Hi. I’m really struggling with motivation for the long runs 😟. I need to run 8k today and am just procrastinating. I think it’s because I’m still finding it quite boring and just can’t wait to get to the end.
I only have a couple more weeks of the JuJu plan as I have a 10k on 14 Dec but have signed up for the GSR next year.
I think the problem might be that it’s so hilly that I struggle to find new routes.
After JuJu I might go back to week 1 or 2 of the plan. I will repeat that week over the winter but do hill work and not worry if I need to walk and run to build up strength. In the spring I can then build up my distance again I really don’t know!
I’d hoped to be loving it by now as most of you seem to be.
Off to find a new playlist to motivate me for later.
I have plenty of days where I procrastinate so know exactly where you are coming from. I can also find it a bit boring but what I tell myself is that after I’ve been I never regret it and I always have a sense of achievement whatever the distance.
I use the Pacesetter playlist from BBC Sounds to keep me going.
I'm doing the timed option rather than the distance, because basically it's building up more slowly than the distance (I'm quite slow), and I can visualise time better than distance. Also, I'm going to try being dropped off a planned distance away from home for the longer runs, so I have to keep going to reach my goal. I often change my routes around anyway, because I get quite bored plodding the same route. Oh and you're right - a good playlist is key to motivation - it doesn't have to be the right beat for your pace, it just has to keep your motivation up! I change it up now and then, and play it on shuffle to mix it around 😊
Thanks RM. Great idea to be dropped off somewhere, maybe I will see if a friend could do that for me sometime.
You are right about plodding around the same area. I think I will drive somewhere else today again and just go really slowly and deal with the hills. Thanks for the encouragement.
Split it up. Run 4K, take a rest and then run 4K. It is still 8K. It is hard to train for long distance when you don’t have an event to aim for. Also harder to push yourself out the door this time of the year.
I like that idea but I feel like I’m cheating if I stop but you are right it is still 8k. I’ll see how I feel but will definitely bear that in mind. Thanks
It’s not cheating. When I am training for a 10K race I will sometimes train at a faster pace. A pace which I can’t sustain for a full 10K. So I’ll split it up into 2-3 separate runs with a small break in between. But when it comes to race day and when I’m running in a crowd it is much easier to hold the pace and run the full 10K without any breaks.
Like you I’m a bit bored but my solution was to become super stressed by putting my house up for sale then getting a chest cough - solution , I can’t run till chest sorted so I’m not actually procrastinating now, I have a good reason to put off wee 6 😉 maybe a ad drastic though. Love the idea of being dropped a distance away so you have to run home may try that when better. Good luck
I’m pleased to report I smashed it - 9k in 1.04.38, slow and steady but no walking breaks and I ran up the hill I couldn’t manage on Thursday. I have to admit I ran half way up and then took a side road before tackling the rest.
The first 8k was for you and me and the last 1k was for Irishprincess, her sister-in-law and anyone out there who has lost someone or is suffering in some way. I feel very lucky I could do it.
Must admit I was tempted to get to 10k bit I’m signed up for one in a couple of weeks and don’t want to risk injury.
Have a happy day everyone and thanks for the encouragement I really appreciate it. 👋👋😋
Thank you very much that was a fantastic run on a hill in a great time. I was showing a family round our house while you did all the hard work. Appreciated.
Hard to tell. Sounded like the perfect house matching everything the were looking for but they gave nothing away. Anyway, now spending rest of day cleaning carpets before next viewings hopefully appear. Temp going up here so hopefully my 4k run tomorrow
Great idea to try a new route, will offer you something new and interesting. Are there any national trust estates near you? Our local one has various routes (aimed at walkers really) signposted and the paths are well maintained. There's usually a nice Café at NT properties too!
