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2015-01-06 9:28 AM

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Subject: lack of motivation
hi all, after having a pretty good season last year with two 70.3s under my belt, i took a a couple months to mentally unload.
(last race was in october)

due to school and working a full time job i kind of needed a break from training.

  • .but here i am in january, where i was planning on getting back into the groove and here i am still feeling no desire to workout. I wake up planning to work out, but got so used to sleeping in more that it's harder for me to wake up, and then i feel to tired to workout. I got used to being a "normal" 22 year old I guess.

  • any advice? I'm signed up for IM LOU in October..

    the fire inside to do the races is there, but the desire to train isnt..

    anyone been there?


    2015-01-06 9:51 AM
    in reply to: calebTris

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    Subject: RE: lack of motivation

    Heck yeah, I've been there.  Late 2011 I won my AG in a Sprint and  was planning on taking that fitness into a HM 3 months later to go sub 1:30.  One night I went to get in bed and caught my big toe on the bed rail and half way tore my toenail off, total freak accident.  Toe hurt for quite awhile and I stopped running.  Lost all motivation after a month and ended up taking most of 2012 off.  Getting started again in late 2012 was a mental killer. I went to the race I won the year before and decided I had to get going again. But it was hard to see the long term goal as I was physically starting from scratch. Let me tell you starting over when in the mid-late 40's is a lot harder than when I was mid twenties or thirties!  Any way we bought a puppy and once it was old enough I did the BarryP running plan at 10mi/week and that helped a lot as I was no longer just getting up and out walking/running for myself.  I slowly started adding biking to the mix and eventually some swimming once I signed up for a race.

    Stick with it and mentally it'll come around once you start seeing the gains again.  Just don't compare today you to 2014 peak fitness you, keep looking forward.

    2015-01-06 9:58 AM
    in reply to: Donto

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    Subject: RE: lack of motivation

    Originally posted by Donto

    Heck yeah, I've been there.  Late 2011 I won my AG in a Sprint and  was planning on taking that fitness into a HM 3 months later to go sub 1:30.  One night I went to get in bed and caught my big toe on the bed rail and half way tore my toenail off, total freak accident.  Toe hurt for quite awhile and I stopped running.  Lost all motivation after a month and ended up taking most of 2012 off.  Getting started again in late 2012 was a mental killer. I went to the race I won the year before and decided I had to get going again. But it was hard to see the long term goal as I was physically starting from scratch. Let me tell you starting over when in the mid-late 40's is a lot harder than when I was mid twenties or thirties!  Any way we bought a puppy and once it was old enough I did the BarryP running plan at 10mi/week and that helped a lot as I was no longer just getting up and out walking/running for myself.  I slowly started adding biking to the mix and eventually some swimming once I signed up for a race.

    Stick with it and mentally it'll come around once you start seeing the gains again.  Just don't compare today you to 2014 peak fitness you, keep looking forward.

    Definitely that last part.  After an awesome 2012 season I got really burnt out and slacked off hard in early 2013.  It took most of the year to get back to where I wanted to be.  Remember what got you into the sport in the first place and do whatever fulfills that.  Eventually you'll start looking forward to training sessions again.

    2015-01-06 10:02 AM
    in reply to: Donto

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    Subject: RE: lack of motivation

    Yes

    I took two months off with little training after doing two IM races in 2014. I set some different goals for 2015 and using that as my motiviation to get out of bed at 4:00 AM. Hats off to you for what you accomplished at a young age. I can't get my 21 year old son out of the bed before noon.

    The motiviation has to come from you. Find out what drives your fuel for training.

    I can tell you that Lousiville is a great race and you will love it. The community is awesome and the race is not easy (it will put all that training to the test). At least you get some cooler temperatures this year now that it has moved to Oct but you will still need a lot of training.

    Good luck!
    2015-01-06 10:17 AM
    in reply to: calebTris

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    Subject: RE: lack of motivation

    I think most everyone in here has "been there".

    Have you looked at signing up for some shorter races (tris or not) in the not too distant future to fan the training flame? October might be too far out to feel the urgency of needing to be prepared. Investing money into a race in 3-4 weeks might change that. 5k/10k? Just something to stoke your "want to race" fire.

     

    2015-01-06 10:45 AM
    in reply to: 4agoodlife

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    Subject: RE: lack of motivation

    Originally posted by 4agoodlife

    I think most everyone in here has "been there".

    Have you looked at signing up for some shorter races (tris or not) in the not too distant future to fan the training flame? October might be too far out to feel the urgency of needing to be prepared. Investing money into a race in 3-4 weeks might change that. 5k/10k? Just something to stoke your "want to race" fire.

    Heck, yeah. 

    Good advice above.  For me, the races on the schedule help (I love racing, so putting one on the skedj - even if I don't feel like it when I register - helps).  The other thing, as also mentioned further above, is to do what you want to from a training perspective - even it's **GASP** single-sport focused.  Just get out there and it will help remember the good parts about training (or maybe those are just more apparent to us oldies, who have a bigger delta between feeling in shape and not in shape than we felt in the same position when younger?).

