Let's go above and beyond your ipod. Find yourself a running partner. When choosing a running partner it is best to go for someone who is in the same fitness level as yourself; depending on your reasons for running it may not be best to train with a partner who is significantly less fit than you are. You do not have to find someone trying to accomplish the same goals as you but you want someone as passionate about the sport as you are.
It is a step above having that training plan telling you what to do each day. With a training plan you still have the ease of talking yourself out of that days workout. Finding the right person and making that pact to keep each other going, you will not want to let that person down. Studies show that those who exercise with a partner or group are more likely to stick with it long term.
One reason you will be less apt to quit is because, with someone counting on you, you will treat your running appointment more like an obligation, as opposed to the first thing to fall from your calendar when your schedule becomes busy or you are just not feeling it that day.
Having someone else there to talk to will motivate you; when your feeling down they will be able to help get you in the mood and remind you of why your going for the run in the first place. Having someone to run with also gives you something to keep you occupied, keeping your mind off your tiredness and preventing boredom. Having someone to talk to will also make the time feel like its flying past, and it will hopefully feel like less of a chore doing it every week or so.
From another point of view, psychologists in the US have stated that the benefits of having a training partner while running also include making you smarter; as you run and talk more areas of the brain are stimulated.
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