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.
8 comments:
Seriously, here in New Orleans, its a million degrees all the time and I am forced to the treadmill/mini-track until September at least.
Of note, my boyfriend (who lives with me here!) is training for the Olympic marathon trials and seems to only have a slight problem with the heat. He recently wrote a blog post about it too:
http://samelegsmoremiles.blogspot.com/2011/06/things-are-heating-up.html
(Note: Despite reading it I have not followed any of his tips and refuse to run anywhere that does not have A/C)
I got the joke :) Sneaky little underpants elf!
keep with it, don't give up because you are in a funk. thats what I did and it is a pain trying to beat a funk once you stop all together!
MOJo - hehe, that's cute.
Having a pseudo-plan should help with motivation. Otherwise, I just try to get out early o beat the heat/humidity SOMEWHAT. We are having similar temps. GROSS!
Love the MOJo reference!
Well down here in Florida we just keep running. But we run much, much earlier to avoid the heat that arrives by 8 AM and we also just suck it up. The Florida Tri season is pretty much awful.
And as a tip, just be prepared to run slower. It happens to us all in the summer. (Cold, wet towels thrown around your neck can help though!)
It gets hot here in Ohio as well. I major part of the reason that I am out the door between 4:30-5:00 AM on work days. Since I have summers on I sometimes stretch it to 5:30-6:00 on those days (which will be starting soon in two weeks). It really is peaceful that early in the morning and you get the run done and don't have to worry about it all day!!
I'm doing the Harbor Springs Half, which is a local race. Hubs and I made a deal that my half would be local so we wouldn't have to spend $$ on travel. I just have to roll out of bed and drive 30 min. Detroit is definitely on my radar,though. Maybe next year...
I don't think I could ever give up coffee no matter how hot it gets. Summer is the time for me to spend more hours researching and writing so the caffeine and the ritual of coffee drinking is oh so necessary.
Just came across your blog and will be following!
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