Motivations...

What motivates me? What drives me to workout? What makes me crave running? These are questions I get asked frequently.

I am motivated by a lot of things. My best motivation is my family. I adore my husband. I want to have his children some day (hopefully that day will be sooner rather than later, Lord willing!) He makes me smile and laugh and encourages me in all that I do. I also cannot imagine my life without my sister's children, Trevor, Kelsey, Tyler and Trent. They are so precious to me. Over their lives, I have spent a lot of time loving and spoiling them! And they make my life so much more amazing. Being their aunt has made my life special!

I am also motivated by results. Every time I can lift a heavier weight or I lose a pound or an inch, it excites me and makes me want to work harder. In yoga, there are poses that are more difficult, I am thrilled when I can do one of the harder poses.

I have found that motivation comes and goes. It happens. When I have times when my motivation slips, I have to remind myself of where I have been. I also look at pictures of my family or talk to them. I talk to other friends who are on the same journey. I talk to my trainer and have him give me exactly what I need...a pep talk or a butt-kicking. It's not easy. And honestly, even when I am not quite so motivated, I do my workout. Sometimes, I can fake it and get myself more motivated. Other times, I just get a so-so workout in. It all evens out for me.

What drives me? I have a huge competitive nature. Luckily for me, I don't really have to compete with other people as much as I do myself. I have a strong desire to be better than I am in everything. I don't like to settle for just mediocre. So, I have to push myself to lift heavier, run faster, and even do more challenging yoga poses. The longer I work out, the more self-confidence I have and the more things I find that I need to prove to myself. Today, for example, I got it into my head that I needed to hold a plank hold for 2 minutes. Now, with my hip not fully healed and already bothering me today, that was not the smartest idea. I did manage to hold a strong plank for about 1 minute & 20 seconds before my hip started to really bother me! I felt good about it but at the same time, I am now driven to not only hit the 2 minute mark in a couple of weeks but surpass it by say 15 or 20 seconds :) Yeah, I am competitive and that drives me in everything I do. You can also say it is quite a bit of stubborness in me too!

Craving running is new to me! For the longest time, I didn't want anything to do with running or jogging or anything else like it. In fact, when I met my trainer for the first time, I told him there were only two occasions that I considered cause for running...1) someone was chasing me with weapon...I would run because I would trip and kill myself anyways but at least it was a valiant attempt not to be killed! and 2) if someone I really loved was in danger, I would run to save them, but I would have to really love them :) (I know...I am a nut!) Over a year ago, my trainer got me to start running by running with me in the gym. I never imagined that out of those laps would form a deep desire to run in me. After that day, it was almost like every song I heard had running in it, every book I was drawn to was about running and well, I was at the time already in training for my first half-marathon. Now, craving running is like craving chocolate. I cannot have it/do it so I want to even more! Right now, I am unable to run. I have 4 more weeks before the physical therapist will allow me to start jogging or running. It scares me and excites me all at the same time! I want to run so much right now that I am so tempted to get a head start on the plan! But I will wait!

For me, the whole fitness thing gets easier the longer I stick to it. I admit that there are days when I don't enjoy it and I don't want to do it. But there are also days that I wish I could work out all day long. I enjoy the days when my muscles are so tired from a workout that I absolutely have to limp or crawl out of the gym! There are many people who think that my attitude makes me crazy. I have been accused of being obsessive-compulsive about working out. And you know what, I don't particularly care! It is my stress-reliever, my sanity, my passion. And frankly, it is becoming a way of life for me. I used to live to eat...now I eat to live and to fuel my body for a workout. I have to push myself because I won't let anything stand in my way to getting to my goals!

"The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out; the brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. The brick walls are there to stop the people who don't want it badly enough. They are there to stop the other people." - Randy Pausch