Haha, get it? MOJo? Because I live in Missouri and my name is Joanna? And no, you cannot call me Jo. Unless you already do, which probably means you're either from a small town in WV or I met you in the US between 1999 and 2003. And that's a whole other story. Anyway, I seem to have lost some of my running mojo. And I need some help finding it. So, completely without segue, some backstory:
See, I love coffee. (I swear, this is about running. Stay with me.) In fact, I love it so much I once took a picture of a freshly-filled canister of coffee beans to file away in a "Favorite Things" folder (before Pinterest was cool).
And yet, most summers I try to wean myself from it. Why? Because it's frackin' hot out, and coffee makes it worse. And, life is usually much less chaotic in the summer, so I actually get enough sleep.* Oh yeah, and I have this bizarre need to prove to myself that I can break the addiction every now and then. #masochism. So, yes, I'm currently in the weaning process. I'm down to about 3/4 of one mug each morning. I hate this process.
As if that weren't enough, did I mention that it's hot out? Because, in the words of my beloved Jamie, it's hot as balls out. The last few days we've had highs around 96, also with crazy humidity. I ran my normal 4-mile loop yesterday morning, starting at 7:45am, and was about to hurl by the time I got home.
Neither of these things--the coffee withdrawal or the heat--is particularly motivating me to run. And because I don't have a training plan right now, I'm a little shy on motivation. But I also don't want to lose my new found speed or fitness from the marathon, so I need to find a way to motivate myself. So, you know me. I like lists. Here's what I'm gonna do.
Steal underwear.Suck it up, admit that I don't have to be a hero, and face the dreadmill until the heat breaks (which is supposed to happen sometime this weekend. But you know what I think of the weather forecasters here).- Read up on hot weather running tips and be ready when the temps drop back below 90.
Profit.**Set up a non-plan schedule to maintain fitness. Something like 15-20 miles a week with short Monday and Friday runs, slightly longer on Wednesdays, and "long"ish runs on Saturdays.
Any thoughts or advice? I know a lot of you have more experience in hot weather running and in non-training cycle running than I do, so please share!
*yes, normally work is slower in the summer. Just not right now. It's head-explodingly crazy right now. And I kinda like it.
** Please, please tell me someone got that joke. Please.
