Running: 5 more tips to stay motivated

6. FORGET TIME. Shane Bogan, who coaches distance runners in the Washington, D.C./Baltimore area, advises leaving your watch at home once in a while. "It's liberating not to be worried about pace," Bogan says.

7. SIGN UP NOW for a winter race in a warm country/state. Every training mile you log takes you closer to that winter getaway in toasty places.

8. THINK FAST. The runners Christy Coughlin coaches in Wilmette, Illinois, always get a boost from this simple negative-splits workout: Run for 20 minutes as slowly as you want, then turn around and run home faster. "The long warmup helps you feel great and run faster on the way back," says Coughlin.

9. GOOD-TO-GO PLAYLIST
Classic Rock
"Don't Stop Me Now," Queen
"Break on Through," The Doors
"Gimme Shelter," Rolling Stones
"Come Together" the Beatles
"What Do You Do for Money Honey," AC/DC

10. BLAZE A NEW PATH. "If you do the same runs all the time, it can beat you down," says Olympian Alan Culpepper. GPS systems work great for mapping new routes. Or check out favoriterun.com or usatf.org/routes, which use Google Maps to let you plan and save routes.