People running >45 mpw all on your own, how to you motivate yourself?

It's an extra 7 minutes each day to get from 45 to 52.... If you can't get yourself motivated for an extra 7 minutes each day it may be time to try something new.

-Sign up for a race with an ambitious goal.

-Figure out who you dislike in your local racing scene and train on pure hate to beat them.

-Do 8 strides after every run with 100m jog in between. It's something to look forward to at the end of the run and will add 7 miles/week.

-Run twice a day every day, for just a week and try to hit 80+. You'll realize how easy it is to run just once a day for an hour.

Run slower so no other college wants you. I'll scoop in and take care of you.

Piano_Man87 wrote:

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?

You just do it, don't question it. You either do the work to improve and enjoy the process or don't, your call. 45 miles a week is just chillin'

runnna wrote:

You just do it, don't question it. You either do the work to improve and enjoy the process or don't, your call. 45 miles a week is just chillin'

True, 45 is so weak.

I run 80 mpw and over the years I have realized one thing. Motivation lasts at most a few weeks. Discipline is how you get the work done.

WaltRuns wrote:

I run 80 mpw and over the years I have realized one thing. Motivation lasts at most a few weeks. Discipline is how you get the work done.

Discipline is how you get motivation. Week after week of hard training in the crappy cold dark weather. Freezing rain, crazy wind, over and over through some boring suburban neighborhoods because its too dark to run anywhere else. Then come spring, you're in ok shape and on a nice day you want to let loose and fly.

I'm gonna have to get up at 5am, either hit the cold or get to the gym every morning. I have the discipline and motivation to do it, but the solo workouts will be tough to do so early without eating and in the cold and dark. I need to run some fast 5k/10k times in the Spring. I have no problem pounding out the daily mileage, but not sure how I will fair in solo interval workouts given my circumstances. Wish me luck all, I hope to be in the 75-85 miles a week range soon.

OP, 45+ a week is NOTHING. People are running double. Not trying to take a stab at you but just get out there and get it done!

I really want to be the best that I can be and this is the only time in my life that I'll be able to really put most of myself into running competitively, so I'm reasonably motivated. I'm hoping to break 4:10 in the mile this indoor season.

runnna wrote:

You just do it, don't question it. You either do the work to improve and enjoy the process or don't, your call. 45 miles a week is just chillin'

Runnna said it best. Its simple. You either enjoy the run or you don't.

All these people talk about how they train for the one feeling after the race or off of hatred or discipline. Don't romanticize about your goals or your achievements thinking that they will make all this training "worth it". Months of emotional suffering for one moment of excitement?

Run for the process.Enjoy the rhythm. Enjoy the discomfort. Enjoy the weather good or bad. Do I wanna run in the pouring rain all the time? No. But on the occasion that I do, I enjoy it anyway. Just a different experience.

It's about the journey. If you always need some instrumental motivation you'll always be stuck in ups and downs. I'm not saying I don't ever suffer motivation. However it's always short lived because I know that running enhances my life. It's not and shouldn't be a chore. If it is, then why the hell are you doing it. Find other way to keep fit and healthy.

Anyone suffering from lack of motivation, I recommend: Running with the Pack: Thoughts from the Road on Meaning and Mortality

Starting January 1st I will get up at 4:30 each morning and go run before work for the next 12 week's to prepare for a April marathon. I live in New York and winter is tuff. I have been doing this for 15 years. It's what I like to do.

If I didn't run 45+ mpw, I'd be in a deep dark place,

I just started building my mileage back up to that after missing months due to injuries.

I'm currently a little below 30mpw, I should be back above 40 sometime in January. The dark place is still there just below the surface, but because I am running and building my base back up, it hasn't been able to pull me under.

Running is fun wrote:

I come home from work some days and just want to sit on the couch and have a beer.

No run = No beer.

Cold beer in hot shower/bath after long cold run is amazing.

Cold beer after sweaty run is awesome.

Beer after running is great.

You're welcome.

The highest I've ever been up to is 100.

I find that 70-80mpw is no harder than 30 (importantly, 70-80 is not leaving me sore and exhausted. 100+ would be a different story). In terms of motivation, though, it's all about the first few miles. It's not that much harder to run 10 miles than it is 5, but it's a hell of a lot harder to walk out the door knowing you have to run 10 than it is to walk out expecting 5. And getting out the door in the first place, even if its just for 2 miles, is the hardest part by far.

Motivating myself to get out the door, especially in the morning, is something I still struggle with. The three ways I address it are:

1) Think about how hard I've worked, how much I want to be better, and how much I shoot myself in the foot if I don't get out that door. The only way this works as motivation is that I've skipped enough days to know how shitty it feels, and not want to do it again.

2)Make getting out the door a habit, and never think about it. In high school, motivation was never in issue because it was just what you did after school--classes, lunch, classes, run. If you make it a part of your day and never allow yourself to think about it, it's easier. NEVER hold a debate about whether or not you should run in your head. It shouldn't be a question.

