I love races, and obviously want to do as well as I can in them. BUT I really do not enjoy the training that much, trying to get my butt out of the door to go for a run is really difficult. Once I’m out, it’s not so bad, but getting started is very hard to motivate myself for.
It always seems like everyone else loves the training, am I the only one with this problem?
This year is a mess when I take a look at the training log. Overall the numbers may look good. I’m about to reach 400h of training (running, cycling and strength) and already reached 2000km of running this year. However, it was a struggle in getting out for most of them. I skipped many workouts, I cycled instead of some runs, I did morning runs in the evening.
Everyone has this issue; it’s only a matter of how much/often.
I find there are four things that help me:
Doing workouts that motivate me. If you like competition, then Zwift races might be your ticket.
Knowing that I will feel better having done the workout than having skipped it often gets me out the door and through the first 15min.
Great equipment. Cool equipment just begs to be used. That can be anything from a new pool toy to awesome sunglasses to great tires.
Flexibility. The workout you go out and do is better than the ideal/planned one you skip.
Describe your training week, including intensity.
I was fed up with training when I was going balls to the wall too often. (Although I’d had too many bad races - bad due to undertraining - to not go out and train, for the most part).
Everyone has this issue; it’s only a matter of how much/often.
I find there are four things that help me:
Doing workouts that motivate me. If you like competition, then Zwift races might be your ticket.
Knowing that I will feel better having done the workout than having skipped it often gets me out the door and through the first 15min.
Great equipment. Cool equipment just begs to be used. That can be anything from a new pool toy to awesome sunglasses to great tires.
Flexibility. The workout you go out and do is better than the ideal/planned one you skip.
Is it possible to adapt my basic Tacx Blumatic (I think that’s what it is) to work with Zwift? I have a bike with no gadgets like power meter etc.
Yes, Zwift can get speed if you have a wireless speed sensor that broadcasts btle or ant+. It then uses the trainer’s known power/speed curve to estimate power.
While it does work, it’s not a very good solution; and tire slippage makes sprinting in Zwift races difficult. If you really want to Zwift, a wheel-off smart trainer is the way to go.
That being said, Zwift has a free trial period so nothing to lose.
Describe your training week, including intensity.
I was fed up with training when I was going balls to the wall too often. (Although I’d had too many bad races - bad due to undertraining - to not go out and train, for the most part).
Wish that was the issue. I’ve just been for a 5K run, that’s all I’ve done so far this week :-/
In my opinion, motivation is not the crucial factor it’s generally made out to be, nor is will power. Just like willpower is not the secret to diets.
Motivation and willpower are transient, and easily reasoned away so as long term methods they always fail, sooner or later.
What works, and has always worked, is habit. Instead of debating with yourself whether to go for a run, you just go - unless there’s a damn good reason not to. The hard part is the transition from no habit to habit. By definition time is required to establish the new norm, and willpower/motivation are needed for that, but the goal should not be to keep relying on mental strength, etc to get you out the door.
it’s the first few days or weeks that are hardest, then the pattern is established and it becomes far easier. If you fall of the horse in that initial period - re-group and try again, as many times as necessary.
As long as you view it as a possibility that you’ll just decide not to go today, you’ll enter a debate with yourself each time. When you reach the point where you take it for granted you are going because that’s what you do, it becomes much easier to maintain consistency, and whenever you don’t go there will be a reason - so you shouldn’t feel bad.
On the other hand, you are specifically saying you don’t really like training much. I have the same difficulties as you getting out the door at times, but I quite enjoy training once I’m doing it. If I didn’t I wouldn’t force myself, I’d pick another sport or adjust my expectations to fit my training preferences. In fact I already do that. I really love cycling, I like running, and swimming is okay. However swimming is also a much bigger hassle to fit in, and just a distant 3rd place to the other 2 sports. So, while I do triathlons and have done Olympic, 70.3 and full IM distances, I do duathlons for preference when they’re available, and I’ve done adventure races, and pure running and cycling events too . They’re just more fun and suit my preferences and training better. I do sport for enjoyment, so since I don’t like swimming so much, I don’t prioritise it and really I just do enough to be safe and not too embarrassed in triathlons. That often means I don’t swim at all over the winter. The one nice thing about that is that starting the bike leg way back as one of the stronger cyclists means you get to overtake half the field and imagine you’re an amazing athlete 
It’s not a good plan for fast race times but it works for me and means 95% of my training is what I enjoy most.
