I just can't seem to take the plunge. I've averaged 45 mpw for 3 weeks in a row before, but that's it. I'd like to get up to 50 mpw and beyond, but some days I come home from work and just don't have the fire. I take a day off, and never seem to rise past about 45 mpw.
What can I do? How do you encourage yourself?
Personally motivation has never been a problem. I do what I love and I do it because I love it, without forcing myself etc. The feeling of crossing the line first is worth all the pain.
Kioro wrote:
Personally motivation has never been a problem. I do what I love and I do it because I love it, without forcing myself etc. The feeling of crossing the line first is worth all the pain.
Never won a race in my life and I am still self-motivated.
I guess I am tougher than you.
I ran 45 this week and am planning on building a good amount so I will give it a shot. Personally, I just like to think about how at least 70% of my competitors aren't running that day like myself (live in a fairly cold climate and am in HS). I will admit once in a while I will pop in the tunes on a rare occasion.
I wake up, and simply put on my winter gear without thinking about what I am doing. This is at 5AM. I just tell myself over and over before my run and during my run I want to get lean, skinny, and stay thin; I want to get fast and be the best. Same exact thing after work, but this time I don't mind running again. Those early mornings are the only tough thing to get past. It's the hardest part of my day. You can laugh but getting out of bed at 4:30 when it is -2 celcius, before a day at work, is hard as nails.
Once you get that first run in before breakfast, it sets your day off like no other. When I don't run before breakfast or only once a day, I feel like a failure, which pushes me to run harder workouts the next day and double or triple that day.
This is not a troll. This is just the attitude you need to have to become the best you can be. I want to find my genetic ceiling, and then push past it. I want to be pro
Forgot to mention I am running 150 kilometers per week. I average 150 each year
It's an investment. Once you start seeing the benefits of the increased milage it suddenly isn't so hard to get yourself out the door. Might take a few weeks but thats what did it for me.
I wish you luck (not being a troll) and very impressed with anyone that runs like that who also carries a job
keep figure wrote:
You can laugh but getting out of bed at 4:30 when it is -2 celcius, before a day at work, is hard as nails.
Yes, I will laugh: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.
-2C is absolutely NOTHING. I am out in the dark in -20 for dozens of days every winter without being as smug about it as you.
zzzzzzzzzzzz wrote:
Yes, I will laugh: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.
-2C is absolutely NOTHING. I am out in the dark in -20 for dozens of days every winter without being as smug about it as you.
you smug prick
Seriously. The only time I have to run is at 5:30 in the morning on a treadmill at the gym. The fact that come spring I will be better than those who aren't runnign is the only thing getting me out of bed in the morning.
Piano_Man87 wrote:
some days I come home from work and just don't have the fire.
that's your problem - coming home and going back out the door is very very hard - try to find a way to run before you come home at night. Either run in the AM, run at work when you get off, stop somewhere on your drive home and run, etc...
best of all is to actually run home - that is a double whammy win win.
Here are a few things that I try to do to keep myself consistent.
Set goals. Choose a race/event and set a realistic goal for it. Make a training cycle of some sort and race here and there to get an idea of your current fitness.
Get a coach, guru, post on Letsrun, or just someone you can bounce training ideas off with and to hold you accountable for getting it done. Train smart. Don't increase mileage just for the sake of mileage. Increase because you need to and the result will take you to a next fitness level.
Most importantly, get a training partner. Even if its recovery runs nothing will get you out more often and more consistently than having someone to meet up. You'll talk training, racing, girls/guys, and it'll be like therapy.
agip wrote:
Piano_Man87 wrote:some days I come home from work and just don't have the fire.
that's your problem - coming home and going back out the door is very very hard - try to find a way to run before you come home at night. Either run in the AM, run at work when you get off, stop somewhere on your drive home and run, etc...
best of all is to actually run home - that is a double whammy win win.
+1
about to eat some food wrote:
Seriously. The only time I have to run is at 5:30 in the morning on a treadmill at the gym. The fact that come spring I will be better than those who aren't runnign is the only thing getting me out of bed in the morning.
You have what it takes, dude.
yeah, whatever you do, DON'T GO HOME before you run. If you absolutely must, DON'T SIT DOWN unless it's to take a pre-run dump. The most important thing to do is to get your running clothes on before you take a breath. If you put running clothes on, you'll feel like a jackass taking them off again if you don't go running.
motivation is hard. i love running and i love running (sort of) fast. but work and reality are draining. and I have a lot of guilt about giving up time with my family to run. for the past year i have pretty consistently run 50-65 mpw (nothing crazy) - usually low 50s. here are some things that work for me:
1. set a goal (a specific goal) - pick a race, a time goal, and a place goal.
2. create a daily training plan and stick to it. each day just focus on what will be done for that day.
3. i use a treadmill for all pace work - takes the pressure off
4. for long runs see if someone can join you on a bike.
5. i think travelling adds some variety. if i travel for work i love doing runs in a new place and I scout a route out before hand.
Nop2000 wrote:
agip wrote:that's your problem - coming home and going back out the door is very very hard - try to find a way to run before you come home at night. Either run in the AM, run at work when you get off, stop somewhere on your drive home and run, etc...
best of all is to actually run home - that is a double whammy win win.
+1
+2
I live 5.5 miles from work, and recently decided it is much easier to run to work and run home than to run before work, drive to work, work, drive home, and try to get out the door and run again. On top of the motivation factor (getting back out to run after sitting down at home), it is actually a pretty big timesaver when you consider I would have been doing that running anyway, and I am practically just cutting out 30 minutes of driving time.
Intriguing. Do you have showers at work? Is there a safe route to work?
what do you do if your commute is double that?
Just run before work. Before your brain can tell you that you don't have the fire. Drag your butt out of bed and run before you can even think about it. I promise it will make the rest of your day better too.
As far as motivation goes I just think about my goals. When you don't want to run think "would this run in some way help me achieve my goals?" If it would, that should be enough to get you out the door. If it wouldn't, then you're probably fine taking a day off anyways.