What can I do to motivate myself? By Marathon Physio Lucy Macdonald

Create positive mantras

Write down your commitment on a paper and stick it up on the wall so you see it every day. Create three or four key positive mantras and say them out loud every day. For example, ‘I am going to complete the marathon’ ‘I am going to achieve my fundraising target’ or ‘I am going to enjoy my training.’

Create good habits

Create and reinforce good habits. For example, leave your shoes and running gear out the night before your morning run or by the door so they are there to remind you when you get home, find a space at work where you can do some physio exercises at lunch time, join a running group at the weekend, make a mini gym space at home and set up an app on your phone like map my run.

Plan ahead

Plan the next few months of motivation: set your rewards day by day, week by week, month by month; make yourself a variety of some motivational music mixes; make a list of some entertaining podcasts or audiobooks you would like to listen to; give yourself a list of routes you want to explore as part of your running journey and join social media marathon groups so you can bask in your achievements step by step together. (Just don’t ever compare yourself to someone else – there are ALWAYS people stronger and weaker than you, you are not running their marathon, you are running yours.)

Imagine how you will feel

Visualise and imagine the feelings of satisfaction and achievement you will feel each week when you have completed each part of this next week of training, imagine how proud you will feel at the end of each month and imagine what the physical and mental health benefits will feel like.

Training programme

Write down your training programme, stick it on the wall and tick off each and everything you do. Include things like ‘ate a healthy lunch’ ‘rested well today’ ‘did my mindfulness’ ‘did my sleep routine’ to the columns on your chart so you can reinforce these essential parts of your training programme too (more on them later.)

Advice and exercise videos on running injuries and marathon training

If you would like to watch our latest videos on running injuries and marathon training please click on the following links: 

Intro and top training tips

Running shoes 

DIY training diary

Lucy’s favourite running exercise

Muscle strains and muscle pain

Why your tendon pain is not getting better (Achilles, Plantarfascia – sole of foot, Knee, Hip, Buttock, Hamstrings)

Plantarfascia pain – pain in the sole of your foot or heel, AKA plantarfascitis or plantarfasciopathy

Shin Splints

ITB pain – pain at the outside of the knee

I have a running injury, will I be able to run the marathon. With three months to go.

Hip and groin pain in runners

Good pain vs bad pain

Should I run if I am ill and how to return to running after being ill?

Get in contact

For more info on how Lucy Macdonald can support you on your marathon journey please watch this video which also contains her top three tips on preventing injury training for a marathon. 

You can contact Lucy directly on lucymacdonaldphysio@hotmail.co.uk, via this website (where you can also find lots of free running exercise videos) and on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. 

If you would like to book an appointment, please click on this link.