How do you motivate yourself to train alone all summer?

tie your shoes and hit your micro goal to get to your macro goal then evaluate after hitting the macro goal if you have no goals retire with some tea

Are you a pussy? 80 miles a week is kids shit. Quit bitching. If you can't get out for 6 10-13 mile runs & 1 14-20 mile long run than we should take away your man card if you are in college or under 30 years of age & actually "want to be good". Yeah, running with people is nice, but if you are going to be a douche & think you are too big to run with other people than just shut the hell up. No one cares. There are some people to run with - I gaurentee it. They probably aren't as big of dbags as you.

It is certainly a matter of discipline. For myself, I can't fall asleep at night if I don't get in a quality day of work. I feel too guilty. I feel lazy. Other things aren't enjoyable if I haven't gotten my run done first. You don't want to stagnate; running can help bring a meaning to your life.

As far as making sure you get the miles once you get out the door, I recommend out and back courses. Mentally they are much easier (for me anyway). Moreover, once you get halfway, you HAVE to come back the full way. No cheaping out six miles into your ten mile day. You go out 5 miles you have to come back 5 miles.

Find new and interesting places to run around wherever you are. Go trailblazing. Find tunnels and rivers and streams and bridges. I would make a good bet that I know my area better than anyone who lives here, just because of all the miles I've logged exploring.

To me hard training is the best part about long distance running. It's sport in it's purest form. For the most part, until you reach the line of diminishing return, you will do better if you try harder. THat kind of work ethic is what makes this sport. I take pleasure in getting out there every day and training and hurting and feeling myself get stronger. I know I'm going places and doing things that very few people will ever do in their lifetime (not speedwise, i'm an average collegian, but mileage wise). That's something special. That should make you want to burst out the door.

Another thing to look forward to is the feeling you'll get after the run. The feeling of satisfaction, recovery, delight. Your body thanking you for stopping. Having the knowledge that you are continuing to move forward, toward a target, a goal, always upwards.

Get out and run and be wild and free, or stay in and be lazy and stagnant and one of the crowd. It sounds like you are a serious runner also, you know what is neccessary to find out how good you can be.

Sounds like the OP is tired & burnt out after 9 months of continuous college running. It is MORE important to recharge the batteries over summer rather than put in miles. Also, the OP's hometown may be a boring place to train...no wooded trails, etc.

This HS mentality of miles in summer = titles in November may work somewhat in high school, but doesn't work as well in college.

If your important x-c meets are in late October/November, why do you have to be in tip-top shape on Labor Day weekend?

That logic has always mystified me. Better the OP be gung-ho about his running when he returns to college in the fall...not so important in June.

How say u?

silly old fossil wrote:

That logic has always mystified me. Better the OP be gung-ho about his running when he returns to college in the fall...not so important in June.

How say u?

Well, I guess I sort of agree. I always wanted a guy to come back to school in shape to *train*, not to *race*--we had ~12 weeks to get him ready for the latter.

So I generally encouraged the runners to do a variety of aerobic work, for instance, and to play games, and to go to the gym, and to do their running (when they did it) on varying terrains and at varying speeds. I wanted them to come back in good general health and in sound musculoskeletal shape (which straight-ahead one-pace road running, by itself, does not particularly promote).

On the other hand: if they didn't get a certain minimum amount of actual running in during the summer, they'd be vulnerable to overuse injury once the schoolyear practices started.

So I tended to have them gradually shift their focus in the summer. In June, a majority of their general-conditioning work might be stuff other than running; by the middle of August most work would be running, with alternate activities just as a supplement.

Well I got out for my run today and yesterday, got in my 6 miles each day. Found it easier today to do an out and back then to do loops of the park.

About how long should my base phase be? I think that if I get in 3 months of decent mileage this summer I should be good to start getting into race shape by September.

