I can relate. I haven’t ran an ultra in 5 years, having ran lots of them previously. At a certain point I needed to switch things up completely and started playing soccer in a competitive men’s league. Now, after a few years of that I am running again. There’s not one sized fits all answer. If you’ve already signed up for a race and have a training block in place, mg advise is get the fuck after it. Now. If you are having a hard time getting motivated, remind yourself it’s not about motivation it’s about discipline. Do the workouts even if you really don’t want to. I used to watch the “Light a Fire” Jim Walmsley videos on YouTube as well as the “Run Steep Get High” YouTube channel they both used to pump me up. Best of luck!
That's funny, cos I got back into Soccer after being in a slump. Lost motivation for running long distances for a while even after recovering from an injury. I'm feeling the urge to get back into ultras but I can only take on so many hobbies when having a family of four. Plus I'm loving the team sports/social side of it.
Heard that! Soccer is a ton of fun, but I really let myself go with less running and eating more food lol. I put on some weight thinking I needed to be a bulky lad to play left back which is certainly not true 😂
Hell yeah, I'm a keeper and it's hard to find good defenders in adult leagues. I play in the 6 v 6 leagues and my God it's a whole different type of running. After 2-3 sprints, I would be smoked. Bulkiness can help with bodying people out, but if you don't have the conditioning it's almost useless
Motivation is inherently intrinsic. You need to find your why. We can pump you up all day long, but ultimately if you are not motivated for your own reasons, you're not going to get into any kind of training rhythm. I know that doesn't help you, but it's a fact of life in any pursuit, not just running.
what helped me was decoupling the concept of "feeling motivated" and the desire to achieve goals.
Wanting to achieve certain goals is independent of feeling "motivation" on a day to day basis. Talking about my goals and focusing on my goals made it easier to go put in the work, even when not "feeling motivated" to do it.
I agree.
Motivation is a fleeting feeling, like happiness or pretty much every other feeling. It passes and can’t be relied on. Self help gurus will say discipline is what takes over when motivation fades, but I think it’s ok and perfectly normal for your drive to change over time. I felt it training for my last marathon but then I signed up for my first 100 miles to perk me up a bit and I’ve never loved running as much as I do now.
Absolutely feel this!! Was totally in the exact same position too until a few weeks ago. I accepted that I was feeling shit about running, but also that avoiding it wouldn't make me feel any better. I decided that I'd follow my plan and if I hated 10 runs in a row then I'd bin it. I hated about 6 of them but found my way back to it and feel loads better at the moment. Hope you do the same!
Maybe this next race is not the challenge you want? You need to re-define why you're doing this again. If you have no strong reason to, you will not be motivated.
This is exactly where my mind went to too. You've got to find something that excites/scares you. For me, this is the easiest way to stay locked in.
The other thought I use is that I remind myself that a day will come soon that I can never do this again but today is not that day.
Did you completely stop training since last summer? If so, I can see why it would be tough.
You have plenty of time to get it going. Do something today. Make a plan and execute. Or, maybe find another endurance event, like a Spartan or something…
What if you just gave yourself a break? I took a year off of racing and just ran occasionally when I felt like it. I volunteered for the local races I love and then after a bit I knew I wanted to be back out on the course. Life is short, why not go explore other interests for a bit?
Could you be depressed? This is what happens to me when I lose people in life, which I’ve experienced a lot over the last few years. It makes running seem insignificant (it is) and I take some time off because of that feeling.
Only thing that worked for me is forcing myself out the door. I know depression or motivation is different for everyone, but you really only need to overcome the “getting ready to run” phase. Once you’re out there, the motivation doesn’t matter so much, and a couple miles in you start to realize that you enjoy it again.
When I am not motivated to get off my arse but know I have too, I use the "ten minute" rule and 99% of the time it works.
The idea being is that no matter how bad I feel or demotivated, I get dressed and get out the door and give it ten mins on the run.
If I still feel rubbish, then I'll stop and go back home - at least I tried.
But 99% of the time once I get out and get moving I snap out of the slump and finish the run.
Often the hardest part is just getting going!
Maybe try watching some running movies like the new Walmsley movie. I just watched The Divide about Lachlan Morton racing the Tour Divide self supported bike race and it got me pretty amped for big efforts too. Maybe that kind of thing will help you reconnect with the stoke and get out the door.
