Month: January 2018

Has Anyone Seen My Motivation?

/ Jess / 12 Comments

As a runner, what do you do when running motivation is hard to come by?

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Every year, the holidays naturally become a fallow period for me: time off work and away from the routine coupled with less free time to workout (and more time at parties and celebrating with family) means I get a little break. It also works out for my racing schedule, too: I tend to race in the fall and spring, so I like to give my body a break after my big goal races in the fall to be well rested for spring PRs.

But almost every year, when the calendar clears up again, the junk food has been eaten and the routine is back in effect, I run into the same problem that I’m experiencing at this very moment: I don’t want to do anything. 

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I KNOW I have a spring race in a little more than 3 months. I KNOW I’ll sleep better and feel less bloated if I were to just lace up and put some more work in each day. But [prepare for whiny voice] I’m tiiiiired and I already did stuff today! I worked 8 hours and just want to relaaaax!

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So. This brings us back to my original question: What do you do when running motivation is hard to come by? I’ll start you off by answering my own question with some things that have worked in the past for me (and that I should probably start doing now, but again, I don’t waaaaannna):

  1. New Music – Yes, it’s a simple fix, and this is actually my plan for my lunch break tomorrow: find some new tunes with good running beats to help me move and keep a solid pace.

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    Actual footage of me run dancing.

  2. New Gear – What some might call materialistic, I call motivating. There’s something about showing up for a workout in some fresh threads that just puts that extra pep in my step.
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  3. Rewards – kind of similar to #2 above, but instead of treating myself pre-run, this is a post-run reward like a pedicure or a stop at Starbucks for a big cup of tea and a cake pop.
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So how about you? How do you put the fire back under your ass when you know you’ve got a goal coming up and still don’t have the *uff* to work towards it? I want to hear your tips in the comments.

It’s On Like Alderaan

/ Jess / 5 Comments

It’s no secret that I love Star Wars. And since you’re already on my running-themed blog, you get that I also love running. So the fact that Disney – known for its incredible race experiences, parent company of Lucasfilm – holds Star Wars themed races means that I’m pretty much guaranteed to run them.

Well, I didn’t discover these races until last year, when I completed the Kessel Run Challenge by running both the Light Side and Dark Side Challenge weekends (10K and half marathon in one weekend). It was an unbelievably fun experience. Aside from the NYC Marathon, the four runDisney races I’ve done were the highlight of my year, if not my entire running career.

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But, those great experiences came with a heavy price tag – literally – and I decided not to run the 2018 races. I made my peace with that early on, and instead looked forward to saving some money while watching my friends run them thanks to the magic of social media. Then, back in October, runDisney made the decision to suspend all races at Disneyland in Anaheim until further notice, and I felt better about my decision. You can’t suffer from FOMO when something is cancelled!

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Fast forward to this morning, when it was announced that runDisney would offer a new Star Wars Virtual Half Marathon instead of the Light-Side-Themed Disneyland races.

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Well.

You probably know how this story ends.

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My racing plans went from “focus on a PR attempt in April” to “hey, let’s shoehorn another half marathon in there too” with one mouse click.

And while I know some folks think this is just a cash grab by Disney, let me say this: I am aware of that fact, and I don’t disagree with you.

But I TRULY DON’T CARE.

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Sure, for what you actually get (a medal and a few downloadable PDFs along with the chance to share your experience online with the event hashtag), it is pricey.

But it’ll keep me active, keep me accountable, the medal is freakin’ sweet:

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And most important of all? It makes me happy. I am going to have SO much fun figuring out what outfit to run in and sharing my run online. It’s a fun way for me to get my runDisney Star Wars fix in 2018 without having to shell out $2k+ for hotel, airfare and park tickets for two on top of race registration.

So now that I’m officially running the Star Wars Virtual Half Marathon, it’s on like Alderaan!

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Er… it’s on. Let’s just leave it at that. Cause Alderaan didn’t deserve that.

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How about you: What do you think about virtual races? Have you ever done one? If you’ve done a Disney race, which one is your favorite? 

Happy 2018!

/ Jess / 10 Comments

Boy howdy, have I been a bad blogger. I would say that in 2018 I’m going to be a better blogger and write regularly, set some outlandish goal like 3 posts a week, but I’d ultimately end up disappointing you AND myself, so let’s just say I promise to do better and leave it at that, shall we?

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With that out of the way, HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope you all had a restful holiday break, even if it was just a day off here or there. I was lucky enough to be able to take some time off both from work AND working out, which has been very beneficial.

In previous years, I struggled with anxiety and depression around this time of year. A quick glance through my Timehop pulls up 3-4 instances over the past 6 years where things got harder for me as the first month of the year began, but so far I’m coping pretty well with 2018.

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I would attribute my positive outlook this time around to an increase in workouts, but I’d be lying. In fact, I’ve worked out LESS in the past month than I have any other month in 2017. And again, I know I’m a bad blogger by admitting it, but: I feel great about it!

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Don’t get me wrong; I worked out. But I ran about 25 miles throughout the entire month of December, and only did strength training or rowing or biking like 2-3x per week instead. The point is, I sweat when I felt like it, didn’t go overboard with eating or drinking, and didn’t beat myself up when the days got too busy and I wasn’t able to fit a workout in.

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Another key to my happiness – and this is a big one – has been limiting my time on social media. Too often, I get caught up in comparing myself (and my workouts, and my opinions, and my daily activities) to the folks I follow online. And we all know what they say about comparison, don’t we??

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This is especially true around the holidays. I see people getting dressed up and going out and having snowball fights and game nights and *doing all the things* and sometimes, that makes me jealous or sad. Why can’t I have that fun too? I’d think, curled up in my porg pajamas, elbow deep in a tin of butter cookies on the couch. But then I’d remember: oh yeah, we had fun yesterday, and we have fun planned for tomorrow. Now we’re relaxing. 

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You thought I was kidding about the porg-jamas?

First: I turned off all of my notifications for all apps. Email, Facebook, IG, Twitter, all of it. No more red circles yelling at me and distracting me, or getting me stuck in a constant cycle of refreshing app after app.

Secondly, where I’d normally post once a day (if not more), I kept posting to a minimum. In 4 weeks I shared just a handful of pictures on IG, stayed out of angry rant threads on Twitter, and kept Facebook time to a minimum each day. The resulting detox has left me feeling more refreshed and ready to focus on what’s important to me in 2018 and beyond.

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I had an incredible 2017: I ran the Star Wars Rebel Challenge in Disneyland in January, Dark Side Challenge in Disney World in April, set new PRs in the 10k and 5k, and conquered my first full marathon at NYC. But I’m not dwelling on the past for too long, because I’ve got big goals in 2018.

In April, I take on the NJ Half Marathon once more, and return to the course where I set my current 13.1 PR in 2016. I’m gunning for a new PR there, and hope to set a new 5k PR in 2018 as well. I’ve got goals to get stronger and leaner with added strength training, and I may even run my first international race! I’m also setting personal goals outside of running: I want to focus more on my writing, and, in news I’m extremely excited about, I’ve decided to channel my love of Star Wars into a charitable cause by joining the Rebel Legion!

All in all, it’s going to be a great year. I’m excited to share my journey with you guys, and even more excited to hear about what you’ve got planned! So tell me: what’s on your 2018 To Do List? Any big scary goals in running or life that you’re itching to tackle? Share in the comments!