This might work for a kid in high school but if someone wants to be good in college, then the easy summer mileage is key. Trust me I was in descent shape, notice the word descent, by the time summer had ended last year. This past year I transfered from a community college to an NCAA school. I was thinking that I will just be in good enough shape to make the team here and then let the coach get me ready. Well it never happened. I ran the slowest time I have ever run for 8k on the one and only try out and never made the team. I then chose to continue to run on my own for xc season and run in open races that the team was in. Even though I did a good amount of running and did similar workouts that the team was doing, I never fully got back to running times and places like I had when I was at the community college and did full summers of just easy distance 70-100mpw.

Lydiard says that the whole purpose of the base training is to prepare yourself for the workouts in the season. Yes you dont and shouldnt be race ready by labor day but you also shouldnt be trying to gain vast amounts of aerobic fitness then either. The year I ran my best times, xc and track, was the year that I put in a huge summer all at around 7:30 pace. But I was just running a sh**load with weeks as high as 120 with an average around 90. Here is the thing I never told myself what I had to do, I just went out and ran until I got tired of running. Somedays I ran 22 miles at or below 7:30 pace, somedays I would pick it up. Other days I might run 13 miles or 10 or whatever. If I felt good after a nap or relaxtion time I would run again. My weeks varied alot, one week I might run 113 the next 85 but I was enjoying what I was doing and I ran pretty good for me. I may not be a world beater but I feel that I was running at or near my potential at that time. This past year was basically a failure for me since I had the mind set that I could just use the 3 months of season to get fit and get better. But instead of just being able to jump right into the season once it started, I had to take it slow and try to make up for the lack of endurance from not running as I should have in the off season.

To keep this focued on the og topic, I do have to run alot by myself and have for alot of my college years because even at my community college most of the people went home to another part of the state for the summer and I was stuck by myself. What many have said is the key to stay motivated. Just picture nationals, either your there with your team celebrating on placing high, or your at home surfing letsrun for the results of the meet you should have been at. I also picture coming back and either being number one on my team or I tell myself that if everyone is training like me then it will be hard to make the team and thank god I worked hard.

kudzurunner wrote:

It helps to know the purpose of each run and cultivate the appropriate psychological orientation towards that day's run. Are you building mitochondria? That takes time and patience--the "patience phase."

I agree with this. I often visualized what was going on in my body as I was running. During the last miles of a long run, for example, I might visualize muscle fibers being depleted of their glycogen stores, while other fibers were being recruited to take over and continue the work. Or I might visualize capillary beds being laid down within the muscles.

As for the kind of training to do during the summer, I agree with those who stress high mileage at a steady pace -- the standard Lydiard stuff. If you're a collegiate runner competing in cross country and track, it's difficult to find any extended period other than the summer months for uninterrupted aerobic conditioning, so take advantage of that break from racing to lay down a solid foundation for the seasons ahead.

Are you an advocate of using road races during the summer as ways to keep your mind sharp from running all these miles?

I find I can go for about 2 weeks by myself pretty good and then after that I have used all the trails in my town and even made some up, and that's when I find it hard to get out the door.

Also, when I am going to do intervals, especially if it's a shitty day out, I find it hard to keep going during the workout without someone to push me.

Any way I can medicate this?

My own preference is to have a period of several months of aerobic conditioning that is uninterrupted by racing of any sort. In my view, racing during a period of aerobic conditioning typically reflects (1) a lack of understanding about the physiology of training, (2) a lack of confidence about the training program, or (3) a lack of discipline in training. A nice analogy that I read many years ago is that racing during a period of aerobic conditioning (or "base") training is like pulling up the vegetables in your garden every week to see how they're growing.

Along the same lines, I hope you're not talking about interval workouts during the period of aerobic conditioning. Although some people advocate "strides" (easy accelerations that aren't long or intense enough to put you deep into oxygen debt) in order to maintain running form and neuromuscular coordination during the aerobic conditioning period, I don't think that hard interval workouts have a place in the aerobic conditioning period.

