Motivation problems
then yesterday marked my first day of 6 mile tuesdays, per the schedule (all hail the schedule) and i was actually looking forward to it. until now i've been running only 4 miles during the week and have felt like i could easily keep going. until, of course, the day that i was SUPPOSED to run 6... well, then, i hit 4, and wanted to stop. life's fun like that. so i ended up doing just over 5 miles (partially due to the fact that the route i took wasnt as far as i thought it was... i doubled back, got to the gym a second time, realized i still had about .7 miles to go but decided enough was enough. oy.)
so i spent most of the evening trying to figure out what's going on. i looked at my training log and noticed that i've almost gotten SLOWER in the past week/two weeks and am basically at my wits end to figure out what, exactly, is going on. mentally, physically, i'm just all over the place, and i'm not sure what the cause is.
so, my current plan, is um... to get a plan!! i dont know if its what i'm eating or i'm not getting enough water or sleep (sleeping has been very irregular lately, although i think it's partially due to the fact that i can't figure out what my running problem is, so its a bit of an endless cycle there...) or what. i'm at a loss.
so thats me for today. this afternoon i have my first deep tissue massage, which i was looking forward to, but i just found out they can be really painful so now i'm a bit sketchy about it.
we'll see. maybe tomorrows run things will magically be better?!
Comments
DATE: 6:52 AM
I've always found that my emotional and physical problems in a run where related to two things.1)Nutrition, what you eat today you run tomorrow.2)Emotional, for some reason my personal demons love coming after me when I run. If there's a lot of stress in my life it comes out in my workouts leaving me emotional scattered during the workout.I'd look toward fixing either of those two problems if I were you.
Posted by: Anonymous | July 4, 2006 08:03 PM
DATE: 6:55 AM
HEY MARIA, YOUR GOING THROGUH THE SAME THING ALMOST EVERYONE GOES THROUGH WHILE TRAINING FOR A MARATHON. WELL MOST ANYTHING NOT JUST A MARATHON. TRAINING FOR A MARATHON IS A LONG PROCESS. I WISH IT WOULD BE SO EASY. BUT IF TRAINING AND RUNNING A MARATHON WAS EASY THEN EVERYONE WOULD BE DOING IT. BUT THERE NOT. THE SMAE THING HAPPENED TO ME WHILE I WAS TRAINING LAST WINTER FOR STL. OF COURSE WE WERE TRAINING IN 20 OR 30 DEGREE WEATHER. SOMETIMES NOT THAT WARM. BUT WHEN WE GOT TO THE MARATHON IT WAS 80 DEGREES. JUST WHEN YOU HAVE EVERYTHING FIGURED OUT. YOU DONT. I WOULDNT BE TOO WORRIED ABOUT WHAT YOUR GOING THROUGH. ONE THING THAT I FIND MAKES IT A LOT EASIER IS ALL THE SUPPORT YOU GET FROM YOUR COACHES AND MENTORS FROM TNT. THE WEATHER IS AMAZINGLY HOT HERE IN THE MISSOURI. JUST KEEP DOING WHAT YOUR DOING AND YOULL GET THINGS WORKED OUT. BEFORE YOU KNOW IT YOULL HAVE THE PERFECT RUN. GOOD LUCK. KEN FROM ST LOUIS
Posted by: Anonymous | July 4, 2006 08:03 PM
DATE: 8:55 AM
Don't discount how much your race took out of you. It wasn't just a run, you were pushing yourself and you were obviously stressed out. And then you ran a long run the next day. Your body is going to take a while to recuperate.Just keep going and don't sweat it if you can't follow the schedule to the letter. Taking off a mile or two here or there isn't going to kill you. Do what you can, and before you know it you'll be into a long run and thinking, "Wow, this feels great!" It will happen!
Posted by: DREW | July 4, 2006 08:03 PM
DATE: 11:45 AM
"...we'll see. maybe tomorrow's run things will magically be better?!..."or...magically delicious...!Just joking, I hope you break out of your funk soon. You are a key factor to me enjoying my work day and these depressing posts are killing my productivity (more joking...)!