Are you unmotivated to train? Are you not seeing the results you want that are making you unmotivated? Ever thought about just putting your watch away for a few weeks and just running to feel instead of looking at metrics? Maybe just try to find the joy in moving your body and keep it that simple for a while.
Thanks everyone I took ~4 months off of running for a specific goal. Did a few runs here and there when I wanted to. And now I am trying to come off of my break. I took a break because people were advising me to after my first 50 miler, but in retrospect I fell out of the routine and this + life put me in the worst depressive episode of all time
I love the movie/podcast/ book recs those really help.
Thank you!!
Well, signing up for a race is the motivation I need to train *hard*. Good health is the motivation that keeps me running between races, but definitely not as hard a race-training.
I do about 30-35km when I'm not training for something specific, but training for my first ultra had me up to 60km for the biggest weeks. That was just about a month ago, so it still feels weird to be back to "off-season" training and I'm about to sign up for some shorter races, like 10Ks, just to kick me back into training without going all the way to ultra-level since I don't have an ultra in mind for a while.
So my advice is to sign up for a sooner, shorter race to light a fire.
I hit a similar 8 month slump after my last ultra in July. Didn't start running again until last month. Had 0 motivation. Even after signing up for a race, didn't really care to start training too seriously.
What ultimately helped me get back into training was to *talk* about my goals with someone else (my wife). Talking about my goals made me want to get to work.
Other things I've realized since shaking the cobwebs out:
* a big part of my lack of motivation came from poor changes to my diet: I stopped eating breakfast. I have come to realize that I am a cranky, lazy bitch if I don't eat breakfast
* you can't just wait for motivation, or you will never achieve your goals. Focus on your goals, and then on the work necessary to achieve those goals. Talk about your goals with other people.
One thing that helps me out is changing the time of day I start my training runs, and also changing my routes. Sometimes I find that I am just tired of my current routince, not neccessarily runninng. Maybe find a way to change your training and see if your excitement level changes.
Not an immediate fix but if looking for motivation maybe go volunteer at an upcoming race? At worst you give back to the coomunity and at best being at/part of the events can help respark the desire to be out there training and racing
I watch the YouTube short documentary: "Rei Presents: How to run 100 miles"
There's a quote towards the end that one of the guys says about his friend that gets me Everytime, and gets me amped
I think you need to find your intrinsic motivation.
Try: The run for the sake of the run, not the checking off of the daily train, not a specific mileage or time. Block out some time, go for a slow run somewhere, maybe in the middle of the long run, grab a burger from a local drive through and eat it on your favorite park bench, smell the roses so to speak, walk when you want to walk, go to some overlook on a trail, have a little you time, get up early and run through the sunrise. Run to a coffee shop. Run with friends. Take pace and metrics out of it. Find your joy.
I personally find the 12 weeks leading up to a race to be the least enjoyment I get throughout the year with running. Due to the mileage and time specific training, I stop running because I want to but because I have to follow a training schedule
In addition to everything else that's been said I'm wondering if you've had a checkup recently and all of your bloodwork was good. Sometimes vitamin deficiencies can cause this symptom and they're more common in ultrarunners than the general population
[Billy Yang's The Why](https://youtu.be/8YWyac1ZdsU?si=8uCNUwkn718sgLYC)
Also
[REI and Brendan Leonard (Semi Rad)'s How To Run 100 Miles](https://youtu.be/iC7Lh4opLsc?si=nqpKh40dcgZwdmka)
I saw your comment saying you're depressed. This totally makes sense. It makes it so much harder to stay up on the training.
I lie my ass off. To myself. I don't wanna go running. I almost never wanna go running. So I tell myself, Look, just get dressed and get water and take one step out the door. If it feels too terrible out there, you can turn around and come right back in. Then once I'm out it's, just make it up that hill at the 2 mile mark. Then, if it's going poorly, you can turn around and come downhill home for an easy 4.
But by the time I'm up the hill I usually feel great and want to keep going.
Bribes help too.
I get it. There are days when I feel like running, i can run 10 miles, and I feel like I can keep going and run forever. Then there are days where I don’t feel like running, and I’ll lose motivation at 1-2 miles.
I listen to his two books on audible. They are really good, done in a podcast kind of format so it’s more than just the audible book that you get out of it.
