How to stay motivated and avoid burnout
If you've struggled with motivation and/or burnout , read on...
WEEKLY WISDOM: WATCH OUT FOR THE BOOGEYMAN
Running is a sport that can be very physically and mentally demanding, requiring lots of time, hard-work, and dedication. For many of us, training involves hitting one-two workouts, a long run, and easy runs every week for months on end. On top of the training itself, we might be doing supplemental work like daily mobility (foam rolling, full body mobility / yoga, etc.) and massage (or self-massage), strength training, and prioritizing good quality sleep and a healthy diet, all of which require sacrifice. Turns out, all of this work is asking a fair amount from our bodies and minds!
Unfortunately, when we put this physical and mental stress on ourselves, there always comes the risk of physical and/or mental burnout, as well as loss of motivation. I have experienced these things to some degree many times in my last twelve or so years of competitive running. From these experiences, I have learned what it takes to continue training at a high level while avoiding loss of motivation and/or burnout.
BURNOUT. WHAT IS IT? WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE?
Burnout is a common experience amongst runners, often caused by overtraining, which is very much so NOT fun. Runners Connect describes it as the following…
Burnout is difficult to define because it can take on so many forms. Burnout can happen in the physical manifestation of chronic fatigue, or anemia as the result of overtraining or can simply be the feeling of mentally “checking-out” or feeling stale in training before the big day.
More simply put, if you’ve ever felt “bleh” for an extended period of time in training (e.g. a week or more), it’s likely that you’ve experienced burnout in some form or another. It is the bane of competitive running.
TAKING THE PROACTIVE APPROACH
Obviously, we’d rather you never experience burnout and/or loss of motivation in the first place, so here’s what you can do to stay on top of this:
First things first, if you don’t have any goals or events to look forward to, what are you doing!?
Take some time to write up goals, both process and outcome, that you want to accomplish from the next block of training. Without any goals and/or a sense of purpose, you’re not setting yourself up for success. Those hard weeks will become even harder as you’ll have nothing to lean on. The power of purpose is immeasurable in life.
Do yourself a favor: find some races (if that’s what you like) and slap ‘em on your calendar.1 You won’t regret it.
I’d also recommend you have long-term goals, or things you want to achieve in a year, two years, three years, or even more (e.g. qualifying for the Boston Marathon).
Incorporate workouts that you enjoy from time to time, even if they’re not necessarily “optimal” for your goals.
Scatter these “fun” workouts every two to three weeks, or simply as needed. This could mean track 400s (hell yeah), ladder workouts (meh), long tempos (ew), fartleks (yes, please), hill repeats (bingo, baby), or whatever else your heart desires. Ultimately, if you’re not having fun with the training, then what’s the point?
For me, I LOVE doing faster work on the track ranging from 200-800 meters per repetition. A workout like this would get me RILED up…
6x800 at 10k pace w/ 200 jog, 400 jog, 4x400 at 5k-3k pace w/ 200 jog, 400 jog, 4x200 at mile-800 pace w/ infield walk.
Plain, simple, and straight up EPIC.
If you don’t consciously know what that fun workout is for you, think of what gets you excited, or at the very least, something you never dread (lol). Those are the fun ones, baby.
Keep your goals at the forefront of your mind.
Continuously remind yourself of why you’re putting in all that hard-work in training. When times get tough, having these goals to fall back on can keep you motivated and allow you to push through, reaching new heights.
Incorporate periods of recovery in your training.
Recovery is a crucial component to training where the true gains are made. If you’re not well-rested and continue to train at a high level, you’re asking too much of your body and it WILL let you know sooner or later. Be smart. Prioritize recovery to avoid motivation loss, burnout, and injury.
This could mean taking one day off from every week and/or taking “down” weeks, characterized by reduced mileage and intensity, as needed. Personally, I’d recommend you add planned down weeks to your calendar, as otherwise you may never give yourself that opportunity to rest and absorb the training. You can always scratch the down week if, when it comes, you still feel good and want to keep the momentum going.
YOU ON THE STRUGGLE BUS?
Alright, so you’re currently struggling with motivation and/or burnout. Here’s what you can do to combat this:
Remind yourself of what got you into the sport and how you fell in love.
It can be easy to get a cloudy mind as you go through the motions of training, losing purpose and enjoyment.
Take some time to rest and recover.
This could mean only a day off up to months off. It’s whatever amount of time you need for your body and mind to be feeling sharp again.
I always say that it’s time to get back into training after a few days off of feeling excited to run again.
OR, this could mean taking the next week of training to run extra short and easy (like an exaggerated down week), then seeing how you feel from there. If after that easy week, you feel much better, it’s safe to begin gradually getting back to your normal mileage and intensity over the next few weeks.
Run with others!
It sounds simple, but running with people and forgetting about pace and/or time can help a lot, both from social and recovery aspects. There’s a lot of research behind the recovery benefits of being social.
I hope you’ve gained some valuable insights from this post on how to avoid loss of motivation and/or burnout.
If you have further questions, please ask me of course! See my contact information at the bottom of this post; I would love to help.
Next up on All Things Running… The importance of base-building: Setting yourself up for success.
SUPPORT ME
Follow me on my other media:
If you want personalized coaching and/or training advice, I’d be happy to help. You can email me at jacobreesmontgomery@gmail.com or send me a direct message on Instagram.
I’m looking at you, David… :)