Getting past the blahs of working out...

Oh...and I don't have my logs on here set up yet...I'm working on it.
My training in and of itself is not the problem. I gradually pushing--not over doing it, I don't think. It's not that I'm injured or anything, so that's not it...

Just wanted to add that.

I think we all have days when we have to dig deep to find the energy and motivation to get in a planned workout. My suggestion would be that possibly some form of cross-training would be helpful. Instead of road biking, do some mountain biking, or instead of swimming, go to the gym and work on muscles that you don't normally use. Variation in my workouts sometimes provide the spark I need. Maybe take up yoga or attend an aerobics class instead of running. Or maybe you just need to spend some time doing something that you want to do that is not workout related. Maybe you have an old hobby or interest that you haven't done in a while. I'm not a certified instructor, just trying to provide some novice ideas. Good luck.

I think you ought to listen to your body. I don't know where you are in your race prep or what level you're working out at, but over-training is a real and present danger for all of us endurance weenies.

You're not going to like the answer. Ever hear of the concept of "strategic deconditioning"? It's when you take two [planned] weeks off from working out. It allows your body to heal, you get a refeed to renourish your depleted organs and muscles, and you go stir crazy from not allowing yourself to work out. It really, really works.

I take a week or two off every three or four months. I've been training regularly for three solid years and it's the only way to avoid debilitating injuries and/or boredom/the blahs. Usually after my layoff I come back with a new training program (often because of a new training goal.)

I treat training as something I need to do for the basic maintenance of a human body. I'm in this for the long haul, not to do a single race in July. Taking planned breaks is part of how I plan on having a useable body in thirty years.

I hope this helps. (But I know you'll ignore me. It took me until I was nearly 40 to start to really believe in this... previous to that I had a history of going gungho for six months then quitting completely for months/years at a time.)

-- Gwendal

Renee--thanks for your reply. I'm not necessarily "flying by the seat of my pants..." but, I'm not a structured type. I would be booted out of the marines, for sure. I do things when I want...how I want, and I'm finding that this training makes me have to change all that. (if I want the results I want anyways) I suppose there's a certain amount of "sucking it up"--which I hate that phrase!!! ugh! haha I have always heard that in my life--I guess I complain about other structured things too. Oh well--that's just me.

I know that this training is good for me...because it makes me go beyond my self-imposed limits. My own complaints. My own issues. My own hangups. So, it's all a good thing. I'm just struggling for the past few days, feeling....down about it all. Like maybe I'll never be able to really compete....this type of thing. Like maybe I'll never be an "athlete." I'm just feeling confused by these feelings. It's just something I need to work out. Thanks for listening, though.

crazy--I like your ideas...maybe taking an aerobics class might change things around for me...thanks for the advice.

I really might try to workout in the mornings--maybe that'll snap me out of this funk.

Onward upward, as they say.............

It could be a touch of impending burnout.

Assuming you've been working out steadily over the past few weeks, take a day or two OFF. Go do something else. Knit, shop, play with kids, whatever.

I had such a day a week or so when i got really angry and frustrated, and just lost all motivation. I didn't get anything done. Turns out part of the reason I was so angry/frustrated/unmotivated was I needed a day off. Went out the next morning and did a PR 4-mile run. It felt WONDERFUL!

That's just my $.02...

Eric Haar "Triathlon Training in 4 hours a week" and Sally Edwards "Triathlons for Women" are the first two books I bought last year to prep for my first tri. Both very good. Down to earth, realistic training plans and advice for us 'mere mortals' who want to tri.
I actually subscribe to the combination of the Nike training motto "Just do it" I always thought that was kind of stupid until I actually got into training, now it seems like the only thing that's truely effective. When it comes to getting myself to train some days, I swear just call me Sybil. I am having an actual conversation in my head that goes..."Alarm? It CAN"T be 4:30 already....no, I"m too tired, can't do it today....Can't DO IT? Oh, you WILL JUST DO IT, get UP"! And in my mind I have to get to the 'after' place....how good I ALWAYS ALWAYS feel after....I'm so glad I just went ahead and did it. And the other half of the combination is what Gwendal described. I take a month off during the winter (two weeks is not enough for me). Never the same month, either December, January or February - I let my body decided - and do not work out, at all. The feeling that comes right before I decide what month to take off is just like you describe. The joy is out of it, it feels like a chore, the thought of it just seems heavy on me, I just don't want to do it. So I stop. At first I feel relief, then eventually I start to miss it a little, then this gradual building of energy that tells me I must start again, so I do. Seems like there's a time to push through, and a time to stop pushing, and only you can decide which time it is for you.

Edited by Tania 2005-04-28 12:28 PM

Thanks 4 the advice everyone! I hope to pull out of this slump tonight. You all seem to be no stranger to this feeling of mine today, so that's comforting to know it's not just me.

Have a good one, and thanks for listening.

I have a rare day when I just don't want to do my planned workout...but I push through anyway.  If I were to ever feel that way for several days in a row then I would definitely take some time off...a whole week even.  Let your mind and body rest and use the extra free time to do other things you enjoy that typically get a back seat to training.  You might just find yourself excited to get back into training.

When's the last time you had a rest week? You sound primed for one to me. Starting too fast or not recovering properly (read: enough) seem to be the biggest sources of burnout for a lot of people....

What about a training partner? Someone to keep you accountable? This works great for me. I try to schedule runs, bikes, and swims when someone I know is going to be there. That way, if I try to sleep in, I think, "No, I gotta meet X at the Y for a Z this morning." It's helped me to be less emotional about workouts and more accountable.

Can you find a cycling club or a running club or Masters swimming or best yet, a triathlon club in your area? Try to get plugged in with people doing the same things because you can't just roll over if it lets someone else down.

kim--I actually took a night off last night--and I really really REALLY should work out tonight, despite my lack of will. (would you like some cheese to go with that "whine?") haha I don't feel like myself though--so I'm not sure if it's really all emotional/mental or what.

As an aside....I bought a pedometer at lunchtime today--so cheap! At GNC...so, I'm looking forward to running/walking tonight, and having something track my progress. I wasn't able to really get a feel for calories burned...etc...when I'm running out on the road...but, this little thingy is just too cool! I'm wearing it at work now...walked 225 steps to the restroom--woohoo! LOL

Sometimes it's best to take the day off, and sometimes it's best to force yourself out the door. Strangely enough, some of my longest (and most enjoyable) rides and runs have started out with me trying to make excuses as to why I shouldn't go.

Matthew

I think I could get one of my neighbors to walk with me, but I don't know anyone in my neighborhood who'll RUN with me. I actually need someone who'll challenge me....make me go faster. One of my prior neighbors used to be a marathon runner...truly a running warrior. Up at 4am--running 10-12 miles before she went to work. She said she belonged to a running club, and used to ask me to run with her and her group. This was a few years ago, when I wasn't into running, per se, but worked out at a gym-weight lifting and spinning mainly. (and the thought of getting up at 4am to do anything didn't appeal to me) Now, I wish she were next door again--to push me. (I still wouldn't get up at 4am, though)

That's a good idea-- Thanks everyone for your support, and ideas.

Well, I actually meant a whole recovery week. Cut back on your weekly volume by 25-50% then return to where you were at the following week. They work wonders!!!

Oh....take a whole week off, or cut down, or take a week off, and then do 25-50% less after the recovery week?

Try something different, run a different course or do your normal one backwards, or do a totally different work out, like a step class or something. Get a massage.

Thanks, Kim.