed early in order to rise early?   
 
It’s obvious but not so easy, if giving up those shows is a barrier to changing your bedtime.  The trick is to shift the time-frame of viewing anticipation and reward by about 5-8 hours. Record and watch “your” programs, normally broadcast/scheduled from 10pm to 1am, in morning hours, 5am to 7am  (earlier or later as need be) as you grab a cup of coffee or a soda and get ready for the run, or prepare afterward to head off to work or school. There are other ways to keep up with these shows with mobile devices. The point is to reward yourself with these favorites in the mornings rather than evenings and, in the process, give yourself additional reasons to look forward to getting up in the morning. Fast-forwarding through commercials shortens the time committed to watchable segments.
 
Behavior change may be difficult for good reason and you’ll need to provide better alternate reasons to rise a bit earlier each day to run.  Perhaps, freed from the obligation of running before/after dinner-time, you’ll be able to catch-up on current events by viewing the early evening news, savor time alone or with family, friends and pets that welcome your arrival, and enjoy the satisfaction of running consistently.
 
RUN HAPPY!

http://running.competitor.com/2016/09/training/how-beat-common-excuses-not-running_155180
 
http://running.competitor.com/2013/10/training/rise-and-run-how-to-become-a-morning-runner_43936