Motivation strugglw

[umbrellahatsrus]

Hi everyone I’ve been running about 3 months now and I’ve been struggling the last week.

I was in New Zealand for a while so was more relaxed it’s flat and nice running. I am now back home in England which iam happy to be but I’ve some how lost all motivation. It’s very different terrain and all sorts.

I pushed myself to run 5k a couple of times and did just about my best time is 33 minutes.

I normally run Monday Wednesday Friday and just finished what was meant to be a 30 minute or 5k run but just stopped after 20 minutes and 2.8k.

I tried to motivate myself by thinking I’ll have a nice bath and chocolate milk after.

It might be I don’t warm up enough. But iam considering stopping the Nike app for now and going back to couch to 5k

Any suggestions?

Thanks

Chloe

[Roxdog Graduate10]

I don't think you need to restart cto5k. A lot of people get a bit lost post graduation

I remember struggling a bit in the first period after completing the programme. If you've been using podcasts, how about finding a new route and running without a podcast, or even without music, just to go out and run free of any targets or motivational talking in your ear? Sometimes just a change of scene can be enough. Are you perhaps aiming for a distance or speed? Could you just ditch all that and go for a more relaxed run

Th ere is time for targets once you've got over this patch. It's probably mainly a mental challenge to be honest and lots of us have been in that situation! Take care.

[umbrellahatsrus in reply to Roxdog]

Thank you I would have thought I would have got out the struggling period by now as it’s been a month. You have hit the nail on the head about distance or speed. I try to run 30 minutes 3 times a week but I just get bored or I try and run a set time too.

I use to use podcasts but it slowed me down. So I listen to music but I didn’t know if I don’t listen to anything or time it or anything is it just going to slow me down.

my main aim is just to get fitter so I wasn’t sure if that will happen if I just do a relaxed run but I can try, I live by the sea and I could try running along the seafront without timing or anything and just keep going until he had enough

[Roxdog Graduate10 in reply to umbrellahatsrus]

Oh running by the sea sounds wonderful! Listen to the waves, enjoy the air and just run. Some runs might be 30 minutes, some less, depending on where your mind and legs take you. It took me a while to fall in love with running, so maybe rather than thinking about it as necessary exercise, re-frame it in your mind as something bigger than that - a chance to escape! Sorry for being a bit hippie like about it, but if you can let yourself just be 'in' the run, that might help, if that makes any sense.

[umbrellahatsrus in reply to Roxdog]

No it’s fine I appreciate it. I could try that actually. I listen to Nike running club but sometimes I think it slows me down when he talks... do you warm up? If so how?

[Roxdog Graduate10 in reply to umbrellahatsrus]

Yes I do warm up at home. I do a form of tai chi for about 15 minutes and then do some bridges and balances plus the exercises the physio gave me for a previous injury. It seems to stop the first few minutes of running being difficult mostly.