Posted by: Flatman | July 4, 2006 08:03 PM
DATE: 1:00 PM
yuck, it doesn't sound like a fun week. Actually, it sounds like maybe you need a day or two off. The race and the long run probably took a lot out of you, and if you're getting slower that might mean your body is trying to tell you something. I always freaked out about taking days off (oh my god I will never run again! I am a failure!) but sometimes your body needs it.Enjoy the massage!
Posted by: Noames | July 4, 2006 08:03 PM
DATE: 2:20 PM
I am a huge believer in running a marathon is as much mental as it is physical. It is a constant battle in my head to keep going.I agree the race (especially since it was your first and an evening one) probably took more out of you than you realise. Plus it's summer and the heat is draining when we are doing nothing. Your body is probably tired, it may take a couple weeks to adjust to the increase in mileage. Maybe you should treat yourself to a couple days off and a massage ... or even cross train.On long runs, when it's the first time I have done that distance, I try not to look at the time any more. Just completing the distance is an achievement. I also like to play mind games when I want to stop ... I can stop and walk once I reach the next lights or some landmark, usually by the time I get there I feel okay, or have forgotten I wanted to stop ... usually!
Posted by: Ali | July 4, 2006 08:03 PM
DATE: 3:05 PM
In addition to some of the helpful comments you've already gotten, how has the weather been? Sometimes the late-summer heat saps my energy more than I realize.Any chance you can try a new route, schedule, running group, training partner, or something? How often do you cross-train? Sometimes shaking things up a bit does a world of good!
Posted by: bunnygirl | July 4, 2006 08:03 PM
DATE: 7:13 PM
i am right with the people that commented about the race. even though it was an easy distance for you, i have found that the races i've done (a whole big whopping 2), kind of messed me up for a couple days. you will get it back, no worries. i was also talking to someone the other day who is also training for her first M and the first thing out of her mouth was, "it seems like the more i train, the slower i get". me too. i think its normal? we will rock on race day!also, april anne (http://rapidrunner.blogspot.com/) suggested i think about my long runs in pieces, eg you could think of 15 as 5, 5, 5 etc. that did help me.
Posted by: brent | July 4, 2006 08:03 PM
DATE: 7:55 PM
Make sure that you're getting enough sleep, too. This stuff is so normal, in fact, if you weren't going through it maybe something would be weird ;) 24 hours, tomorrow things will look a lot better.
Posted by: Wil | July 4, 2006 08:03 PM
DATE: 7:02 AM
Everyone seems to be right on. The race was certainly an impact. And if your sleep schedule is out of whack, that will have a huge impact.Some other helpful, long-run tips. First, don't be afraid to take a walk. Even a 1/2 mile or so. Often, on identical runs on consecutive days, I run a faster time when I run, then walk a bit, then run. Second, when you find yourself thinking "no more" switch to "not today" to get rid of negative thoughts.Finally, long runs SHOULD be much slower than shorter runs. You ran just under 12 1/2 minute miles. Long runs should be 30-90 seconds slower than your target pace on race day.
Posted by: Tom | July 4, 2006 08:03 PM
DATE: 7:30 AM
The following note came in my e-mail from Hal Higdon, today. It is in reference to the increasing miles we are running. Thought it might help.When you run long distances, your energy requirements increase. During sustained exercise such as marathon running, total body energy requirements increase greatly. Runners need to eat more of the proper foods to fuel their muscles. They also need to drink more, particularly in warm weather.Endurance athletes in particular should get most of their calories from carbohydrates.
Posted by: Tom | July 4, 2006 08:03 PM
DATE: 7:49 AM
thanks tom!!! that makes sense, i definitely didnt pay much attention to what i ate last week, and i can see now that was a big mistake. plus, the 30-90 seconds slower on longer runs..... why didnt i know this?! you're awesome. thanks :)
Posted by: a.maria | July 4, 2006 08:03 PM
DATE: 4:08 PM
lord knows I'm no doctor, but this really sounds like overtraining. I'm with the others encouraging you to take a couple-three days off, concentrate during that time on getting good sleep, eating right, and sorting out anything that might be getting to you emotionally. Good luck!
Posted by: Brooklyn | July 4, 2006 08:03 PM