Runner’s Block
Over the past few weeks, I have not been as disciplined with my training – between the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show and Russ’s surprise 30th birthday party – I haven’t been as dedicated to running.
When I finally went for a run, I could hardly make it two miles and I was BEYOND frustrated. It truly felt like I was starting back from square one and all the work I had done was just completely irrelevant.
The frustration continued when I went for a 5 mile run with Russ shortly after and I was huffing-and-puffing. My mind isn’t “right”. I’m still fighting this battle.
So, I want this to be an interactive post. What have you other runners out there done to help propel you past the adversity of a mental block?
I think we all run into this from time to time, the “I don’t want to” syndrome. Seems to be seasonal with Winter coming, in my opinion. What I do….Just press play and do it anyway. Regardless of my desire, I workout and commit to doing 10 minutes. Normally after the first 10 minutes are done, I’m not ready to quit, therefore I continue on until my workout is complete.
I just try my hardest and keep in mind what training you were doing and what you have done recently before beating yourself up over time, endurance, etc.
That’s a tough one. When my mind isn’t ‘right’ it’s usually when I’m running too much and don’t recognize when I’m just physically or emotionally burnt out. So taking a few days to not even entertain running and focus on other things generally helps me (I then come back with fresh legs and fresh perspective). I hope you get back in the zone!
Thank you for your help! It was a struggle but I am back to my old self 🙂 Race this weekend! Wahoo!!
Oh lord I have been there. . . I’ve only trained for halves, never the full distance, but it seems like my mental capacity goes SO quickly afterwords. I just recommend slowly adding back up the miles…that way you keep meeting goals and stay positive, versus setting possibly unrealistic goals too quickly and just constantly feeling defeated!
Thank you so much for your feedback. It’s amazing what triggered me back on track. I took a good mental evaluation and then went to a spin class where someone else pushed me out of my comfort zone. Once I realized I am stronger than my mind, I think the whole thing got back on track! I love getting feedback from other runners and knowing that they struggle with the same things I do! Keep it comin!