Inadvertent Intervals & Advice III: Sunday 10/17

I've been feeling great this week.  My worst run was my the race on the 9th, even that was a new PR, I've run my first 5 miler, and crushed my run in Umstead on Saturday.  Also, I hit a new weekly mileage total: 18 miles, so I knew that the bear was out there waiting for me and at some point he was just going to jump on my back turning one of my runs into a total grunt fest, but after running so well in Umstead on Saturday, I just couldn't bring myself to imagine that it would happen of Sunday.  Well, I am a frickin idiot! couldn't have been so wrong!  Like my Raiders, who were trying to put together back to back wins and did a face plant, my attempt to put together two strong runs in a row went nowhere quickly.  As soon as I got out of my apartment complex, the bear jumped on my back and demanded that I take him for a ride.  I struggled the through the first mile and a half of the run, but after stopping off at Hiro's work for a quick chat, the return trip home turned into an inadvertent interval workout.  I just couldn't get going and could feel that my quad was giving some serious thought to throwing a fit.  So this run turned into a run/walk with that mean old bear just laughing the whole way home.  Topping things off, the Raiders played a shameful game that just told me that it wasn't meant to be my day. 

Monday I took the day off and while reading through some of the blogs that I follow, I came to Scott's blog: 180 Day Experiment where he was asking for advice about staying motivated.  Scott and I know each other through a college buddy of mine, who is a good friend of his.  We haven't spoken or anything, but we follow each others blogs because we are both fighting the same fight.  He started out at 315 and is now down in his 260's, and I started at 316 and am now in the low 270's, so I can really identify with his struggle.  The main differences between us is that he adheres to a much more strict diet while, I don't follow a diet, but just try to eat healthy.  I understand the ebbs and flows of motivation.  I struggle with it from time to time as well, so I feel like it is a good time to talk about motivation.

I've been working out regularly for just around a year now, I started by taking morning classes, but I've transitioned away from taking classes and began running more as my interest formed around running.  Injuries have caused me to transition and change up my workouts, but I've been able to stay motivated because I  have expected this whole process to be difficult.  If it weren't difficult, more people would do this.  Personally, I needed something difficult in my life that was going to cause me to struggle and apply myself, and I have tried to embrace the attitude that whatever challenges come my way are only going to be temporary.  It is the same thing with running.  Crappy runs happen.  They are unavoidable and I just try to look at them as bear that has to be crossed every once in a while.  So, for me periods of waning motivation are just a natural aspect of this process.  I don't try to avoid them, push through then, or anything.  I just look at them as temporary and know that my motivation will return in due course.