After marathon #2 I have a bit more on my side. The weather. With doing a Spring marathon I have the whole summer in front of me, beautiful weather and more daylight on my hands.
I have taken the past week to reflect and relish in the moment. I took four days off of running. I usually take 1-2 rest days every week and it's been a nice break -- but, I've been ready to tie up my Brooks. I also indulged WAY too much this week and consumed way too much birthday cake at parties to remember. I feel chunky and out-of-shape just one week post-marathon.
Friday I ran a 5K on the treadmill and felt great. I did the same on Saturday. Hubby had a sprint triathlon this morning and the whole family was up at 4:30 AM. After we got home, he worked out again and I knew I wanted to get an hour run in the afternoon. I was ready to hit the road!!!
I am soooo over running through my neighborhood! With a few more long runs under my belt, I've been able to explore some new areas of town, parks and pedestrian paths. I decided to head to the other side of town in the marathon mommy minivan and park it at one of the parks. Over the next hour, I ran from park to park .... along the pedestrian path .... over all of the awesome bridges along the way.
I took my camera with me and captured some photos of a new favorite route of mine. I even saw five pre-teen girls along the way. They must've been returning home from one of the parks. Two of them had bright yellow Girls on the Run t-shirts on. They stared at me and I said "I love your Girls on the Run Shirts -- that's awesome!". They lit up and said "Thank you", with HUGE SMILES on their faces!
To keep myself motivated until my next big races (which aren't until the end of July, August and October), I need to keep myself interested in running and keeping the mileage up. I hope that these little "destination" training runs will help keep me going.
Today's after work-out glowWhat keeps you motivated
when you're not "training"?
What do you do when you're
stuck-in-a-rut?!
I looooove to make my runs interesting like this!
ReplyDeleteSome ideas...
- See how much money you can collect
- Map a route and spell your name: http://superfoodsuperfood.wordpress.com/2010/05/25/my-name-is-4-5-miles-long/
- Take a pic at each mile: http://superfoodsuperfood.wordpress.com/2009/04/01/daily-mile-challenge-run/
- Pretty much anything where you take pics along the way!
- See how much trash you can pick up and dispose of. Did you see the feature in this month's RW? So cute.
Looking forward to seeing more of your destination runs! =)
What a beautiful area! I bet you made those girls' day!
ReplyDelete1. I play games during runs- follow green stoplights only- scavenger hunt, etc.
2. I drive to a new place to run
3. Find others to run with, if possible.
Recently coming off of my marathon DNF (went down at mile 25) I was afraid of running and then I got out there for my first run a week after the marathon attempt and I was happy to be running again. Then I realized I needed to have a goal since I had spent the last 18 weeks training for the marathon so I am doing a 5K on June 20th and a 5K on July 4 as well as the Chicago Rock and Roll 1/2 Marathon on August 1st. However, in the mean time I do get bored on my training runs. Today I counted cars. Boring, I know. I also try and schedule workouts with others when I am getting bored. And I love your bondi bands...they are all so cute. I definitely need to order some!
ReplyDeleteI target my non-running friends like a heat seeking missile and turn them into runners..against their will of course...that gives me something to focus on.
ReplyDeleteLove the pics!
Really neat photos! I can see why you like training there. It is hard to find motivation after a marathon. I think that's why I keep doing them! LOL. Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteIt looks like a nice place to run. I plan to try a few new places myself this summer to stay motivated.
ReplyDeleteMe again...I just noticed you are running the Chicago rock and roll 1/2 marathon too! Myself and three of my friends signed up this week!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful area to run in. It can be tough post run. As you've said, you've done the neighborhoods and are tired of them, etc...I think your destination runs will help a lot. Something I need to start doing to get me out of the rut I fall in to.
ReplyDeleteGreat job, getting back out there!
Staying motivated is tough after a big run. The easiest way for me to do it is plan a bit of time off and, then, go after the next event.
ReplyDeletejust read your race report, congrats on a great marathon! 4/27 is my birthday and my lucky number! great time! i'm always training for something so i've never experienced the post-race blues but i know many who have! i run multiple races a year so the training surprisingly isn't as intense bc it overlaps and i don't need to run as far/as much because i'm already at that point. i don't even really view it as training, it's just my life and there is nothing else i'd rather be doing! again, congrats on a job well done!! you look SOO happy after the race! congrats!
ReplyDeleteLooks like a great path to run on!
ReplyDeleteI think it's smart to make little running trips. You have to change things up to keep going! :) Loved the pictures of the run!
ReplyDeleteGreat pics! It is nice to have a little break after a race but feels so good to get back to running again!
ReplyDeleteInteresting thoughts. I like what some of the others said. I don't have anything until Oct, so no set training until mid-July. Only time will tell how it goes.
ReplyDeleteWow what a beautiful view from your path :) To keep motivated I read runner blogs, tehe, and look at the websites of the races I'm training for to remind me there's something coming up.
ReplyDeleteWhen I am stuck in a rut, I sign up for a race, gives me no choice whether I am motivated or not, I have to train.
ReplyDeleteI felt the same way once my first half was over. I need to sign up for another one otherwise I feel like I have nothing to work towards. It is nice though, to have the luxury to run whenever I want and for how long I feel like.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely finding new routes is fun, but also just running an old favorite in reverse can be good.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of new routes. I'm still really new to the whole running thing, but for me, it's aaaaall about the music. Keeping a fresh mix of tunes on my shuffle really keeps me moving. ;P
ReplyDeleteRae
xo
February is THE WORST for me. Finding something semi-decent to watch during all the treadmill runs is the only way I can get through it.
ReplyDeleteTrying a new route is a great idea! The parks sound like nice running destinations.
ReplyDeleteGoals, new routes, and great weather keep me motivated :)
ReplyDeleteHey! I have been meaning to ask you, when you did the princess run in Florida, were the rooms crazy expensive? Where did you stay?
Congratulations Running Diva Mom on your strong marathon finish! Good job!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your marathon recap and photos.
Funny, I just posted about this. But, I'm not doing a good job with keeping myself motivated - and I even have a race coming up!!!
ReplyDeleteBut, like all things, it will pass.