I am a wimp.
Maybe that's not entirely true, but for some reason, I am a majorly wimpy runner.
I go through phases. Once I ran a 10k. While I was training for said 10k, I ran 5 miles at a steady pace on the treadmill without getting bored. I found a loop around my neighborhood that is exactly 5k.
And sometimes, I run a half a mile and completely cop out, like, it just sucks so badly. I am so bored and all I can think about is this more annoying than painful cramp in my right ribs.
When I set this goal for myself, I never ever ever intended to run 100 miles all at once. Sorry if I was misleading. I didn't want my post title to be a run on sentence, but I also didn't see myself being less than 6 months in and having zero motivation to run anymore.
But I'm not writing this to announce that I've given up... because I don't want to give up. I bought myself new running shoes last month and I love them.
As of this moment, I have run 15.3 miles towards my goal of 100. I still have almost a year and a half to get to the remaining 85 miles in, but - forgive the pun - I need to pick up the pace.
How will I do this? Here are a couple of ways I plan to up my running motivation and overall enjoyment.
1) Take the jog back outdoors. - I've always had a kind of off and on relationship with the treadmill. Like that one miracle time I ran 5 miles without getting bored or giving up. Usually though, unless I have a TV or some awesome tunes, it gets tedious and boring. There's also the whole stationary element of the treadmill. You can quite literally just stop wherever you are and be done with your run. If you go outside and run 2 miles away from your house, you really can't just stop and be done with it. Somehow, you've got to get back to point A. Even if you're walking back, you've still got to do the work. And there's an actual endpoint - not just some abstract, arbitrary number you've chosen for yourself.
2) Get off Pandora and make some playlists. - Seriously, Pandora does not know what is going to keep me entertained while I run. Sometimes I'll plug in an artist that has a few songs that really pump me up and then a quarter mile in, it will pick mellow songs by similar artists. This kills me. Sometimes I even intentionally choose genres that I'm mediocre about because I think the beats can keep me going, but I am ultimately disappointed. Something I don't like always manages to creep in there. Having to stop, unlock my phone, and figure out what the heck is happening with the music always kills my running mojo.
3) Wake up earlier and run in the morning. - I am always so happy on weekend morning jogs. I don't ever look at how fast I'm running or how long I've been going until I am back home. I was so happy when I discovered that one of my jogs was a perfect 5k - totally serendipitous. Also, the last thing I want to do when I get home from work and it's dark and cold, is put on my running clothes and be freezing for the first part of my run because I will inevitably be stupidly hot by the end, and put myself in danger because the largest street by our house makes people forget to look directly front of them when they turn right. THERESACROSSWALKANDIAMINIT! Grr.
Are you a runner? Have you had lulls like I'm having? How did you get your motivation back up?
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