October 5, 2010

Training For... Nothing

As the blog name implies, I am in fact lazy. I may have done three Ironmans in 12 months while juggling one of the busiest year's of my life, but deep down I have a strong desire to sleep late, eat muffins and spend my free time on the couch. This side of me took over during the last offseason and I spent the entire spring and early summer cursing my indulgent lifestyle and lack of fitness. After a somewhat miraculous comeback and huge PR in Wisconsin I was fueled with motivation and had a million offseason goals swirling through my head - improved running form, increased bike speed, Michael Phelps-like swimming, more strength training than you could dream of. I muddled through my recovery weeks hitting about 50% of the workouts and not feeling an ounce of guilt over the other 50%. That's what recovery is for. But as of Monday, the beginning of a new month, I vowed to step it up and make this offseason a valuable one.

So how has it gone? Honestly, it's been a bit of a struggle. I'm a person who is incredibly motivated by a big goal, or fear of that big goal. With my next important race almost a year away, the little voice in my head tells me to hit snooze when the alarm goes off and tells me it's ok to skip my workout after a long day.

I'm proud to say I've ignored the little voice and dragged my sleepy self out of bed in the dark, cold and rain yesterday morning to ran. Sure it was only for 25 minutes (hey, I'm still recovering) but it made me feel rather accomplished. And tonight when the voice told me to lay on the couch and watch Law & Order I instead put the bike on the trainer and banged out intervals. If I can just get into a groove, I think I will make it through this offseason in far better shape.

Does anyone else struggle with motivation this time of year?

Day two of the self-imposed detox is complete. I'll share the results once I survive the full three days.

5 comments:

  1. This is why I am considering throwing the Joe Kleinerman 10K on December 5th in Central Park onto my schedule. Having a carrot dangling out in front of me does wonders for my motivation.

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  2. I have to tell you that after even just watching IM WI, I came home with a similar motivation. Every bike ride, I was looking for an extra hill to climb, making sure to do tempo run, and pushing myself harder in the pool.

    I am trying to force myself to back off a little bit so that I don't burn out though. Still a year to go, I don't want to peak in February! haha.

    I'm with you though, it is a constant struggle to get up early and not sit on the couch for endless hours of L&O reruns.

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  3. Omg, K, you read my mind - I was *just* complaining to a friend of mine yesterday how hard it is to stay motivated at this time of year. Maybe it's the absence of races on the schedule, or the colder temps and darker days, but I feel the same way. Let us know if you devise a fool-proof way of staying off the couch.

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  4. I'm so with you! I have a full marathon next weekend and a half Ironman in November and without those, I'd be a sleeping all day and eating everything. It's a tough time of year and just know that you aren't alone!

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  5. I don't think any particular time/circumstance is more/less motivating to me. I guess I am slightly more motivated in the spring and fall when the weather is nice (/bearable), and also the spring cause the days are getting longer. Otherwise I struggle with my lazy demons year-round.

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