In Need of Motivation

Boston or Bust is one man’s quest to qualify and stand on the starting line at one of the world’s most prestigious foot races, the Boston Marathon. Follow Matt Burns as he trains for Pocono Marathon Run For The Red this May. Gain insights into what it takes to train for a marathon, how to properly nourish your body, what kind of workouts to run and more as we follow Matt on his journey.

Let me start off this week by asking a simple but oh-so-complicated question: What motivates you to get out there and run? What drives you to leave the comfort of a warm bed, or to forego that beer with friends or even neglect housework or chores?

That’s the question, isn’t it? We all have different reasons and motivations to run. Some of us do it to lose a bit of weight. Some of us run to escape our problems for a time and reduce stress. Yet others do it for the love of the thing.

I guess you can say that I run because of that feeling of accomplishment you get from going town to town without a motor or the aid of wheels. And, oh the places you will go! I see crazy stuff that few others will ever get to experience. For instance, on a recent night run on the Lehigh Canal Towpath in Bethlehem, I came across thousands of crows lining both sides of the trail. I’d run a few feet and then hear the flapping of countless wings as they all took flight. But mostly it was the smell of farm fields. The air was thick with the stench of fertilized and tilled soil. It was a bit eerie, creepy and weird. Also, it was completely awesome and motivation enough to get my butt out there again to and reconnect with the weird in the world.

Oddly though, the motivation I have to BQ is different than just my pure love of the sport. I have something to prove. I want to prove it to all those people that said it’s impossible and told me to give up. I want to able to go back to my former high school cross country team coach and tell him that I’m a Boston Qualifier. Of course he’d then ask why I never found that speed on the team.

But is it enough? I have to confess that this last week was tough on my psyche and pride. I’m consistently hitting my “easy run” pace of about 7:35/mile, but for only ¾ of the total run. The mileage isn’t the problem, it’s the speed I can’t keep up with. I’m basically forcing myself to work pretty darn hard during these runs and hoping that this pace will get easier over-time. But it hasn’t yet, and I’m starting to wonder if my motivation to prove something is enough to keep me on the road to Boston.

Or, I could have just let the winter’s bitter cold finally get in my head-space, and I just need some time outside. So tell me Lehigh Valley. What motivates you?