How to keep up motivation without a plan!

[Teacherm]

I am such a teacher - I love a plan! Juju’s plan was great to get me to 10k. What next? How do I keep it going with nothing to aim for? Managed the 10k twice (to prove it wasn’t a fluke) but now finding it hard to do more than 5k again. Not sure if it’s a mental barrier, if I’m just end of term exhausted or if my legs won’t slow down enough for it to be comfortable (5ks are getting a bit faster). Any advice? Wondering whether booking a race might be good but I’m a bit scared 😱 (Especially of hills!)

[SlowLoris]

Have you done any ParkRuns? They give you an idea of what a race might be like although they are not really a race.

What would you like to do? Tough mudders? Obstacle races? 10 miles, Half Marathon.

Same 10K distance but work on pace?

Certainly the trick to running longer distances is to slow down.

You are a long distance runner now. The choice is yours.

[Teacherm Graduate10 in reply to SlowLoris]

Hi, thank you for the reply. Yes I have done a few parkruns and enjoyed them. I think tough mudder might be a step too far for now! Was looking at a 10k trail race but it says the route is hilly which puts me off!

My brain knows I should slow down but my legs don’t want to! I think they just like to get it over with as fast as possible haha.

[SlowLoris in reply to Teacherm]

Go on!

They’re only hills. You can always walk up them.

[Teacherm Graduate10 in reply to SlowLoris]

Haha I know you’re right

[Biddy62 Graduate10]

Teacher to teacher - is there a local running club you could join? Running with a club once or twice a week can bring structure to your runs. I joined one in Jan and after C25K it’s the best thing I’ve done running wise. We run different paces in different runs and it’s very social as we run along too. However if you just want to run along not chatting you can do ( I often do - can’t chat easily and run sometimes 🤣).

Or go for the 10K and go back on Juju’s plan a few weeks. You know you want to 😉

Oh yes! - and bring on the Easter Hols 🐣

🤣🏃🏽‍♀️

Have a good one 👍🏻

[Teacherm Graduate10 in reply to Biddy62]

Hi, Thank you for the reply. I’d like to join a club but I don’t have childcare during the week as I’m a single parent so need to wait a couple of years for that (when my son will be old enough to leave for a little while)!

I think maybe I should just bite the bullet and book a race 😬 then work back up to it. Eek!

So close to the holidays now...! xx

[Biddy62 Graduate10 in reply to Teacherm]

Aaah! I see your problem. Luckily my son is grown up now.

Yes! Book a race! 😜 Did my first 10K in London in Feb. Loved it and you’ll have a goal to follow a plan for. Now signed up for the Asics 10K in London in July.

Good luck whatever you do and enjoy your well deserved Easter Hols 😊

[cheekychipmunks Graduate10]

I’d definitely recommend booking a race. It’ll give you focus. I booked 3 races before I’d even run 10k for the first time - ok they were many months away at the time, but they spurred me on and now I’ve run 10k four times and my first race is on May 5th (crikey that just gave me butterflies! 🦋)

How about going back and doing the Magic 10 again? It’ll give you structure and maybe you can improve on your time too if that interests you. Lots of us do the plan several times. 😀

Enjoy your running! 👍

[Teacherm Graduate10 in reply to cheekychipmunks]

Thank you. The consensus definitely seems to be just book the race! I shall have to be brave. Good luck with your race x

[ArthurJG Graduate10 in reply to Teacherm]

If you don't like hills make your first 10k race a flattish one and save the hilly ones for later. But book the race: you know you can do the distance so why wait? What part of the country are you in?

[Teacherm Graduate10 in reply to ArthurJG]

Yes I think that’s a good idea, thank you. Hampshire/Surrey border