Expert: Ken Alan - 7/14/2009

Question
Hi Ken, hope you have been having a good day. My question is about motivation. I'm a 19 yr old female and fit (if I do say so myself...haha) I play rugby and in the off season I often run on the treadmill for about 30mins to keep my cardio up and burn calories fast. However, it seems I always hit this wall of some sort. I run intervals, as in I run for 15 mins, then take a walking break to bring my heart level back down and run again. But, this wall just makes me feel like I can't run that full 10 or 15 mins and I just give up. It's terrible! Is something wrong with my mentality here? I want to be able to be fit, to look and feel good, but I just don't know where this wall came from. Any music, meditation ideas? Thanks a boat load, looking forward to hearing from you.

-Joanne

Answer
Your situation is not uncommon.  It means you need to take a different approach.  For example, instead of running for 15 minutes, try: run 5 minutes, walk 1 minute, Repeat both.  Then, run 4, walk 1. Then run 3, walk 1. Then run 2, walk 1. That would be a total of 19 minutes running.  If this is too easy or too hard, just tweak it so  you can complete between 15-20 minutes of running, since that is where you bonk out.  Gradually, keep adjusting this type of interval program over a few weeks/months so you end up running continuously for up to 30 mins if that is your goal.  

You could also try running slower than your current pace, and see if that increases your endurance.

To suggest specific music or meditations without knowing you makes little sense...Rhianna is motivating. Elvis is motivating. Mozart is motivating. Dolly Parton is motivating.  LL Cool J is motivating. Metallica is motivating.  Kenny G is motivating. See what I mean?  It all depends on what you like!
Hope this helps.