Motivation – Part 1
It's November in Vancouver and that means rain, rain, and then just when you think it can't possibly, it rains some more. Add to that short days of sunlight and temperatures in the single digits and getting out the door for workouts can be a challenge.
So motivation becomes key. This motivation thing is something that I've been mulling over all fall. Where does it come from? Where does it go sometimes? How can I use it? I'm hoping that actually writing about it here might help clarify things for me and perhaps have you the reader learn a little in the process.
Part of the piece from Larry Zimich that got me thinking about all this:
Intrinsically motivated athletes, compete because they want to and because they enjoy the competitive element of pushing their body to its limits. Extrinsically motivated athletes compete because they have to and because they enjoy the external rewards of trophies and fame. Intrinsic athletes are capable of self-motivation, extrinsic athletes require external stimulus (the reward) to gain motivation.
So are you intrinsically motivated? Do you do that run because it makes you feel better about yourself? Because you get a sense of accomplishment?
Or are you extriniscally motivated? Do you do that run because it makes you faster than someone else? Because it takes you one step closer to the glory of victory?
After a lot of thought I discovered I'm more one than the other, even if it isn't always the more popular one. And the more I think about it, the more I'm ok with it.
I'll tell you why in my next post.
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Calendar
Leading Edge
- LETC this week March 8, 2010Nice work LETC! The 5000 m run times from last week were some of the best we’ve seen! Your hard work is paying off! Results will be posted soon if they are not up already. And what can we say about the combined functional movement and swim session Sunday- definitely saw a few green faces [...] […]
Martina Wan
- S4 Week 22 – the other stuff. March 10, 2010So, here’s the thing I thought this was going to be simple. Train hard and race fast, that’s all I need to know right? I wish that was it, but sometimes it feels like that is the easiest part especially training for triathlons, its 3 sports to take care of! When I am not training or [...] […]
Engineered Athletes
- Rough Day At Work? You Won’t Feel Like Exercising September 25, 2009The experience of wise coaches and behaviour of World Class athletes supports the importance of controlling your environment to ensure peak performance. Around major games and important events, the need to minimize distractions is often a priority. So what are the implications of this in daily sport or an active healthy lifestyle? It can be as [...] […]
Tri Thinking Pink
- Seven photos for seven days March 8, 2010Yeah. I'm a slacker. Here are the past week's photos. A compilation of Spring has SprungMarch 1: around the corner from us March 2: Across the alleyMarch 3: The purple flowers I see from my kitchenMarch 4: Cherry blossoms or are those beechwoods?March 5: Date night - on a patio in Kits with wine and good foodMarch 6: More pretty pink things. I love […]
Alive With Sport
- Seven for Seven February 8, 2010I’m 7/7 in the Feb bike challenge! It’s Monday and I have to admit, my legs are tired. Riding 1hr on your bike isn’t actually that much, but I’m feeling it. With such a busy weekend**, scheduling workouts was a challenge (Sunday included a 6am trainer ride and a 9pm speed endurance [...] […]
Tri’n Fool
- The week in review March 8, 2010"Week in review" sounds much better than "I'm totally behind on posting."I blame drugs and alcohol!Robaxicet on Wednesday, and no photo that day. I put my back out changing my bike brakes the previous Sunday and that threw me off from workouts and life in general for the week. The back is mostly better but I'm still babying it a […]