motivation

Cold Weather Running Motivation

/ Jess / 13 Comments

Here in NJ, we’ve been lucky this fall. The weather hasn’t been as blisteringly cold as it’s been in previous Novembers. Unfortunately, though, that’s made me a little soft now that the REAL cold weather is on the way.

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Case in point: since it’s been about 60 degrees for the last two weeks, this morning’s 30 degrees for a morning run felt like -10 and I went back inside!

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I’m a baby when it comes to the cold, I’m the first to admit. As much as humidity sucks the life out of me when I run in the summer, I’d much rather have to constantly rehydrate or wait  until sundown to run comfortably than have to face single-digit temps. I know deep down as a runner that cold weather is better for me – hell, every one of my PR’s was set in 40 degrees or less! – but I just can’t bring myself to freeze for the first mile or two while my body acclimates to the weather.

As we get further into the cold season, I’ll get used to it for sure. I always do. But until then, here are a few things that motivate me to get up, get out and get running when the polar vortex makes me want to do anything but that:

Sleeping in my running gear. This is a win-win: once the temps drop below 40, our house gets perpetually cold. Wearing my running gear base layer of tights and long sleeve tech shirt to bed keeps me sleepy-time cozy and takes one prep step out of the equation in the morning because I’m already dressed!

New Music. I don’t know about you, but this is one of my best motivators year round, actually. Knowing I’ve got some new tunes waiting to pump me up in those first few frigid miles makes it a bit easier to bear: if I can just get through that first song, I’ll be warm!

Friends. No one wants to be the person that keeps the group waiting in the cold. NO ONE.

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Self-bribery (see also: Shame). I’mma keep it real here: knowing that I get to go back home and curl up under warm blankets on the couch with a glass of wine after my run is sometimes the number one thing that gets me out the door. The gross feeling I get when I plan a workout only to skip it is reason number two.

A new route. One nice thing about running in the cold is that pretty much everywhere is fair game. In the summer, the thought of heading down to the beach for 8 miles on the boardwalk at 10am is unthinkable, thanks to blazing sun, ridiculous tourist crowds, and the unbearable heat. But in the middle of November? The beach is like a ghost town and those endless miles of boardwalk are ALLLL MINE!

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What about you: how do you stay motivated when it’s so much more tempting to stay in the toasty warmth of your house? Share your tips!

Beating the Post-Race Blues

/ Jess / 9 Comments

After a race, you sometimes hear about folks experiencing the post-race blues: without a goal to focus on and a training plan to stick to, the motivation to do anything is hard to come by and slowly life starts to lose that spark. I’ve fallen into that pit of despair more than once, I’ll admit.

IER4cEaNo, not that pit of despair. (photo credit)

So this time around, I was determined not to let it happen again, by listening to my body and running when I felt like it. After the race, I took a necessary few days off to let my legs recover (they were really achy from that final 1.5 mile sprint), and I headed out for my first “fun” run in months.

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And it was perfect.

I did a few loops up around my parents’ neighborhood and my old elementary school, didn’t look at my watch, walked when I needed, and just enjoyed the fact that I didn’t have to run a certain pace or mileage. Then the sun went down and I got hungry, so I called it at about 2.5 miles.

And then I didn’t run for 3 days (insert sad trombone music). I know, I know – bad runner! But without that training schedule barking at me to put the run above everything else, I finally had time and energy to do all the things that fell by the wayside throughout those training weeks. I caught up with old friends and went to a happy hour! I had date night with my husband! I finally cleaned the house and did the 5 loads of laundry that had piled up! Do you know how exciting it is to see things that have been buried in the bottom of the hamper for weeks on end? It’s pretty sweet.

So when the weekend rolled around, I was itching for my “long run”. Because I wasn’t forcing it anymore, I looked forward to running again! So I headed out and had another delightfully “go wherever your heart takes you” kind of run around my town. Like our friend Penny of the Big Bang Theory, my plan was to “run until I got hungry and then stop for a bear claw” (in the metaphorical sense. What I really ate was sushi).

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The air was crisp, the leaves were colorful, my town was filled with people celebrating a new bakery opening and the YMCA had a Halloween party on the lawn – it was a great day for a run. My knee started to ache a bit a mile from home, so I headed in early and still managed a good 3 miles and change. Again – with no preset mileage needed and without monitoring my pace constantly (although I’m pleased to report that I’m still at my pre-race short distance pace, so woohoo!), it was another “this is why I do this” kind of run.

