First off, I apologize for the delay in this but here are the winners of my two giveaways:

FRS Two-10 Discovery Challenge

Kristi Lundine

Puritan’s Pride

Amy Lauren

 Congrats! Please send me an email to saralovingontherun{at}gmail.com and I will get your prizes on their way to you both!

 

If you follow me on Instagram then you already know that this past week has been a struggle when it comes to running. My legs have responded a bit better than expected, but my motivation has been a struggle.

Even more so, getting myself out of bed at 4:30-5:00 AM every morning has also not been at the top of my list for things I have been wanting to do.

After my marathon, I took 2 full days off. Sunday and Monday I focused on proper recovery through nutrition and trying to walk as much as possible. Even though it is so easy for us to just want to sit and do nothing, it really isn’t the best thing for you.

 

Tuesday morning was my first official run back. I headed outside with the goal of 4 miles. Slow and easy.

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My legs actually didn’t feel as bad as I was expecting, but they sure didn’t have the kick in them that they used to. I got through the 4 miles pretty easily and called it a day.

Wednesday morning I got up for another run, another 4 miles. This morning I hopped on the treadmill. Easy 4, nothing special.

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As each day progressed my motivation slowly started to dwendle. Each morning was a bit more difficult to pull myself out of bed and get out there. If I had to run outside, I dreaded bundling up to run in the cold. If I ran on the treadmill, I dreaded the monitony.

Who was I!?

Sure I struggled with motivation off and on during my 20 weeks of training, but never this bad. Not only that but my mileage was significantly decreased so I figured it’d be much easier to get moving each morning.

Thursday I bumped my run up to 5 miles, outside again, and then took off Friday. Friday has always been my rest day, and since I could tell I was having a tough week I kept it as complete rest. I was hoping that a little bit of extra rest would help get me reset and ready to go again come the weekend.

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Saturday morning my husband and I woke up and headed to the YMCA to do a run. I was hoping to get in a few weights as well. Even though I did feel a little bit more motivated, it was the longest hour ever on the treadmill. I am usually pretty good about playing mind games to get it done, but it just wasn’t happening.

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I finished up the 6 miles, still very slow and easy, and proceeded to stretch a do a few lower and upper body weights until Wes was done with his run. I was so thankful for a shorter run Saturday, but I was beginning to feel the frustration build up.

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We spent Saturday visiting family and celbrating my father-in-law’s birthday. It was a great distraction from the frustration I was having with my running, and I enjoyed being able to relax.

 

Sunday morning we slept in pretty late. We stayed up watching a movie (which we rarely get a chance to do), but it was worth it and we both knew we needed a little extra sleep anyways.

I got up, cleaned a bit, and then proceeded to slowly put my running clothes on. I couldn’t remember the last time I felt that unmotivated to get out the door. I know I always feel better after a run, but at that moment I could think of a million other things I would rather be doing.

My husband offered to the run the first couple miles with me to help get into it. About 5-10 minutes in he could tell I was struggling. He told me to slow down, relax and said “you have to take what running gives you.”

Some days running gives us the most amazing run, an amazing race, just complete freedom. Then there are days (or weeks) that running doesn’t give us much. It give us pain, frustration and a reminder to slow down and relax.

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At that point I slowed my pace, cleared my mind and just tried to allow my body to go the speed that it needed to. Guess what? The next 4 miles went much better and I was finally able to just run. It still wasn’t easy, but I was mentally at a much beter place.

With the holidays coming up as well as my second week back post-marathon I have decided to take this approach to every run. I have to relax and just take what the run is willing to give me. Some days it will be a struggle and some days it will feel easy. That’s the joy and the pain of running.

 

Do you ever just sometimes have to force yourself to relax?

How soon do you run post-marathon?

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