    Really, just enjoying some portion of the training will help - even if it means a slightly different approach than a singular focus from now until your distant tri.  I know I need the intermediate stuff to keep it fresh.

    Good luck, and keep the faith - most of us have, indeed, been there.

    Matt



    2015-01-06 11:22 AM
    in reply to: calebTris

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    Subject: RE: lack of motivation

    I did IMFL in 2013.  Left every desire to do any real training on that finish line.  I took the entire 2014 year off.  I did the occasional swim, bike run with friends.  No structure which was awesome.  Started planning 2015 around October, signed up for a few 2015 races, established my zones, and got a plan.  Training starts with your mind first.

    2015-01-06 12:03 PM
    in reply to: calebTris

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    Subject: RE: lack of motivation

    I've was there, just a few weeks ago.  After two months of doing nothing, I had a tough time getting motivated to return regular workouts.

    I decided to at least start the Fink training plan for IMCDA and see how things went.  To my surprise, after the first few workouts, I felt like I was back in the old routine and was even looking forward to the next workout.  The key for me is to have a plan to follow - once those workouts are on a calendar, it's just part of the daily routine to knock them off.

    Like others have said, don't look at where you are now compared to another year, and don't think about the long hours down the road - just get in today's workout and plan tomorrow's.

    2015-01-06 12:37 PM
    in reply to: PrivateIdaho

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    Subject: RE: lack of motivation

    It is very natural to feel that lack of motivation after some time off.  The first step is the hardest.

    Once you crack the ice, most people get right back into the groove of training.  You somehow have to will yourself into starting back up.  I am currently experiencing that with my return to swimming.  Everyday I have an excuse to not go to the pool.  I want to go but it has not been happening.  My stuff is in the car and ready so I'm running out of excuses.  Maybe today.

    2015-01-06 9:31 PM
    in reply to: calebTris


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    Subject: RE: lack of motivation

    I could be wrong, but I'm going to guess that winter weather is playing a big factor in decreasing your motivation as well. It's really easy to motivate to train for hours in lovely spring/summer weather, but if that's what you're typically used to, it gets downright depressing to be either indoors or slogging through the dark at 5AM if that's what it it takes. 

     

    2015-01-07 5:40 AM
    in reply to: calebTris


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    Subject: RE: lack of motivation
    I seem to have been hit by the "2months off" bug too.

    Putting races on the calender will motivate me.

    Also...I have a wall calender with the workouts I'm doing.
    I put it where I HAVE to see it as soon as I walk in the door.

    Seems to help some.
    My work load at my job will sometimes force a rest day when I don't have one scheduled though.


    2015-01-07 8:56 AM
    in reply to: skibummer

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    Subject: RE: lack of motivation
    +1

    I'm right there right now. I did 1 ultra marathon, 2 fulls, 1 half, 3 sprints and 1 oly last year. The year ended with an absolutely horrid full marathon where I was planning to PR, easily should have, failed horribly ont eh race day nutrition and ended up bonking and running my slowest marathon ever by over 30 minutes. Really crushing experience as the course was perfect, weather was perfect, and I ran the first half in record time and felt great. Then crashed like a boss around 18 miles and never recovers, barely able to walk in. Really took me down a notch.

    Decided to not do anything in Dec after the very full year.

    Now I'm paying the price. I registered for HIM in Haines City FL on 12 Apr. I haven't been in a pool or on a bike since my last tri in October. I'm struggling mightily to get myself doing ANYTHING athletic right now. I've grabbed a short 13wk HIM training plan that has a low time commitment and am just going to "train to finish" but in order to do that I have to get in the pool and on the bike which is mentally very difficult, and made more so by some medications I'm on.

    So I'm right there man. I'm out of time though so I have to just get on it this week whether I want to or not.

    Good luck!
    2015-01-07 12:13 PM
    in reply to: calebTris

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    Subject: RE: lack of motivation
    Being a grown up sucks and I have an ongoing struggle with maturity. For example, I know that I will feel like a million bucks after I get my workout in (yeah endorphins!) and that it's good for me, yet I still struggle to do so a lot of days. Something about Newton's Law... an object at rest stays at rest, or some crap like that. I find the best thing is to force myself to start, just 5 minutes, and then I almost always continue the workout. This also works great when you aren't sure if you should train (fatigue, illness, etc).
    2015-01-07 2:03 PM
    in reply to: calebTris

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    Subject: RE: lack of motivation
    Enjoy college. It's weird competing in this sport (non elite/pro) as a young 20 something (I started at 23). Most of my training partners are in their mid 30s with families/kids/etc and I feel like i need blocks where I just get back out with the ole buddies.

    Fortunately at our age we jump back into fitness pretty quickly. I just had a month off due to a surgery followed by some serious partying and I'll be back at it at Oceanside in March. Go do something stupid and come to the realization that you'd much prefer riding your bike! HA, worked for me.
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