I Tri and Craft

thoughts from a mother of boys, a marathoner, a triathlete, a crafter, a wife, and a scientist

Tag Archives: Running Motivation


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Running Log ~ March 24th

Why is the biggest obstacle our minds?

Who is that negative voice in my head?  Where did she come from?  I surely didn’t invite her in!

Monday night’s run was mentally challenging.  I was tired, I am board of running inside, my son didn’t want to go to bed, I had a million and a half things to do to get ready for his party this weekend….and the list goes on.

But what I really wanted to was to run.  I wanted it, I needed it.  So why was my brain trying to talk me out of it?

Running Motivation - Click image to find more health posts

via Pinterest

As I stated before I am all about distance now.  I know how far I want to run, eventually.  I have another 8k in a couple of weeks and I want to run the whole time.  So my workouts are all about how far, I can’t stop until I go the distance.

I have done it before, I know I can do it again, it’s only 4 miles.

Why won’t my brain listen to me?  Why does it keep telling me to quit or slow down?

Monday’s work out was a constant battle with my brain.  She kept telling my legs to quit….I kept telling my legs just half a mile more.

The first mile was the hardest, the second was the easiest.  By the third mile I almost listened to the Negative Nancy in my head.  (no offence to anyone named Nancy, I am sure you are not in the least bit negative)

I almost said, ‘Three miles is good enough’

 

Running motivation

But I didn’t .  I told myself, if you want to be done, run faster.  You have to get 4 miles behind you, so the faster you run, the faster you can finish.

So I upped my pace to a 11 min/mile.  I thought “11 minutes, that’s nothing, it’s like 4 songs.”  I can do this.

Before the first song was up I was ready to slow down.

But I didn’t and before you know it, I had a half a mile left.  And I upped the pace again.  Because, the faster you run, the faster you can be done.

 

 

via Pinterest

I then went home and did some restorative yoga.  Because running and yoga are good for the mind and body.

Just. Keep. Running.

C25K interval information can be found here

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Running Log ~ March 20th

I decided that instead of running the 10k for the Bridge to Brews race I am going to do the 8k again.

I want to beat my time and attempt to run the whole way.

click Pic for source

So how has training been going?

Weeelllll…..

It has not.  I didn’t run Monday because I had run the race the day before so I had to recover.  Tuesday the Hubster didn’t get home till after 9 so I couldn’t go to the gym.  But Wednesday night I was going to go, so it was OK.

I read Ian his story and said goodnight, I then went and changed into my running gear.  At which time Ian came in and asked me to lay with him.  I thought about saying no, which is usually the case.  I decided to say yes, because I thought he would go to sleep faster and I could leave for my run.  He was, after all, exhausted and I knew if I went in there he would be out in five minutes or less.

And he was, and so was I.

I woke up almost two hours later….too late for me to go to the gym, and I was obviously exhausted as well, so I went straight to bed.

Tonight though, I have a date with a treadmill.

image via Pinterest

Just. Keep. Running.

C25K interval information can be found here

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Running Log ~ March 17th

Hi my name’s Dawn and I am an addict.

I am addicted to races.

I am not just addicted to running, but I am addicted to the actual race event.

I love preparing for the event.  I love training with a goal in sight.  A tangible goal that I can point to on a calendar.

And I am not gonna lie, it feels great to finish.

Even though I was one of 35,000 people participating in the event, I still finished.

With my own personal best time and distance. (4.97 miles in 1:00:56, place 5909 out of 6939)

Yeah, OK, so I have never done a race before, so I have nothing to compare it to, but still…

click pic for source

Let’s talk about the run.

I ran the first 3 miles, and then did walk/run intervals after that.  I made sure that I was running as I crossed the line.

I found it really difficult to maintain a slow pace at the start.  Everyone around you is running, some are passing you, you are passing others.  It is really easy to get motivated to run.  The excitement is palpable.  You feel great, and you know you can run faster.  But I also knew if I ran too fast at first I wouldn’t be able to keep it up and would end up walking more than I wanted to.  So I had to keep telling myself to slow down.

Here is the course map:

8k Course Map

8k course

The hardest part of the course, for me, was the straight away.  You are just running in a straight line and you see all the other people who have already turned around and are heading back.  It was kinda boring and a little frustrating, mostly because I had set a goal that I wouldn’t let myself walk until after the 3 mile mark.  And I knew that wasn’t until after the turn around!

I realize now that I never should have walked.  It was much harder to keep running after walking than it was to just keep running.  I never walked for long, but I kept talking myself down.  I kept thinking, I can’t run the whole time, I need to do walking intervals, it will be easier if I walk for a minute.  But I was wrong.

I probably could have kept running, if only my mind would have kept its voice quiet.

 

I really want to be able to run a race a month.  Races are expensive, but the money goes to charity, so that’s a good thing.
someecards.com - Must. Run. All. The. Races.

I have already signed up for my next race in April.  I will be running the Bridge to Brews.  You run across some bridges and after you get beer.  What could be better?

 

Just. Keep. Running.

C25K interval information can be found here

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Running Log ~ March 12

I have this race in a few days.

I wasn’t going to post a running log till after my run on Thursday.  I plan on taking today off and then running tomorrow, but not again until race day on Sunday.

But last night was hard.

So this next sentence will be TMI.  Sorry. But you got to hear it to understand how I was feeling.

Yesterday I was having some bad cramps, and was bloated and not really feeling like moving, let alone running.

But I didn’t go Monday because I wanted to go last night.  And I kinda have this race this weekend.  So I went for a run.

Let’s back track to Sunday’s run.

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Sunday’s Run

Isn’t that lovely? I am less than half a mile from the five-mile mark.  And yes that distance includes my warm-up and cool-down.  But, hey, I traveled them so let’s count them.  Plus that distance means I ran more than 4 miles.

I was really jazzed after that run.  I had so much energy. I felt confident that my next run I would reach five miles.

All I had to do was keep running.

Tuesday's Run

Tuesday’s Run

Now back to last night.  As you can see I did not make the five miles.   I didn’t even make it as far as Sunday.

I was exhausted.  The first mile was hard, the second mile was a little easier, but I almost didn’t make it.  I had to take a break.  So I walked for two minutes, dropped my phone (which had my movie on it) so I had to pause and pick it up.

So now back to running.  This time I only made it one mile before I had to walk for two minutes.  But when I started running again I picked up my pace.  I had less than 11 minutes until 52 minutes and I wanted to get my last mile done by 52 minutes (gotta set a goal).

I did just that.  I thought I would then run as long as I could after, but turns out I stopped at 52 minutes for my cool down.

So I am slightly disappointed in myself for not hitting that 5 mile mark.  But I have one more day to run before the race.

Running Quote

via Pinterest

Just. Keep. Running.

C25K interval information can be found here

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