Since the weekend, I’m pleased to report that there are no signs of the blues in sight! I started using my Desk Cycle in earnest again (12 miles before 10AM on Monday) and have a strength training session planned for this afternoon. In addition to the few shorter runs I’ve taken in the past few days, I’m feeling pretty good about maintaining the endurance I built up through training while also not making it feel like work. And after all, isn’t that what it’s all about: having fun?

I’d say so!

Preparing For Marathon Mania (When You’re Not a Marathon Runner)

/ Jess / 9 Comments

I don’t know about you, but every fall, I find myself getting swept up in marathon madness. It seems like everyone and their mothers are training for and running marathons, while me and my bum knees are sitting over here like “I’m running 13 miles, wheeee!”

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I know, a half marathon is nothing to sneeze at. It’s a huge accomplishment, and I take it 100% seriously. Hell, it’s the longest distance I can [barely] manage, of course it’s awesome! But when you see those troopers out there clocking runs of 15, 18, 20+ miles, sometimes it’s hard not to feel all the (running-related) things.

Take me for example: having tried and failed training for a full marathon a few years back, I have a love/hate relationship with the marathon. As I scroll through my feeds and chat with full-running-friends, I flip flop almost hourly between runner envy (damn I wish my knees and my brain could let me run that far!) and runner schadenfreude (pfft, you won’t catch me running 20+ miles, that’s more than 5 hours!). But I know better than to say “never”, because I said that after my first 5K 4 years ago even though everyone told me I’d get hooked, and look at me now, with a blog about running and everything!

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Anywho, suffice it to say that the fall racing season is always filled with lots of conflicting emotions for me. So this year, I’m doing a few things to curb the marathon mania before it hits me.

First, I’m loading up my calendar with lots of other races to get my fix while not putting my poor joints on overload. As of today, I’ve got shorter distance races on 9/6, 9/13, 9/19, 9/26, and 10/31, a triathlon on 9/20, and a half marathon 10/18, with more in the works in October. So believe me when I say it: I’ll be running plenty.

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(you have NO IDEA how long I’ve been waiting to use this guy in a post. FINALLY!)

Secondly, I’m fully embracing the triathlon for the first time during marathon season. I’m competing in another triathlon on September 20th, which is taking up a lot of my training time but also gives me a new “mania” outlet. It’s a new (to me) sport and I’m fully in love with it! I’m not kidding. I still really love running and it’ll always be my favorite, but getting to switch it up with biking and swimming AND competing in those three things at the same time? It’s awesome.

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Lastly, I’ve set an unofficial goal for the last few months of 2015 to run 14 miles in one go. My motivation is simple: I need to prove to myself that I won’t turn into a pumpkin – or my knees won’t turn into jelly – once I break the magical 13.1 spell. So once I finish my goal race on 10/18 in Atlantic City, I aim to keep up with running long every other weekend just to see what I’m capable of. Who knows, with all the extra cross training thanks to my newfound love of the triathlon, I may surprise myself!

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How do you cope with marathon mania? Do you have envy like me or are you 100% sure you’re only half crazy? And those of you who ARE running those fall marathons: how is your training going? Sound off in the comments!

Monday Motivation. On a Tuesday.

/ Jess / 4 Comments

Back when I started my fitness journey in 2004, I had a big crush on Joaquin Phoenix. I technically still do, actually. 🙂 And despite the negative reviews and cheesy premise, I really enjoyed the movie The Village and watched it pretty much weekly on DVD. I especially liked Bryce Dallas Howard in the film – she was spunky and fun and… well, she got to kiss Joaquin Phoenix and that was cause enough to be jealous if you asked me!

She stood out for another reason though, too: she wasn’t stick thin. In publicity photos she looked like a normal sized woman, with some hips and curves and freckles and all. And at 270+ lbs, that gave me hope. With hard work, maybe I’d get to “normal woman” status myself. I’d watch the DVD and read every interview she did, and found even more inspiration.

You see, in one interview, Bryce was asked something like “How do you get in character, how do you get the job done?” And she simply replied, “Get out of your own way. Forget about yourself.”

11374500_1396725907323335_330485219_nThat really struck a chord with me. Even though she didn’t mean it in terms of fitness or working out, those simple words really boiled down to the perfect mantra. So I wrote it down on a post-it note and Bryce became my spirit animal. Every time I wanted to quit – when I was too tired from exams or work to drag myself to the gym at 9pm, when I told myself I could skip that day’s workout, I realized that I was the only one standing in my own way. I had to forget about myself and just do it.

So every day I’d get up and see this quote on my mirror and I’d move out of my own way. I moved every day and kept moving. And no matter where I go, that post-it has been on every mirror I’ve owned for the past 11 years.

Today, I challenge you to get out of your own way and get something done – forget about yourself and just do it! Who knows: you might surprise yourself.