Motivation

What motivates me to run every day? As I write this, I am due to go out and run 17 miles as my final long run pre marathon. I feel a little light headed. Is is psychological? Am I dehydrated? Am I a hypochondriac? The doubts and fears creep in.

It was easier when I started running because there were more extrinsic drivers at play. The bad angel was hushed by telling myself that I had to get out there as people were sponsoring me for charity or a friend was relying on me to accompany them on a long run.

But this one's just for me. So it's more difficult because it's an internal journey and, in some respects, that means there's more to lose. No rewards if I miss my PB. Noone cares if I get my nutrition wrong or miss a couple of training sessions. The only person I'm letting down is me.

It's a very individual journey and very similar to being on a tennis court. This reflection has made me more empathetic to the children that I coach. How do they keep going when they're 4-0 down in the second set after losing the first? How do they maintain intensity in a training session when they have had a hard day at school? What inspires them to get up at 6 am in the morning to practise 7-815 am before school?

A lot of a participant's motivation for attending coaching or training can be attributed to the enthusiasm and energy of the coach. (And there is no excuse for a coach not giving 100% every session). But a coach isn't there when you're 4-0 down in the second set or you reach 20 miles in a marathon. There is only you. What do you want to see in that mirror?

The reflection that I am faced with in moments like this is what motivates me to run every day. I want to be able to look at myself and say that I did my best. This is what I wish for in the players that I coach and what makes my job such a privilege. If you can guide young people into preparing to cope as well as they can when the chips are down and still give their best, then you have entered into a territory that transcends sport into what it means to be a human being.

'We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.'
- Aristotle

MCG

I am running the Melbourne Marathon on 14th October. I feel very privileged to have the opportunity to take part in this event not least of all because it finishes in the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) which is the biggest stadium in Australia and the biggest cricket ground in the world. It was the centrepiece of the Commonwealth Games, held in Melbourne in 2006, and referred to by locals as the 'G'. The tag line for this year's event is 'Back to the G' because it wasn't possible to finish there last year.

The promise of doing a lap of this stadium with the big screens displaying the action and the stands packed with spectators is what's keeping me going in the training now. It will be a once in a lifetime moment that I will be able to treasure forever and it feels like the ultimate finale to my first year in Australia. The effort I have invested in working towards this race has become symbiotic with my experience of being in Melbourne itself.

I have struggled with motivation for this, my fourth marathon, perhaps more than any other I have run. Yesterday, I ran with my iPhone using the mapmyrun app to give me some feedback on distance and speed. It is a hassle running with a phone but it had the benefit of allowing me to listen to the new Deacon Blue album I had just downloaded, The Hipsters. It was inspirational, particularly the title track that captures the spirit of a group of young people standing at the cliff edge of life, wondering what's going to happen and if they'll ever become the people they aspire to be.

It felt like an epiphany moment to combat the running misery I've been feeling recently and got me reflecting on what it's all about, really. I'm fond of an acronym so, since making it to the MCG has become my short term goal, I thought I would reflect on Motivation and Commitment in my next post. And...well, back to the G, what do you think it should stand for?

Back to the Future

Now that I'm back in Australia after a lovely ten weeks in Scotland, I have been pondering over a subject that I could write about on this blog that would be a) interesting b) allow me to post consistently and c) combine the challenges of tennis coaching and life.

The inspiration came to me today and, for those of you that know me, you'll wonder at it feeling like a lightbulb moment.

At some point this morning while taking part in an activity that I do every day, I had my eureka moment: write about running.

So I'm going to start writing about what I talk about when I talk about running. (Sorry Haruki!)