A Little Bit On Motivation…

 Now that it's fall, and winter is steadily approaching I thought it appropriate to talk about training hiccups, cold ass days and staying motivated. 

I have quite the love/ hate relationship with this time of year. With fall brings leaves changing and all the colors, hunting season and some end of the season feasting. Then winter with its beautiful snow and Christmas. But it also means cold ass days, and generally speaking that means getting motivated for runs takes that much more. Don’t get me wrong, when I look back on winter running there are some runs I look back on very fondly, but I often forget about all the runs in between that I either dreaded or straight up skipped. And especially with being more distance focused on my runs this time of year means I have to admit something very hard to myself, I have to cut my distance back. I am going to be cold for the first five or ten minutes of every run I go on for the next five-ish months. I am going to cough for an hour after every run. And none of them will be regretted.

It's not even about distance or pace this time of year, it's only about getting it done. About putting in the work when you don’t want to. It’s about winning the battle with the voice in your head telling you “it's too cold,” “I worked out yesterday,” whatever the excuses you claim as your own. But that's often the point, is that they are just that, excuses. They are just words that are preventing you from getting done what you need to. And for some of you, it's not necessarily running but staying motivated to workout from home, not only during these cold months but with Covid lockdowns and restrictions on gyms. 

There are days I pace around my house, looking for reasons to not go out for a run or do a certain workout (mostly yoga, even though it's one of the most beneficial). Trying to find a solid reason why I shouldn’t lace up my shoes and get out the door. And most days I just have to stop thinking and do, change the clothes, put on the shoes and go. Autopilot time. And once I'm out the door I'm going, often I will give myself a minimum distance “to just get it done” and rarely do I actually stick to it, the whole objects in motion thing seems to be true for running. It's a lot easier to do an extra mile or two than to set out for the first mile. The days I let the excuses win are the days I feel like dogshit, I know I cheated myself and I can’t even enjoy the time I took off from getting done what I needed to. This is fuel that I use on days when I just want to slack off. That feeling of knowing you didn’t get done what you should have for no legitimate reason. 

Sometimes just going through the motions is more important that getting that new PR. Use what gives you motivation: not losing your gains made with all the training done throughout the year, not gaining weight back that you’ve worked all year to shed off, being a good role model for your kids, or just being a better you. Those are the things you have to run through your head when you want to take that extra rest day, when you want to not put in the work. Having someone keep you accountable that you trust can also be of great help and for some that accountability can be innate. You know what you need to know and you know when you’re not doing it.