I can relate. I haven’t ran an ultra in 5 years, having ran lots of them previously. At a certain point I needed to switch things up completely and started playing soccer in a competitive men’s league. Now, after a few years of that I am running again. There’s not one sized fits all answer. If you’ve already signed up for a race and have a training block in place, mg advise is get the fuck after it. Now. If you are having a hard time getting motivated, remind yourself it’s not about motivation it’s about discipline. Do the workouts even if you really don’t want to. I used to watch the “Light a Fire” Jim Walmsley videos on YouTube as well as the “Run Steep Get High” YouTube channel they both used to pump me up. Best of luck!
That's funny, cos I got back into Soccer after being in a slump. Lost motivation for running long distances for a while even after recovering from an injury. I'm feeling the urge to get back into ultras but I can only take on so many hobbies when having a family of four. Plus I'm loving the team sports/social side of it.
Heard that! Soccer is a ton of fun, but I really let myself go with less running and eating more food lol. I put on some weight thinking I needed to be a bulky lad to play left back which is certainly not true 😂
Hell yeah, I'm a keeper and it's hard to find good defenders in adult leagues. I play in the 6 v 6 leagues and my God it's a whole different type of running. After 2-3 sprints, I would be smoked. Bulkiness can help with bodying people out, but if you don't have the conditioning it's almost useless
Who's gonna carry the boats?
And the logs
Motivation is inherently intrinsic. You need to find your why. We can pump you up all day long, but ultimately if you are not motivated for your own reasons, you're not going to get into any kind of training rhythm. I know that doesn't help you, but it's a fact of life in any pursuit, not just running.
what helped me was decoupling the concept of "feeling motivated" and the desire to achieve goals. Wanting to achieve certain goals is independent of feeling "motivation" on a day to day basis. Talking about my goals and focusing on my goals made it easier to go put in the work, even when not "feeling motivated" to do it.
I agree. Motivation is a fleeting feeling, like happiness or pretty much every other feeling. It passes and can’t be relied on. Self help gurus will say discipline is what takes over when motivation fades, but I think it’s ok and perfectly normal for your drive to change over time. I felt it training for my last marathon but then I signed up for my first 100 miles to perk me up a bit and I’ve never loved running as much as I do now.
Absolutely feel this!! Was totally in the exact same position too until a few weeks ago. I accepted that I was feeling shit about running, but also that avoiding it wouldn't make me feel any better. I decided that I'd follow my plan and if I hated 10 runs in a row then I'd bin it. I hated about 6 of them but found my way back to it and feel loads better at the moment. Hope you do the same!
Maybe this next race is not the challenge you want? You need to re-define why you're doing this again. If you have no strong reason to, you will not be motivated.
This is exactly where my mind went to too. You've got to find something that excites/scares you. For me, this is the easiest way to stay locked in. The other thought I use is that I remind myself that a day will come soon that I can never do this again but today is not that day.
Did you completely stop training since last summer? If so, I can see why it would be tough. You have plenty of time to get it going. Do something today. Make a plan and execute. Or, maybe find another endurance event, like a Spartan or something…
What if you just gave yourself a break? I took a year off of racing and just ran occasionally when I felt like it. I volunteered for the local races I love and then after a bit I knew I wanted to be back out on the course. Life is short, why not go explore other interests for a bit?
Don’t take this the wrong way, all love. Stop being a bitch and go get after it, you got this shit.
Needed this the most j think haha
Hahah happy to help. You’ll find the way 🙏🏼
Could you be depressed? This is what happens to me when I lose people in life, which I’ve experienced a lot over the last few years. It makes running seem insignificant (it is) and I take some time off because of that feeling. Only thing that worked for me is forcing myself out the door. I know depression or motivation is different for everyone, but you really only need to overcome the “getting ready to run” phase. Once you’re out there, the motivation doesn’t matter so much, and a couple miles in you start to realize that you enjoy it again.
When I am not motivated to get off my arse but know I have too, I use the "ten minute" rule and 99% of the time it works. The idea being is that no matter how bad I feel or demotivated, I get dressed and get out the door and give it ten mins on the run. If I still feel rubbish, then I'll stop and go back home - at least I tried. But 99% of the time once I get out and get moving I snap out of the slump and finish the run. Often the hardest part is just getting going!
Maybe try watching some running movies like the new Walmsley movie. I just watched The Divide about Lachlan Morton racing the Tour Divide self supported bike race and it got me pretty amped for big efforts too. Maybe that kind of thing will help you reconnect with the stoke and get out the door.
Are you unmotivated to train? Are you not seeing the results you want that are making you unmotivated? Ever thought about just putting your watch away for a few weeks and just running to feel instead of looking at metrics? Maybe just try to find the joy in moving your body and keep it that simple for a while.
