Do you find it hard to motivate yourself to get out running at this time of year?
It’s ok, you’re not alone. Many of us struggle find the motivation to get out when it’s darker in the mornings and evenings and it’s starting to get cold and rainy outside. It IS November after all!
The loss of your mojo is probably down to it being the end of the season and no big races in the coming weeks so it is hard to keep focused when there’s nothing pressing to train for so the first step is to shift your focus and set yourself different targets.
Taking a couple of weeks break wouldn’t do any harm and can help recharge the batteries, especially of you’ve run a lot of miles this year. I’m just back from taking 2 weeks out due to a minor op on my foot and I feel fresh and ready to go as I’d normally feel at the start of January.
Here are 3 simple ways you can rediscover your running mojo and continue to make progress
Run To Feel
This is simply to switch off from running certain distances and certain paces and rediscovering your love of running. Either leave your watch at home or cover it up and just run. Let your mind wander, plan the day ahead, reflect on the day just past, think about the people you have in your life that you are grateful for being there. Once you take the pressure off from hitting certain targets, the quality and enjoyment of your runs will increase, guaranteed!
Work On Your Form
A useful move could be to start working to improve your form. This isn’t the same as strength training, it’s more powerful than that. Many runners struggle with the range of movement at the hips and upper back from sitting down or moving less throughout the day at work. Think of driving with your arms more and driving forward with your knees more and feel light on your feet when you run. This creates a much more efficient running style. Think of how graceful many of the elites run and try to replicate to for yourself. Try practicing that in an interval session so you feel really light and smooth when you run but without running at top pace, maybe for a minute or two then ease off when you feel yourself losing the form.
Here’s an exercise that can help with this:
Go For Quality Rather Than Quantity
If you struggle to go out at the same times as before, is it possible for you to go out at lunchtime? If that’s not feasible, why not try shorter distances/less time and try working on your pace so you could try running each mile quicker than the one before or run the second half of your run quicker or try getting better at running up/down hills?
Having something else to think about or trying something different can make a huge difference to how you run and add value to what you’re doing rather than try to keep doing what you’ve already been doing but find it hard to maintain the same level of performance as you did earlier in the year.
Let me know if these tips have given you some ideas on how you can rediscover your mojo or if you have found a different way to motivate yourself, I’d be interested to hear of them.
Are you running a marathon in 2019? I now create personalised training plans and can help you every step of the way.
Happy Running!
Related Post: Why You Might Not Be Achieving Your Goals
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