losing will to run

in the beginning of the year i started to mainly run on the treadmill and i felt like i was making progress & i really enjoyed it. but since i have a couple of fun runs (one this tues) i knew i had better start doing some running outside with wind & different terrain levels to make sure that i could run without the treadmill.

and these last few weeks have been really nice (for here) so i did not want to be stuck indoors, as the weather never stays nice here. so i've been going in the park, made some progress. but then i started to make a less and less progress. the last time i ran, it was so hard, physically & mentally.

so i started to take on new trails in the park because the old trail just reminded me of where i had difficulties and it would literally weigh me down. so that's helped some, but lately i've just felt like walking to enjoy the scenery & dont have the will to run.

i was up to 8k on the treadmill, and once i ran for an 45-60 minutes in the park but can't seem to get up there again. and ive only been running 3 times a week, sometime running for a little less than 30 minutes or running/walking for over an hour, so i know its not runners burn out.

but i do love running (even experienced the runners high a few times), except when i feel physically & mentally weighed down by how hard it was the last time, especially since i was making progress a few weeks ago.

and i know i should just focus on just getting out there and doing the best i can, but its just disheartening.

It really sounds like you are over training. Perhaps taking a week off from your running is what you really need.

Maybe this article will be helpful

http://exercise.about.com/cs/exercisehealth/a /toomuchexercise.htm

When I used to run I always did it in the morning and sometimes had a hard time.  If I'd had a good dinner the night before that seemed to help.  Are you eating enough?  And carbs helped me more than protein.

Also, when I had to slow down I would pick out a tree or something and force myself to go just a little beyond that before I stopped.

Having a friend to go with helped me also.  You're sort of committed and also it's fun to have company sometimes.  I think you're doing great!  Also, I think you are just being too hard on yourself.

Yes, being outside is completely different than a treadmill isn't it.

thanks, ill look into maybe eating some porridge or muesli 2 hours before running. as for the over training, i looked into that before & all the guidelines & how to's. i would normally only run 2-3 times a week, actually these last couple of weeks its just been 2 times, with plenty of rest days, even some days i dont do any exercise at all.

I used to run anywhere from 3 to 6 miles twice daily (6 to 12 miles total for the day!) and trust me..it got exhausting/overwhelming, both physically and emotionally.  (funny that I even started running as a stress reliever hah!) I did the same thing you are doing, I would walk more and more everytime and I finally quit running all together.  See, in the beginning, I was able to clear my mind of everything except the road in front of me, but towards the end, my mind began to wander, I couldnt focus on just simply running, and I started to hate it and I even grew tired very quickly even after months of running everyday (almost).  Several months after quitting, my stress levels were sky rocketing so I decided to go for a jog..at 2 in the morning!

Ever since then, I have desired ONLY to run either reallllly early in the morning or super late at night. I really don't know why either except that 1) I tend to stay more focused on myself instead of whats around me simply because its dark and I cant see well anyway, 2) it was a COMPLETE change from running on a treadmill and even from running the exact same course during the day. I think I'm also attracted to the adrenaline rush (I can't explain it, but running at those times is thrilling and kind of spooky!)

Granted, I live a very simple life - no work, late classes, no family to take care of so I am able to go running at those times.  I can't imagine too many "normal" people wanting to go exercise at 2, 3, 4 in the morning on top of everything else that they must do during normal hours. 

Anyway, hope this helps. Good luck with everything too.

xoxo - amber