People often say running is a way to get to know yourself better. You dig deep to find extra resources, push past your limits, or simply finish a tough training block. Have you ever asked yourself what really drives you? Let’s explore the different types of motivation and how you can use them in training and on race day.
There are two main types of motivation, intrinsic and extrinsic.
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Intrinsic vs extrinsic motivation
To keep it simple, intrinsic motivation is when you draw your drive from within, for reasons that matter to you personally. Extrinsic motivation is when outside factors push you forward, like other people’s opinions, recognition, or competing against someone else.
There’s no good or bad kind of motivation. The key is to be aware of it so you understand what truly fuels your running.
For some runners, completing a big race is a source of pride in front of family, friends, or colleagues (extrinsic). For others, that same goal is a chance to prove something to themselves and experience unique sensations (intrinsic).
Mental preparation for a race
A runner with extrinsic motivation imagines the cheers, the competition, and seeing loved ones at the finish line. Depending on the rivals or training partners they know, they can tap into that competitive edge and raise their performance to beat them.
A runner with intrinsic motivation pictures themselves executing the perfect stride and the perfect effort. They tend to be less affected by external factors.
Staying motivated in training
A In training, it’s common for your motivation style to shift depending on where you are in your preparation and what goal you’ve set, whether it’s a 10K, a marathon, a trail race, or an ultra. We all go through ups and downs. The important thing is to spot them. You don’t always need to fight a dip in motivation, instead, become aware of what usually gets you moving and what helps you stay consistent with your training plan.
Notice how your motivation changes with the weather, running with a friend, discovering a new route, trying new workouts, the desire to “push the engine,” the feel-good sensations during and/or after a session, and more. These details can have a real impact on endurance performance over time.
If you want, write down your feelings and training sensations in a notebook.
Intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, or amotivation
You can also experience amotivation. That’s when you have no motivation at all to do an activity. The meaning disappears, and quitting the sport can feel very tempting. You no longer see the point of what you’re doing. This can happen when you face too many difficulties, or when you’re dealing with severe overtraining.
If one day you find yourself in that situation, it’s time to reconnect with the reason you started running, what it has allowed you to do, and the benefits you’ve gained from your practice. The goal here is to rediscover the factors that motivate you.
Learn yourself better and use it to improve
Inside the RunMotion Coach app, you’ll find a mental training and sophrology module in Premium mode. A questionnaire helps you identify your dominant motivation type, and you’ll get a few practical tips to stay motivated during training.
This will help you understand yourself better and, hopefully, give you some useful keys. It can also support the other visualization and sophrology exercises available in the app.
And on top of the mental prep module, you can choose the personality of the digital coach that supports you. Pick the tough coach, the philosopher coach, or the positive coach. A great way to stay fired up every day as you follow your training plan.