I love races, and obviously want to do as well as I can in them. BUT I really do not enjoy the training that much, trying to get my butt out of the door to go for a run is really difficult. Once I’m out, it’s not so bad, but getting started is very hard to motivate myself for.
It always seems like everyone else loves the training, am I the only one with this problem?
This quote puts is perfectly in my opinion:
“Motivation is a bitch, it comes and goes how it wants. What defines you is what you do without the motivaiton.”
Push through and at some point motivation will come back. Everyone has ups and downs in their training.
When I’m really tired or in the midst of a pretty heavy training cycle and have upteenth things going on, I definitely struggle. I think that’s pretty normal.
But for any given day, no, I don’t struggle at all. Races are so one-off most of the time that there’s no way I could continue training if that was all I got out of it. I really love the process. Even now, six months from my next race, I wake up at 4:30 each day looking forward to whatever workout I have.
Try to verbalize your “why” you want to train. Write that or those whys on a piece of paper and post them where you will see them regularly to establish “a motivation mirror”.
Maybe your why is not strong enough to get as much training done as you would like to right now…and that’s okay. Maybe a shift of your focus is what you need. Give yourself the grace to take the week/month/year off.
I love races, and obviously want to do as well as I can in them. BUT I really do not enjoy the training that much, trying to get my butt out of the door to go for a run is really difficult. Once I’m out, it’s not so bad, but getting started is very hard to motivate myself for.
It always seems like everyone else loves the training, am I the only one with this problem?
I do a lot of trainer training
What I figure is ok go out your bike shorts on. That is the only goal. No thinking about the workout
Then I have by bike shorts on. I say to myself.
Ok now in 3 hours you will either have watched 3 hours of YouTube and movies on the trainer. OR have watched 3 hours and accomplished nothing
GET ON THE FREAKING TRAINER !!!
Lol. Seems to work for me
Yes, I do. Especially for swimming and occasionally just any early morning workout. I’d suggest trying to make your training more fun for you, it will lead to better outcomes all around. For example, I mostly switched my swimming to pull+paddle … it’s not great for improving my 500yd pool swim, but my wetsuit races have been fine and I hate swimming this way a ton less.
Do you struggle with motivation at work? How do you get your to-do list done?
For me, my training is just another task to check off, so I can’t call my day “done†until I get through all the things, including training.
Also, I made a self-imposed rule long ago that I’m not allowed to shower until I’ve earned the shower. No sweat (or pool or ocean or lake), no shower. I’ve been following that for 10 years ++ and now it feels weird to shower when I’m just getting out of bed or out of street clothes.
That said, there are days where training gets triaged as a last priority so it might fall off the to-do list. Like this week has been nuts, so there hasn’t been a lot of training (…or showers, sadly).
Good luck!
To echo a previous comment… for me motivation lags when (a) share of intense workouts is too high or (b) there’s too much thinking/deciding involved.
Right now I’m religiously sticking to Z2 or lower until 2022, except for a single VO2 interval turbo session, and following the same very simple schedule every week with no need to think about anything, for a total of about 12 hours weekly.
I’m finding myself looking forward to the 6am session followed by porridge and coffee as the reliable highlight of each day, despite being dark and icy, and that single VO2 session feels like a novelty / treat.
I like to win. (since I’m old, it’s age group now). I just imagine the folks who could beat me, out training, and I’m out the door like a mad man.
go to Wal Mart and walk around for an hour.
And I’m serious. Get a dog. Two is even better. Take them out running every day for a week, and you will never miss another day of running.
Run local running races. I do everything from 5k’s to marathons, and have a large group of competitive friends. This keeps my motivation very high, and is possibly an even higher priority than the occasional triathlon.
buy a condo across the street from your fitness center/pool. Ok, so this just happened by luck, but it sure makes things easy.
I’m at my best when;
I have a race or series of races on the calendar.
I have specific, measurable goals for those races that are attainable but challenging.
I’ve always struggled with this especially as the awful gray Ohio clouds come to visit. Zwift and motivational videos on YouTube help a bunch. If you need to take a break, take a little time off but mark a return date on a calendar and stick to it.
God, I have a dog (wolf more like) - but I can’t take him running, he’s a lunatic!!
I’d love to get a direct drive trainer for Zwift useage, but most of them cost more than my bike 🙈
find training groups to workout with. then on your non group days you will be motivated to do training sessions to keep up with them