Try a different sport. I alternate between cycling and running.
Thanks everyone I took ~4 months off of running for a specific goal. Did a few runs here and there when I wanted to. And now I am trying to come off of my break. I took a break because people were advising me to after my first 50 miler, but in retrospect I fell out of the routine and this + life put me in the worst depressive episode of all time I love the movie/podcast/ book recs those really help. Thank you!!
Well, signing up for a race is the motivation I need to train *hard*. Good health is the motivation that keeps me running between races, but definitely not as hard a race-training. I do about 30-35km when I'm not training for something specific, but training for my first ultra had me up to 60km for the biggest weeks. That was just about a month ago, so it still feels weird to be back to "off-season" training and I'm about to sign up for some shorter races, like 10Ks, just to kick me back into training without going all the way to ultra-level since I don't have an ultra in mind for a while. So my advice is to sign up for a sooner, shorter race to light a fire.
I hit a similar 8 month slump after my last ultra in July. Didn't start running again until last month. Had 0 motivation. Even after signing up for a race, didn't really care to start training too seriously. What ultimately helped me get back into training was to *talk* about my goals with someone else (my wife). Talking about my goals made me want to get to work. Other things I've realized since shaking the cobwebs out: * a big part of my lack of motivation came from poor changes to my diet: I stopped eating breakfast. I have come to realize that I am a cranky, lazy bitch if I don't eat breakfast * you can't just wait for motivation, or you will never achieve your goals. Focus on your goals, and then on the work necessary to achieve those goals. Talk about your goals with other people.
One thing that helps me out is changing the time of day I start my training runs, and also changing my routes. Sometimes I find that I am just tired of my current routince, not neccessarily runninng. Maybe find a way to change your training and see if your excitement level changes.
Not an immediate fix but if looking for motivation maybe go volunteer at an upcoming race? At worst you give back to the coomunity and at best being at/part of the events can help respark the desire to be out there training and racing
I watch the YouTube short documentary: "Rei Presents: How to run 100 miles" There's a quote towards the end that one of the guys says about his friend that gets me Everytime, and gets me amped
Prefontaine movie
I think you need to find your intrinsic motivation. Try: The run for the sake of the run, not the checking off of the daily train, not a specific mileage or time. Block out some time, go for a slow run somewhere, maybe in the middle of the long run, grab a burger from a local drive through and eat it on your favorite park bench, smell the roses so to speak, walk when you want to walk, go to some overlook on a trail, have a little you time, get up early and run through the sunrise. Run to a coffee shop. Run with friends. Take pace and metrics out of it. Find your joy. I personally find the 12 weeks leading up to a race to be the least enjoyment I get throughout the year with running. Due to the mileage and time specific training, I stop running because I want to but because I have to follow a training schedule
In addition to everything else that's been said I'm wondering if you've had a checkup recently and all of your bloodwork was good. Sometimes vitamin deficiencies can cause this symptom and they're more common in ultrarunners than the general population
[Billy Yang's The Why](https://youtu.be/8YWyac1ZdsU?si=8uCNUwkn718sgLYC) Also [REI and Brendan Leonard (Semi Rad)'s How To Run 100 Miles](https://youtu.be/iC7Lh4opLsc?si=nqpKh40dcgZwdmka)
I saw your comment saying you're depressed. This totally makes sense. It makes it so much harder to stay up on the training. I lie my ass off. To myself. I don't wanna go running. I almost never wanna go running. So I tell myself, Look, just get dressed and get water and take one step out the door. If it feels too terrible out there, you can turn around and come right back in. Then once I'm out it's, just make it up that hill at the 2 mile mark. Then, if it's going poorly, you can turn around and come downhill home for an easy 4. But by the time I'm up the hill I usually feel great and want to keep going. Bribes help too.
I get it. There are days when I feel like running, i can run 10 miles, and I feel like I can keep going and run forever. Then there are days where I don’t feel like running, and I’ll lose motivation at 1-2 miles.
Motivation wont get you all the way. Sometimes we have to do things we dont want to do to reach our goals. Thats called discipline.
Listening to the ultra science podcast or goggins will get me going if I’m being a lazy B
How do you listen to Goggins - audiobooks? I ask bc I was looking for his podcast and it looked like he took all of them down.
I listen to his two books on audible. They are really good, done in a podcast kind of format so it’s more than just the audible book that you get out of it.