Lack of Motivation

Posted on August 23, 2010

I have an incredible ability to to shift from high motivation levels to a complete lack of motivation in the blink of an eye.  For the last 2 weeks I have been battling with my inner “demons”.  Should I sleep or should I run? Should I go home and hang out with my children (who I miss) or should I go run 10 miles?  Sometimes I get sick of the battle.   That’s why I signed up for the marathon, so I would stay motivated.  Well that’s not working too well.

 I am late on my weekly blog post because I haven’t been running as much as I should.  I am not even sure I enjoy training as much as I feel the need to run to maintain my identity.  Ugh….why did I sign up for this race?  Obviously I need to reevaluate my reasons for continuing to punish myself with intense training., but now is not the time I have a marathon to get ready for…so bring on the pep talk folks because I am not feeling it.  

 Another week (or 2) in the books.  Unlike the last few weeks this week I had my first setback.  I have yet to figure out the psychological side of running.  I know (and preach) moderation and listening to your body but sometimes there is more to it than that.   Listening to your body means making sure you are not pushing yourself too hard too often.  What if you are feeling great every day and the effort feels easy?  Even if you feel fantastic on your runs sometimes you need to force yourself to back off.   Even with all of the cross training I was burning the candle at both ends.  I will turn this around.

 Monday:  Cross Training 30 minutes on Spinning Bike followed by 2 x full body circuit at gym.  Sore from yesterday’s run.

 Tuesday:  10 miles @ 7:03 per mile.  Looked at the watch at mile 1 and it read 7:17. At this point I knew I was going to throw down against the clock.  I blasted over the hills relaxed and floated through Granby… I checked my watch at 8 miles and it wasn’t any faster than last week (the watch must be broken). I finished up and checked my time and it was not any faster than the last time I ran it, but the effort was much greater….hmmmmmm

 Wednesday- Saturday: you guessed it, I am sick . No Cross training or running. I am exhausted (go figure).  Here is the lesson for all of you kids out there.  Keep your training in check. I ran very hard for about 10 straight runs and it caught up to me.  Training is about moderation and staying well within your “zone”.    Look I missed 4 days of training because I wanted to be a workout hero…what an idiot.

 Sunday:  15-16 miles @ 8:00 min pace. Ran on the trails so the distance (and pace) is off.  The goal was 2 hours and I got it.  Felt fantastic until 1:51 (again!@#$$).  Of course I had nothing to eat.  I really need to start fueling for the runs that will be extended in the coming weeks.  Stay smart and healthy.

 Monday:  5.5 miles easy with B. Walsh. Felt fine.

 Tuesday:  Cross Training 30 minutes on the bike followed by weight training (legs, core). Felt tired (again).

 Friday :  Thank you for good friends.  Timmy called me last night and noticed my training was slipping.  He knocked on my door at 6:10 AM and we rocked a 9.5-10.0 mile run.(7:30 per mile)   Tim’s great grandfather wrote the Ellery Queen novels…pretty amazing … http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellery_Queen.  Felt good today but only because of the great company and conversation.

Saturday: 3 miles of easy jogging just to get ready for tomorrow’s long run. 

Sunday:  17 miles in  2hours 8 minutes.  Today I ate breakfast and took a Cliff Gel at 12 miles.  The wheels fell of at about 15.5 miles. I was dying.  This was  a wake up call for me, I need to start taking training seriously (and run more) if I want to feel good during this race.   Note to self 17 miles is far and not that enjoyable…oh and by the you have to run 9 mor emiles for the race. 

Read O’ the week: When Repeat Injuries Can’t Dim an

Athlete’s Passion http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/17/health/nutrition/17best.html?_r=1

Categories: Goals and Motivation, Short Shorts