Motivation is Key

Seems like this has been a recurring theme in some conversations I've had lately: with a friend, with an A/C contractor, and with my doctor.

Typically after taking in some rays for a while at the gym's outdoor pool, I will go swimming for about 15 minutes. Time DRAGS on and it's kinda tough for me to properly count the number of laps I do (which is only 7 or 8 in that timeframe). I can't fathom swimming for much longer than that. Let alone doing the challenge my friend has been looking forward to completing next spring: swimming across Lake Erie. Good lord! She's got the strong desire to do this and loves swimming. No doubt in her mind (or mine, even) that she will manage this feat.

A few years ago, she made an attempt at the Marine Corps Marathon, for which I paced her. Unfortunately, her training for that was not sufficient to meet the minimum required pace. She had always talked about how she "wants to die" every time that she was running -- she HATED it that much. With that mindset, she was very much set up for failure.

Earlier this week, one of the contractors who came to my apartment re: replacing my A/C unit struck up a conversation with me over my various marathon medals, etc. He has a goal to run a half marathon and, maybe, ultimately a marathon, and was floored at my PR of 3:02:02 and current goal to break 3 hours. We talked a little bit about the evolution of my training styles/methods over the years, as my fitness and my goals changed. With the motivation and correct mindset (wanting the goal and liking the activity to get you there, as opposed to wanting to die while undertaking the activity), it's achievable.

Talking with my doctor yesterday, I brought up the question that my friend (above) has asked on occasion: what's next (after I break 3 hours), given my having already gotten a 6-Star medal and a Guinness World Record? I don't have a solid answer for that. My doctor pointed out that whatever my tactical goal may be, that the long-term goal that he is focused on, as my doctor, is my health. While the races are the thing that I am focused on (as most regular marathoners are), it's all of the training that I do that keeps me healthy, and that THAT should be my true motivation.

What's your motivation? Do you set yourself up for success by having a good mental frame of mind? If not, what are you doing to "flip the script"?