I had a great 14.5 miler today, the best i’ve had so far this year, and it was the perfect thing I needed to get my motivation back. I also think that I found out why I ended up losing my motivation a few weeks back … so to start, my course today was from the lehigh canal park in allentown to past sand island park in bethlehem, along the tow-path. what a great course. I wrote last year when I finished the Lehigh Valley Marathon about the great rails-to-trails they have in the Lehigh Valley, and now I can run them whenever I want, its awesome! Unfortunately since I didn’t where to park, i ended up parking in a shopping center near 2nd street in Allentown and running down the long way, which added some mileage to my run…

So I’ve taken a different angle on training, preparing and just running in general. I mentioned that I found out why I lost my motivation, and I think there are a couple reasons. First, I was pushing my mileage too fast, second, I was training too hard in bad weather, and third, I was running courses that were just beyond my aerobic ability for where I was in training. I shouldn’t ever get back from a long run and feel defeated, and I think week after week after week, I just felt defeated and it really demotivated me… so to change it up, I ran 14.5 miles basically flat .. I need to build the confidence that I can get through the long mileage and then start to mix in hills, instead of expecting to be overweight and out of shape and trying to run a ton of hills, it just doesn’t work ..

So now, instead of the motto being “no excuses” (which worked by the way in the spring), the new motto for the spring into summer training sessions is getting “back to basics”. What this means is changing up my courses, changing up my training schedule, and focusing on one race at a time. For example, i’ve got the Lehigh Valley half in 2 weeks .. I need to train for a half marathon, not a marathon. I can’t expect too much too soon … I’ve changed up my music, my eating habits and everything. Its like starting over with running. I’m back to building a base and will SLOWLY build my mileage up to do the marathon in September. Why do 20 milers now??? theres no need … a week after the half-marathon though, we start the formal 18-week training for the first marathon in the fall.

Another thing that has helped my motivation is the weather .. its really sprung this weekend (although it will be cold on Monday and wasn’t warm in the morning). I think just sticking to the basics that brought me success before is the way to go, and I truly suggest it to anyone else who is struggling right now with running (or training).

I’m hoping to get out for another 10-12 miles tomorrow to keep my ability up (but keep it on flat courses for now) … we’ll see how it goes …