Thursday, January 10, 2013

Runner Confessions

I must confess...

it has been three weeks since my last speed workout. 



That means over 21 days without tempos or intervals, no mile repeats or 800s.  And I am not sure I see the return of them in the next few weeks.

If you have been reading for a while then you know that I love speedwork.  Just love.  Love sprinting around a track; love 400m repeats, love long tempos.  Painfully hard and challenging workouts, yes please.  So deciding to take a break from it was difficult. 

For the past 21 days I have been running the same amount of miles per week but they have all been easy.  After a hard year of training, I knew I needed to take some time to let my body rest.  And since I have no real race plans as of yet, it was getting hard to find motivation to run fast especially in the cold mornings. 


Running easy is great but after a while it gets a little bit boring.  Slower miles all the time on the same routes in the dark can just be overwhelming and not motivating at all.  So I decided it was time to mix things up a bit.

I ran in the afternoon instead of morning.  Running in the morning guarantees I get my workout in but sometimes switching to afternoons can really help.  Plus I get to actually see the scenery that I run by and often notice new things.

I ran with my best running friend.  NOTHING makes the miles fly by quicker than running with my BRF.  She is basically my twin and we always talk while we run.

I ran a new route.  Often I am afraid to run a new route in the mornings because it is dark.  I stick to routes I know in the morning so I took the chance to not only run in the afternoon but also run a new route.  I love exploring on the run and finding new routes.

But even with these, sometimes the miles are still boring and tough.  What do you do when you lose motivation??

6 comments:

Logan said...

Like you, if I lose motivation I either try a new route or run with a friend. Right now my sister and I are doing the same training plan, so when I am not motivated to do that day's workout, I can call her to do it with me (and vice versa). New routes have been my big things lately, though. I'm a big trail runner, so I've been exploring new trails (to me) near DC.

Kim said...

I love the pics you included in this post!

Smart idea to take a break from speed, and good ideas to keep you motivated. Hmm. My biggest ones are running with a friend or in a new place and you covered those. I guess new tunes, if you do that!

Nicole Orriëns said...

A new playlist always helps me! Or a new running skirt...

Momshomerun

Johann said...

I've always got plenty races lined up...even years in advance and that keeps me motivated. My training is already geared towards some extreme races I want to complete over the next few years.

Anonymous said...

Running with friends and changing scenery is my #1 for motivation. Shopping for running clothes works too :)

Lisa from Lisa's Yarns said...

When I lose motivation, I sign up for a race! I just did that as I was feeling like my workouts were so aimless. I still sort of feel that way as I am just training for a 10 miler (and won't be looking to PR or anything like that, I just want to finish strong).