Congratulations – you’re officially at the point in your training when you just don’t feel like running – and trust me when I say this, we’ve all been there and had those days.
There’s just some weird feeling inside that isn’t keeping you motivated at the moment – you’re tired, you don’t feel like putting socks on, you especially don’t feel like putting your trainers on or you’re just plain sore and hungry (I’m always hungry).
You’re in the middle of your training schedule and everything’s been okay but you just don’t feel like running. And to make matters worse, it’s long run day.
These are the toughest moments in my training. I’m not in the middle of a mile-repeats workout, I’m not tightening up on a steady run – I’m sitting at home, not wanting to cross off one of my daily tasks. And it kills me because I absolutely hate saying I’m going to do something and not do it. That is my personal pet peeve about myself and it even drives me crazy writing about it. I’m going to look back back at my weekly long and notice a few days missing from that specific week, not being to correctly gauge your improvements, fitness, feelings, etc.
Okay, now step back, clear your mind and take a deep breathe….and another one. You started running for a reason – to complete a personal goal. You’ve already made up your mind to use running as the platform for your goals and haven’t steered away from that. You know deep down that running and running only will be the key to reaching and exceeding your personal expectations.
Commitment to your training regimen is what is going to ultimately dictate success. Think of your training program as a complete, ready-to-drive car where each of your training days are a part of making that car actually work. A car will not function to design without all of its parts and if your training isn’t followed, it may not function to design as well. Granted, they are two different things and their actual work-ability measures are different but the concepts do remain the same. Treat each training day as a part to the whole pie that is your goal. Think of each training day as improvement in your life and well-being.
It’s important to know and realize how lucky we as runners to be able to do the thing that we love: run. We are able-bodied to run on beautiful trails, canyons, parks, roadways and mountains while doing it risk-free and in safety. We’re lucky to even have a mindset that running is beneficial to our well being, health and mentality and should take each day as a blessing.
We are all on different paths with different goals yet we all share the same platform to reach that goal. It’s always important to remind ourselves how each run gets us closure to our personal goal. Each day is just as important as the day before and the day after. Each run echoes the same benefit and value as every other one and every run makes you better. It’s supposed to be hard – it isn’t supposed to be easy. However, knowing how to embrace your current struggle and talk yourself through it key to your overall success.
