Mental stamina for running is breaking -- How do you deal/make a decision

sleep/rest, nutrition, training. have a good hard look at which are off, and need to be addressed. woman problems also messes with the head.

drinker wrote:

sleep/rest, nutrition, training. have a good hard look at which are off, and need to be addressed. woman problems also messes with the head.

Really, I'm probably sleeping the best, eating the healthiest, and sustaining the best relationship I've had with my girlfriend in a long time currently.

After having a couple good races post-college that I thought showed a lot more success than my college pr's, I was hoping I may have a future in competing as a top-of-the-pack guy in semi-large races. It wasn't until recently did I accept that my times are still just average by comparison, and while I can clean house at local races, I still end up racing entirely alone in bigger events and feel that I'm time trialing more than I am actually racing anyone. Because of that, I just don't feel as devoted to continue training to hit certain times at races when I'm going to run, what I feel, mediocre and run a race alone but yet, don't feel like I can separate myself from the sport because it has been a part of me for so long.

Sounds like overtraining. Maybe you needed a longer break after college or before beginning training for this marathon? I would recommend cutting back the mileage.

I would also probably try to find something else that you enjoy, and do it! At least for a bit. It can still be something active obviously, but it doesn't have to be.

Lastly, if you do keep running instead of taking time off, I would recommend finding new places to run. The monotony of running the same loop over and over again can ruin a guy (we can't all be Bill Rogers, after all). A new trail or gravel road can cure a lot.

Best of luck!

I rarely buy the 'overtraining' excuse, especially if an athlete has done that level of training in the past. Seems to me the main problem with many post-hs or post-collegiate runners is that they used to compete for a team on a built in cycle, with small races building to large races...and then they are tossed out and have no clear reason to be racing. No rival college to beat, no big meet looming in October.

There is no easy way to deal with this other than to rediscover the joy of racing and competing.

This is obviously up to the individual. Some people cross out all their old prs and try to set new ones across the board. Others just go for a race win instead of caring about time. Others try to recreate a college season, with xc leading to indoor leading to outdoor. Others join a team and with the help of a coach put together a season of goals.

For me what worked was wiping out all my prs and starting over. And not hammering workouts - if I could get through a tempo or interval session not completely wasted, it made running a lot more fun.

Is it because you are doing all your training on your own since leaving college?

Do more short races as well to keep you motivated

ukathleticscoach wrote:

Is it because you are doing all your training on your own since leaving college?

My thoughts too.

Also helps some people to join a recreational softball team or whatever other sport you can do competently - it gets the competitive fires burning without the suffering running entails.

For many people it helps their running because it shows them what a special talent they have - unlikely that they are in the top 1% in softball also.

Playing another sport also puts running into perspective -takes away the deadly seriousness of racing - makes movement fun.

Believe it or not, a lot of these suggestions are all things that I've put in to effect this summer. I've found several new trails to run, new loops to do in different towns, and spread them out all pretty equally. I do my regular area for loops only 3 days/wk at most when I used to do it 6-7 days/wk.

I also came from both a college and high school team where I did the majority of my running on my own, with only one or two people to run with here and there. During the summer, I have a couple friends I run with are home from college and run for D1 teams which leads to only run alone 1-2 days/wk.

When I did my first half-marathon post-college I had set out that I wanted to wreck all of my old PR's and hit a new "level" in my running. While I started off feeling as if I was sprouting to doing so, I've now hit a major flatspot in my training where I just don't feel like I did 12 months ago. I'm struggling to get the miles in, and I'm doing less currently than last summer, things hurt more, and I don't feel like I don't have the same pickup in my legs I have in the past.

I'd love to be more active in other sports or hobbies of interest, but merely have never been able to fully dedicate myself to any because of running.

I guess what I'm struggling with is an "off season", but dealing with this on my own rather than while on a team makes it much more difficult to work through and keep my head up. While I don't want to give up on running, I'm curious what it would be like to take some time off. It's only frustrating because I feel like I should enjoy having people to run with while I'm home, and runs have been going well lately (for the most part), but I'm still not enjoying myself and fighting to finish when pounding out something that would normally feel only like a "good effort" instead.

Think that covered everyones remarks, thanks for the responses.

Have you thought about setting aside twenty minutes a day for some mindfulness meditation? You never know what you might find that could be the root of your barrier. Sometimes only when everything else is set aside can we get to the core of our problems.

Even though you may not have run with everyone on your college team everyday, you still had a group of people - teammates & coaches - that cared about how well you ran. Your running mattered to someone else.

Once you graduate and begin training and racing on your own, it is common to feel that no one else cares about how fast you are and that can kill your motivation. In general we like to invest ourselves in things that matter to others as well. Your career, long term relationships, etc. all take on greater importance after you leave college. Running and racing become an outlet rather than a focus for many.

You need to be ok with this. This is a phase. You are going to go through many phases in your life. Take some time to think through where your passions lie and really pursue them. Running might not be one of them right now. You can always come back to it.

If you are scared to let it go, then I would suggest creating some situations where your running is going to matter to others. Challenge a former teammate to a race in the fall. Join a training group/track club that has similarly talented/capable/motivated individuals. Coach a scholastic team.

This last example can provide motivation for a long time. You end up in the position of a role model which can include how you train and race. I think it's a poor reason to coach kids, but it can provide motivation.

Good Luck

Another Option wrote:

Your running mattered to someone else.

Underrated.