Find motivation. That is one of the biggest challenges in the life of an athlete. Motivation to get out. Motivation to train. Motivation to push those intervals. Motivation to race hard. The thing is, that there can be multitudes of motivations for one. Secondly, motivation can be totally something else than trail running. For me that is actually working.
I of course have the basic stuff totally imprinted in my heart. I just cannot live without being in nature. I mean, really, I need that dose of forest, river, rocks and roots, champignons and trees, animals running around. I absolutely love, do, enjoy, search and travel to the mountains. I however am not as fascinated by the mountains as Killian or other Alpinist. I also am not as fascinated and motivated to go to places that nobody went. Understanding our own selves is crucial to not to fake our goals, motivation, to not to force something on ourselves that is not true to us.
I was trying to find out for a long time why I love trail running so much. And it is actually not trail running what I like. It is movement and nature. Connected is the best, but separated is nearly as good. If I did a fantastic workout at home of kettlebells and maces, then ate and went for a nice walk along the local river, while the actual passing emotions might be different, the final nervous, bodily, soul recharge is the same. I just need movement and nature, that is it. My monkey wants it needs it. I don't try to resist it. My wife don't force me against it, because subconsciously I am not a good human if I did not have that daily those. Since I have found it out, that this is my personal calling, like to survive this current life and to try to be good at it, I need that daily dose. I kind of was doing that always, but never was conscious. After vacations in the mountains or forests I might have felt good for a couple of weeks, but was back in to a routine. After weekend hikes, I was often great till Tuesday, but the rest of the week was spent searching for an out. Then when I have found endurance, including running and cycling, living anywhere, made possible to be out in nature. Since 2006 or around I started being really conscious about getting my those and since then, I absolutely had zero relapse. Ever !
I often ran 14km on the concrete, just to run 10more kilometers on the trails, then 14 back home. Even in Dublin, I prolonged my run by 4km to go to work, just to run through the Phoenix Park, to see the deer and rabbits in the forest. When was cycling or cycling to work, I often took gravel roads, to really be away to all sorts of human noise and it was well before gravel. Tour de France riders have been adopting 25/28mm tyres for a long time, but in 2005, I was already looking for bikes with clearance to run 28s and 32 so I can go on more crappy roads. Gravel riding was nowhere to hear yet around !
Secondly, there is the daily motivation. Rain, snow, mud, dirt wind, cold, thunder, sun, family, emotions and more stuff to stop you. So that sort of motivation, to work against those negatives should come from elsewhere, then simply enjoying the presence of trees and bees.
I know for instance, that I never have felt dissatisfied after getting either out, or to move. It of course happened, that I felt worst after than before. So many times. But the satisfaction is always there. The bodily and mental work is always there. Maybe the thank you from mind and muscle comes only in the future, but it is there.
Then, what is crucial and absolutely crucial, is clothing. Without clothing and correct gear, you can be as motivated as you want, the will power will be frozen or get burnt out of you. We talk about daily and work clothing. If you are slightly chilled all day long, well, it will be hard to get out any time. If you were having good layers, home or office well heated, running clothes appropriately chosen, then it will be easier to go out.
Of course, motivation is also a simple biochemical reaction in the body and mind. I say also and simple, that is not that simple, cause, somebody can have or have not the motivation and will or will not go out. There is no real correlation. Bit it is still biochemcial. Slept well, hydrated, fuelled up, prepped and warmed up ? How enormously easier to get out the door !
Warming up ! Once you are warmed up, you get out easier. Fuelled up and warmed up, you can get out even without appropriate clothes. I had many runs in 3°C Drizzle and cold wind in t-hsirt and shorts. I popped in gel. Had a great mobility session than a dynamic warming up making all my joints hot, muscles loose and low back and spine activated. Then went and hammered a 40min 10km on trails. Why this is necessary ? Well, cross country races or some trail running races are so hard, so brutal, that if you don't train time to time race specific, you'll get left behind on the course. If you did put on a second layer sometimes even a just an arm warmer, you would be over heated. I had races with 2°C, pouring rain and wind and still was running in t-shirt alone and during the final 2km I gave my cap to the coach, cause I was over heating, because of a simple hat. Of course, to create body heat this way, you need fuel. That is not going to really happen on a morning fasted run.
There can be race or performance motivations too. But I find that it is superficial. Beat other humans, or look for the adrenalin of racing on the front is something that fades. Community motivation is a thing, but if you needed every time a group or others to get out or to run, well, that might be not your thing at all. It is not sustainable for you. You'd better do something like gym training, volleyball or billiard, where you are surrounded by others.
Just like other things in life, like owning a house vs an apparetment, having or not having animals, having a kid also, working for sustainable living, or spending money constantly, living in a city, metropolis, village or total isolation. All these are choices, callings, nature. Running and trail running is the same. It is normal that is not for everybody.
When I hear something like that, I used to be running in my 30s. That is not so bad, 10 years. Then of course it continues, I was always injured, I ran two marathons, etc etc. So it is not actually in your 30s, but you ran for 4 years, around 800 hours in total and you finished dissatisfied two marathons. The thing is that this is actually quiet bad for the sport. Great for sporting business, cause the messes are there and also pushing the development of gear and shoes and stuff, but bad for the environment and bad for the racing too. I mean when you sign up for a race of 20km with 1000m of elevation gain, people running over 3hours have nothing to there. First of all it is not fun for anybody. Not even for them, not for the organisers, not for the nature. They are there just to eat, have a laugh and do a little hike. Did not train or train well, did not prepare in advance. They bought their shiny gear came in and participated. They could do a hike instead on any other weekend !
They have their right of course. It is just, that it is polluting the souls of the others. It is sort of taking away from the real lovers of the sport. And most importantly, they are raping their own souls !!! They might be way more attracted to totally other sort of , not even endurance related activities or not even sports. But, they saw all that shiny gear, GPS watches, compression sleeves, foldable poles, sunglasses and they were sold. I want to look like a ninja too ! First of all you cannot even run in sunglasses ! Unless you jog very easily, without bouncing, sweating on non technical terrain, you just cannot. Compression sleeves, well, if you have to put them on every time you run, if not you would be injured, you are surely not interested in your sport, to learn how to run, how to be efficient, activate the muscles or to know how a muscle is working. Why not choose the calling of your soul, the real meaning of your life right away ?
Anyway, you need to find motivation in one of these ideas and more to be able to fulfil your dreams. I don't have personally dreams or wish-listes or anything. I want to be enjoying myself out daily with me, or my family and later on I might have a dog too, that can also enjoy being out in the local forest and mountains.
Just like that. A Hungarian Vizsla !!!
No comments:
Post a Comment