3) Have a buddy. I can't tell you how many times I've woken up, cursed my running partner, plotted his death, and dragged my sorry ass out of bed so I wouldn't be late. There's no way in hell I would have gotten out of bed a lot of those morning without a commitment to him.

Good luck!

"Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm"--Winston Churchill

Hey PTO how hard are you training and what time do you have to be at work?

I'm not a marathoner but a recent college grad starting a new job next month. Gonna have to be at work at 8:15 with a 40-50minute commute. Still trying to run 15:00/31:00 in the 5k/10k in the upcoming April.

I think it's gonna be tough to get quality training in at such an early hour. I'm not used to it and I live in a very cold area as well. I'm going to give it my best shot but trying to prepare and get ready for such an adjustment. Not sure how effective I can train in dismal conditions that others have mentioned such as the dark and cold. I am thinking I may just bump up mileage and volume purposely because there's a chance my faster workouts may suffer due to having to squeeze everything in before work.

I like to run 3 miles in the morning, in the quiet, among the stars. I've been doing it for 35 years. And I like to have the same experience as the sun is setting. My running log is also a diary. I record inspiring thoughts. I may take a photo during my run. So 3 miles in the morning, 3 miles in the evening 5 days a week is 30 miles. 10-20 miles on Saturday makes 40-50 miles in 6 days. Then Sunday morning I like to do a very easy, fun 5 miles on soft trails with friends. That's 45-55 miles for the week, just enjoying peaceful time outdoors. If I am aerobic base building mode, I'll increase my evening run so from Monday-Friday I do 45-48 miles. Then Saturday is 16-20 miles easy over hilly trails. Sunday is the 5 miles easy on soft trails with friends. 70 happy miles.

Piano_Man87 wrote:

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?

hi,

i am now 69 years old. have probably run 35 marathons or so ( unlike Paul Ryan i can remember every minute and most seconds of my best marathon). I have run for many years but had 8 years of 90 miles/week. Some higher, some a little lower. I was trying to get my marathon time down to low 2:30s, Best was 2:32:12, Louisville a while ago. Best thing i had was a great partner.Much , much faster, a OSU cross country runner. I dawned on me that that because my 10k time was around 32 minutes, 2:30 was not possible. (i did not run in high school or college, played baseball, my speed was lacking). Many miles by myself, many with others. All of us were self motivated . All of us just liked it ,just like someone gets high rooting for a football team. I can safely say that partners never became long term partners if you had to convince them to run. I just just ended up injured less, lucky. I think that if you need motivation to increase miles you might be in the wrong sport. I am not demeaning 45 miles a week. Now that is a lot for me. But going up to 70 or 90 is another world. However, once you get there for 6 months , it feels like 45 mpw except you sleep more. It does affect your life so you have to love it , and here has always been something about running i loved. It also affects family relationships and that is not to be minimized. I now have a fairly serious knee issue and still wish i could run more (that is how i got it, think i would learn). I guess my point is : you know deep down if you like it. If you are self coached, and you have no chance of winning any but the small races, you tend to get injuries by doing too much. The hot, humid days suck but they really are quickly forgotten and you feel better for doing them.

good luck

ron

25 years old and work 8-5. I run everyday immediately after work. It has to be immediately. Build it into your routine and don't run the same routes. I also bike to work (10mi) and use this as a replacement for easy/recovery runs so I can focus on quality mileage. It has worked well for me.

I'm motivated by achieving lifetime PRs. I know that my potential at 25 is better than it was at age 18 or will be at 30+, so I must see how far I can take it. I don't have delusions of going pro, but when I'm 100, I want to look at my pathetic sagging legs with buddha-like contentment, knowing the hell and glory they once went through. This gives meaning to my running.

I also just enjoy running.

I find it so interesting that the minds of runners can think so much alike. I am a 6-day-a-week runner, with a semi-flexible work schedule (nice!), but I often have to go months at a time getting up before dawn to run. I agree with the previous posters on

1. Don't think. Just do.

When I changed from 'running is something i do 3 days a week' to 'running is a daily part of my life,' everything became a easier. Running is like brushing your teeth, or taking a dump, or any of those other things you do everyday.

2. Running home from/after work

I take public transportation to work, change into my running clothes, and run home. Very efficient use of time.

3. Goals.

If you want the goal, you have to want the process. If you don't want the process, you don't really want the goal. When you want the process, there is no need for motivation.

4. Getting out the door is WAY more than half the battle.

It's like jumping into a cold swimming pool...you'll get used to it.

Almost all of the suggestions are tips for overcoming the inertia of a body at rest.Once you're in motion, it'll be easier to stay in motion.

50-60mpw wrote:

Almost all of the suggestions are tips for overcoming the inertia of a body at rest.Once you're in motion, it'll be easier to stay in motion.

Very well said sir.