As for the the more general issue of pushing yourself during solitary workouts, I don't know quite what to say. Some people visualize race scenarios to get them through tough training sessions. Whatever "mind games" you use, however, the basic idea is that, while you are doing a hard workout, you are fully engaged in that workout. For that brief period, nothing else matters.

come here daily for a kick in the ass - you pansies have it so fvcking easy!

honestly - many of you young guys are simply freaking pathetic. jesus, i worked a manual labor job in the sweltering south, and ran alone nearly every day from may - sept because i lived so far out in the sticks that there was no one to run with, with the exception of the goddamned dogs that chased me on every run - and still managed 70-80 miles per week.

back in the 70s and early 80s guys put in an 8 hour day at the mill or factory and managed 100 miles per week. there were hordes of american guys who ran sub 220 that most here have never heard of.

provide some incentives for mileage achievements.

Only allow yourself to rub one off after you accumulate 10 miles of runing. If you do 70 miles a week, you get to rub one off each day of the week.

A friend of mine who likes beer only allows himself to drink a beer after each 7 miles of running.

You are at a special time in your life. Even though you may be working over the summer, you will have fewer responsiblities over summers while in college than the rest of your life. If you ever want to really see what you can achieve in running, this is the time.

Some John Wooden quotes:

“If you don't have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?”

"Don't measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but what you should have accomplished with your ability.”

“Success comes from knowing that you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.”

I-POD

This'll get you out the door and keep you motivated for your warm-ups, easy and long runs. Don't use it for intervals, hills or tempos.

Good luck Josh.

* Vary your training. Drive out to some trails, or just a different place a few times a week. This adds some excitement.

* if you don't feel like running at all that day, jsut "go for an easy 10 min shakeout". It's easier to mentally get out the door, and almost every time i did this i ended up just running my regular 8 or 10 miles. Along the same lines, start out at a really slow jog. Makes it easier to get out the door, and you'll be rolling before you know it.

* Even if the kids are a lot slower than you, tun with the HS kids once a week. Add on afterwards. It doesn't matter if you have to run 7+ pace for a bit, it's one less run to motivate yourslef on.

* Keep a log and have goal mileage. This isn't good when it turns to obsession, but I found it to be a goood motivator to have my mileage in black and white at the end of every week. I did a lot of sunday long runs I otherwise wouldn't have.

i know it can suck to train all alone no matter how much you like running. Just never take an unplanned zero if you're not injured - its a slippery slope.

I hear ya bro. I wished I had an answer. It just takes alot of goals and motivation. I am just now running 30mpw...pathetic

out and backs make no sense if you struggle with running alone. get a nice loop that keeps your scene changing. the last thing a person struggling with motivation needs is to retrace the the second half of the run all over again.

and seriously...running alone is something you should cherish. you are way, way too needy.

Not everyone, but you really should quit going to the message boards for advice.

Quit your wimpering, get out and train hard. You want to be a good runner? Plan on putting 2-3 years of hard training in. If you are already questioning your commitment, then it will be a long rocky road ahead. Most coaches won't have the patience for it.

There is no glory without valour.

absolutely right,

what was the magic of that era? I lived it. Pushed a shovel for 60-70 hours a week. Learned i had to run after dark and away from the foreman's eyes.Anybody with the energy left to do a run had obviously shirked on the job that day and got heeped with all the grunt work the next.

So i put in 75mpw,under the radar. Ran a road race or two every weekend and had a blast doing it.

Where are the young guys now? Marathons are being won in times that wouldn't have made the top 50 twenty five years ago. 10K's used to go down in 31 minutes or under.Now I see 39 min. winning times, for crying out loud.

Just took part in a half marathon where 9 of the top 11 places went to Master's runners and the other 2 were in their 30's.

Honestly, WTF, your question on motivation has far reaching implications for an entire generation, the way I see it.

Find a gear and let the clutch out.