Anybody ever get bored of running because you realize you're never gonna get better?

I realized decades ago what my potential likely was.

I have been motivated by improvement, but that external motivation moved to internal motivation. The joy of the run. The feel of accomplishing a long run especially if the weather is horrible. The feeling of running a great speed session (whether I hit goal times or not). Enjoying running for the sake of running.

If you lose that, then find some other activity to do.

fastboy77 wrote:

What'd you do?

There are days I don't wanna do it but I'm definitely not bored. I'm 37 and want to see how fast I can go even as I get older.

Did not run (or very sporadically) from age 18 in 2002 to age 33 in 2017. I did do a 5k in 2006 in 20:26 on little training and another one in 18:33 in 2008 but that was about it (ages 22 and 24 respectively). I lack leg speed but am making up for it with endurance. My body is able to handle 55-65 mpw without an issue. Next cycle I'll see if I can get to 80 mpw on doubles (did a few doubles to get to 65 in several weeks).

I'm not bored--I'm hoping to BQ while I'm on this earth and will do what I can to make it happen. Despite a crappy 3:24 (low end of LRC).

BILL SLOWSKY wrote:

Alberta has the highest Covid rates wrote:

You start bench pressing like Greg.

This is the best part about being a fat HJer who runs 5km in 25 minutes. Starting out at 28 y/o in this shape or worse you have ample runway ahead of you. It's granted you will never be a competitive runner but every month and sometimes every single week you are noticing improvements. That makes it really fun.

I did notice the same thing with lifting for the first 1-2 years it was super fun like this and it starts to get somewhat boring and repetitive when the gains slow down. So even though this post was most likely not meant seriously it was still a good suggestion to mix things up

Your take is solid.

I ran 6 miles in 55 flat on 2/6. I was 162 lbs. and hadn't run since a 1:54:14 half on 10/20/20 (Covid 13.1 time trial on zero miles during the 2020 season due to Covid).

I know I'm slow but I'm hoping that I have more time left to get even faster by age 40. There are men and women in their 40s and 50s running sub-3:15 for 26.2, sub-1:25 for 13.1, sub-40 for 10k, sub-19 for 5k. There's no excuse to be slow for me!

At this point I don't see myself getting any better but I still want to run and see what happens. So no not bored yet.

anger outlet wrote:

Jon Arne Glomsrud wrote:

Maybe Usain Bolt is pretty sure about his potential, but even Jakob Ingebrigsten does not know his potential

Potential?

Here's a test for you. See if you can go a whole day without mentioning Jakob Ingerbrigtsen.

Then try for 2 days, then 3...

Day 4, but remember, I will break the streak at any time

I mean, sure, once you climb over 40 you're gonna be going after your Masters PRs. If you're not improving in your 20s/30s, maybe take a look at your training. Think about moving up in distance. I feel like you can always be making gains at the half/full through your late 20s to mid 30s unless you're a true elite runner.

fastboy77 wrote:

What'd you do?

No. I enjoy running.

Every runner reaches an age when they will no longer get better. Do they stop running?

Another giver of +1 wrote:

fastboy77 wrote:

What'd you do?

No. I enjoy running.

Every runner reaches an age when they will no longer get better. Do they stop running?

Agree.

Quitting running is not sustainable. I tried, but ended up feeling rotten, losing my fitness, missing the ability to cruise along with wind in the hair, comfortably, missing the feeling of pushing myself, missing my leg muscles, missing the inclusion of running every day. So I started again, just had to find my true inner motivation after pursuing external goals.

All these motives are not about improving so there are plenty of reasons for running even if not improving PBs

Never.

I don’t get the old fart / hobby jogger faction vs D1 athlete dichotomy on here. Just get your 5k down to 15:00 for ectos or 17:00 for meso or endomorphs, already, it’s not that hard

Your minds, habits and training are limiting you, nothing more

I did a few Ironman tris to mix it up. It makes the marathon a very different beast that you get to the start line 114.4 miles into the race when it is sunny and 95 degrees out there. Then start working on "gratitude attitude". For a long time it ate me how quickly athletic performance went to hell, but eventually learned not to be hurt by what I saw on the watch. I might slowed down terribly, so all I can do is try to find enjoyment even in the glacial speed.

fastboy77 wrote:

Anybody ever get bored of running because you realize you're never gonna get better?

I'm old enough I've cycled through this, multiple times over the years. I usually end up dropping my mileage to some bare minimum for a long time, like 10-15 miles per week and focus on other things in my life. I'll still do run short runs just for the fun of it, on a nice day, when I have some music to listen to, or whatever. Then, the same thing always happens.. My fitness drops off and I start missing being very fit. I get pissed off at being slow and out of shape. The result is I've created a new challenge for myself, to "Start getting faster, again." Then, I'll run a race and go about trying to beat my previous time with each successive race. I call them "comeback PRs." All of a sudden I'm "getting better" at running again.

No

Move up in distance.

It only takes a few years to hit your VO2max, and after that, it simply will not improve. If that's enough to make you really competitive in the 5k, then you can get a little faster by improving your running economy and your anaerobic tolerance, but big leaps are largely out of the question without drugs. The only other way to improve is by losing weight.

At distances longer than the 5k, your road to improvement is all about racing at a higher percentage of VO2max. There are still limits (you're probably not running a marathon at over 85% of your VO2max), but the limits are hard to reach. The longer your race distance, the more training volume it takes to reach those limits. That journey can make running fun for a long time. There are a million 15:30 guys all over the country, but how many of them ever break 2:30? Not a lot. You can be average in terms of your raw talent (VO2max), but if you put in the miles, you'll find yourself winning races and running neck-and-neck with former D1 All Americans who think that they can run a good marathon off of 70 miles/week.

Film Rep wrote:

fastboy77 wrote:

What'd you do?

Stop running and find a new hobby.

Trail ultras FTW!

I got burnt out by getting my butt whooped by superior runners in college. Took a lot of time off. It's all about just getting outdoors now. I have no regrets. It's like eating vegetables for me at this point.

Hell no.

You can always go after your age graded PR.

God willing I will never stop.

Now 66.

I used to have this problem with swimming: I busted my butt from about age 14--HS to get into some state finals/got ranked in the top 100 as a schoolboy sprinter from about age 16-17 then my competition caught up with me

I managed to walk on to a D1 program as a non-scholarship relay specialist, and continued to improve a bit and put in 4 years of 50k yards/week with like 2 weeks off. As a sprinter. Ridiculous. Anyways they needed me on the 4x100 relay so I had to put in the work.

for 10-20 yrs after college I couldnt touch a sprint, didnt want any part of it and I got dramatically slower, I couldnt face getting old/slow/worse

It took tris, bicycle racing [crits/XC/road], and swimming weird strokes to finally allow me to let go of my hangups

as it would turn out, sure in my 40s I'm not as fast as the 20 yo me, but I'm kinda close. But who cares?

Continue to train/compete if it's fun. For me, it took almost a couple decades to get over the 'not-fun' aspects of collegiate 50k yard weeks for 50 weeks a year

I'm sure running is the same for those that are good at it. I was never good at it so I dont mind being a slower runner every year

Remember getting faster is not the only thing you can get better at with running, there are a myriad of ways to get better in running, for example you could get better at technical trail running or get better at steeplechasing or something.