Hi everyone, I think this is my first time posting on here even though I joined months ago! I've been running for a little less than a year (I have my very first half marathon in less than 4 weeks, yikes!) and I keep on thinking I really should build a strengthening routine on my rest days but I have next to no motivation to actually do it. So I thought posting on here might give me a few ideas and get me started. I'm super motivated to get up at 5AM and run 5 miles and stuff like that but for some reason the thought of doing other exercises that aren't running, really puts me off. I love playing different sports like badminton, football and hockey but gyms and working out exercises do not appeal to me at all, but I know I need to do it if I want to be a better and faster runner.
We all have things that we really enjoy (for me in this context, it's running) but there's the other things that we don't enjoy but it has to be done and it's good for us to do (for me, it's strength building or gym work - I don't want to do it mainly because it's not a sport and I don't really enjoy it and I never have).
I'm a musician and I love playing pieces of music and I used to hate studies, scales and arpeggios because 'they are not pieces of music' as I used to say BUT they are the backbone of good technique and enables you to play actual pieces of music well and improves your ear and musicianship overall (I even teach this to my music students when they complain about scales!)! Now that I understand the importance of scales and all the other technique-building stuff and I still do them as a discipline when I practice my cello and I have even learnt to enjoy them! I just wish I could cultivate that discipline for strength training to improve my running. Anyway, you get the analogy...
So, I need some suggestions and advice because I am feeling very unmotivated in this area and need to build some discipline. It's odd how I have no problem with this in my world of running or music (I can even go over the top sometimes!) but with things like strength training, it's a struggle. I just want to start off small (like learning how to do a plank or something like that) and build from there, just like I did with my running (and music!). And I work better when I do have some form of accountability or groups (I often can get out to meet a friend to go for a run when I don't feel like it...) and having my own reward system has helped me in the past with music and my present music students, so I might try that out again but for this. Any advice or tips would be great and much appreciated!