Is it motivation you are struggling with, or the challenge of the hills? If it’s the latter, don’t beat yourself up, hills are tough. I do a think on my trail runs and on big hills where I count to 100 slow jogging, the walk for a count of 20 or 30 if I’m tired. If the hill is particularly steep, I jog for 50 and walk for 20 etc. It just means I’m not shattered afterwards and I can go for further..... just a thought. And well done on your running so far 😎
Good point JuJu, I think it is the hills but I managed the one today that I couldn’t do in the week by taking a road off it, running along there and heading back for the rest of the hill.
Interestingly the roads that I thought were flat in my car were just very long slow inclines I wasn’t expecting that. 🤣
Anyway I went out for 8k and did 9k in perfect cold and sunny weather so I can’t complain. 10k here I come but I do appreciate you all saying that a bit of walking up hills until I’m strong is fine. Not sure why I put so much pressure on myself to always run the whole distance.
Thank you all I really appreciate the advice and support.
I put so much BS pressure on myself thanks to those "looming deadlines"
Every run becomes "practice, must do well :(" instead of "fun, oooh look at the squirrels! "
On the other hand, "Training for the event" is nice
Gets me out the door in bad weather.
Motivates me to get a reasonably good bang for my buck from a run.
Reminds me how I have improved from those early trying to catch a breath through both ends of my body after one minute of running.
So, I try to keep it all in perspective
I run for fun and fitness - not because my livelihood depends on a Sponsor
I am NEVER going to make the Boston Marathon - but I DO leave a few younger runners in my dust in events, because I am willing to do the training which makes me just as "tough" at my age and stage as a Boston runner
I have NEVER wished I hadn't done a run, no matter how "fail" - even the one that I dislocated my hip on - but I sure feel slobbish and pathetic over the runs I do NOT attempt for no genuine reason except "I don't feel like it". As long as I get out the door, it's a win - even the few runs that lasted mere minutes.
And the BIGGIE....
I never ever ever EVER gave up on a habit I enjoyed today. I always quit tomorrow. The 'tomorrow' that "I'll just do it then" which of course never came.
So, along with my enjoyment of running I keep a modicum of healthy fear - I don't want to ever stop this wonderful pastime, but I've thought that about far "easier" things in the past which I no longer do.
Run for today. Run so you don't have to run "tomorrow instead". Run so that no matter how they go, you will be writing your Race Reports here and we will be with you every step of the way in them, good "bad" but so rarely an "indifferent" race
We might run on our own, but when it feels like that - remember, us lot on this Forum, we never run alone
Thank you Irish-John. What a lovely and inspiring post.
I started C25K back in June and couldn’t even run for 1 min. Since then I have run 3 times a week every week apart from an enforced 2 week break due to a bad achillies and then IT band.
Like you I have never regretted a run and have only had one run when I couldn’t quite make it to the end but only by 1 minute.
It was around that time that I found this forum and was encouraged to go on.
After today’s run I know I can do 10k and with all the lovely support on here I will make 10 miles next October.
When I got up at 6.30am for my run on Thursday I imagined all the other people out there doing the same and it did feel like company.
You obviously have a real passion for running so thank you for sharing that and encouraging me. I can’t compare how I felt this morning to how I feel now. This forum is full of such lovely people.
I'm a bit late to this post but I really relate to it. So pleased to see you ran 9K today though, well done you!
I'm finding the longer runs in the plan hard, mainly because I'm having to do them in the evenings, when its dark and cold. Add to that the fact I am so slow, so the 8K I hope to do tomorrow is likely to take me around 70 minutes, well it's hard to leave a cosy home knowing you are going to be running for such a long time.
I do love running though and it's still new enough for me to be thrilled at each new achievement. But at the moment I'm starting to think 5K might be my preferred distance, but I want to get to 10K just as I like a challenge!
I wanted to post this just so you know you are not alone in these thoughts. 😊
Thanks FP. It must be so hard doing it in the evening when it's dark. I did about 6k the other evening and it was harder. Have you time to go out in the morning? I prefer that because I’m running towards the light.
Really chuffed I did 9k because now I know I can do 10k. I agree with you though I will definitely be a future 5k runner but not until my charity 10 miles next October!!! 😱
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