Like most folks, there hasn’t been too much to get excited about race-wise these last few years and adding a couple of injuries to that, my motivation level has plummeted. And as we have now entered the off season here, I am really struggling to get motivated to do anything at all, jumping on the indoor trainer just to keep the kgs from piling on. I’m in the pool twice a week at most.
Appreciate that this is fairly normal in the off season with mood levels fluctuating as we have nothing to focus on. My goals are all for next year, ‘A race’ is in August which seems very far away.
I am planning to do a bit of CX during the winter and have started some gym work which I am enjoying, more for the variety than anything else.
Anyone any tips for avoiding the blues and giving myself a bit of a shake?
Have you tried doing nothing for a few weeks? I tend to get pretty burned out at the end of every season, so I always take 2 weeks completely off and then the following month will be a pretty light schedule. After that, motivation tends to get much better for me
Sometimes taking a week off is what I need to get back into it mentally. After a week of sitting on the couch I am usually chomping at the bit to get active again.
Outside of cross-training, try setting an offseason goal. Something like a running 5k PB, chasing a local cycling KOM, or getting a new PB for a 500 swim.
This has worked for me in the past to get those competitive juices flowing.
Running the same routes was boring so I made it a goal to run every street in my town. This kept me engaged and each day I ticked off another dozen streets I would feel accomplished.
Reverse routes. Take an abnormal route. Try to be become a segment owner in Strava even if you have to repeat it a dozen times in a workout. Silly stuff like that.
Finishing 50 states marathons got me down so I decided to highpoint each state. It has been cool to visit places mostly off the beaten track.
Read. Reading marathoning, ultra, adventure racing, etc. books gets me motivated. Also their strange training and activities gives me ideas for my own
I stay active in the local running community year round, doing 5k’s- marathons. In fact our local marathon is this Sunday. It also helped when I realized that no one else really gives a shit weather I’m motivated or not. In fact the folks I beat in the spring, would probably like it, if I sat on an unmotivated ass all winter. Races are won in the off season, and there’s plenty of people training their asses off all winter. When I think about my competition hitting it hard, I can’t rest.
Why not do something very different–my go to is I head to the AT and go for 5-8 hour hikes 3-4 times a month interspersed with shorter hikes–just get out and enjoy the beauty!
What, exactly, is the benefit of slogging through training if you aren’t motivated by something? Unless triathlon is your job…why the hell do you do it? Fitness? There are tons of more interesting ways to stay fit. Challenge? There are tons of more interesting ways to challenge oneself. Community? There are tons of more interesting communities.
I haven’t seriously trained since COVID and Ironman ruined this sport. Now, I am rock climbing, hiking/trail running, and skateboarding and I’m excited about getting out there every time. I’m also 30lbs lighter than I ever was doing Tri, because I’m not always hungry, exhausted, and needing alcohol to relax or reward myself.
How did I deal with all-time low motivation and the awfulness of gambling on attempting to do a race (only to have it canceled without refund)? I quit. Signed up for a marathon and that got canceled. Fuck it, I’m going to the skatepark, local mountain, indoor rock climbing gym, or crag.
Is there a race that excites you that you could sign up for? Even if it’s a long ways out it will still have an effect.
But remember, we do this for fun. Also, relationships are the most important things we have in life. Join a training group as mentioned or try something new that’s in a group setting.
For me after 2 years of not racing (and covid, injuries…) I felt the same. First race back helped a lot
Go back to the question, why are you doing this? Try to be honest(not as easy as it sounds)
Have another hobby that might support the tri, but you could focus on for the next few months. For me this is Ice-hockey
Come up with some interesting challenge. I’m good swimmer (as far as AG Triathletes go), but pretty much one speed. I also have never swam other strokes. I try to see how much I can drop my 100m free and individual medley times in the coming months. I dont think this necessarily improves my long distance tri swimming, but keeps me going to the pool a bit more.
Take a break and/or do something different for a while.
If the trainer and the pool are feeling like hard work, do something you’d prefer. You won’t completely forget how to swim within a few weeks!
If you’re doing structured sessions on the trainer, try something different like Zwift racing. Short version: If you’re not having fun, do something that is.
I have gone through a lot of this over the last few years due to illness and injury. The best bit of advice I got was from an old friend who messaged me and just said " 20minutes mate…20minutes is all you need to keep your head in the game…Do something for 20minutes".
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He was right as I totally gave up planning “race training” and started doing things like a 20minute row,a 20minute soft sand ruck march,a 20minute swim,a 20minute bodyweight HIIT session…I was only limited by my imagination and it was that very imagination that sparked my interest and motivation and totally stopped the “pressure” of thinking I had to train for triathlons.
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In my case, I schedule workouts with friends so I can’t escape nor bail.
Spin class, outdoor ride, run club, pool swim practice, OWS, Crossfit… I commit with different groups of friends, just show up no matter what and that’s been working great.
2020 and 2021 have been the best years for me and I feel like I’m getting better everyday. Triathlon races are slowly winding down, but run races are coming up as the weather gets cold, so sign up for some half or full marathons and train. Once you pay, you know you have to train, show up and deliver. Do that with friends and it helps. Any local shoe stores have run clubs so check with them. LBS has group rides every weekend and those crazy guys rides regardless of the weather and temp, so check with them too.
I went to the gym and started lifting weights. Heavy squats and deadlifts. Testosterone boosted and the fog started to lift. Pretty soon I was interested in running again, and a few months later I was running 70mpw and can now see myself doing the IM races I’m signed up for in 2022 that I was previously overwhelmed by and dreading.