Motivation

Motivation is fading again.
Weight loss is nice. You feel healthy. People compliment you. You get complacent.
One rest day between workouts becomes one week between workouts and then it stops altogether.
Part of my problem is that I don’t have an immediate fitness goal on the horizon. Races are great motivators because you have a schedule to meet your goal. My next half-marathon in in November and I start an early training for that in mid-June. I am having a hard time completing my maintenance runs.
I have decided to add some more cross-training in the mix to keep me interested, but even that is tough to get motivated for.
Last weekend I had the house to myself (and the cats). I was able to get some work done, some studying done (technical certification may be in the future) and some housework done. However it was impossible to accomplish any kind of aerobic activity.
I had a simple plan, do a run one day and maybe a body pump class.
Saturday it rained in the morning. I was unwilling to do a rainy run (plus I had to carry my work pager with me) so bodypump it was. I went to the website of my gym to confirm the time of class and the website was completely down. I had no idea when the class started that morning. A motivated person would go to the gym anyway and take advantage of the treadmill or elliptical to get in their exercise. I decided to sit on the couch and watch movies during that rainy morning. The rest of the day was spent doing the activities I listed above (but I did go trim the bushes outside for a while when the rain stopped – that is sort of like exercise?).
Sunday a similar situation was unfolding. I woke up. I knew it was time for a run but I didn’t feel prepared for it (It has been 3-4 weeks since my last long run). I was on the verge of bailing out again but I couldn’t. The weight seems to be creeping back on and I desperately crave the energy I get from exercise. I set out to do only 4 miles and I was going to let myself walk the whole thing if I needed to. Anything to just get started.
We had another one of our perfect Florida weather days. It was sunny and around 70 degrees. It was perfect running weather. It is very odd for this time of year but I soak it in. The run feels mostly effortless. I not only run 6 miles, I add in a bridge to do some hill training.
The next day I attend that bodypump class. Usually I leave around the lunge time (because lunges are invented by Satan). I actually stay throughout the class and don’t do bad considering my last class was months ago.
Am I back on the exercise train? Time will only tell. I am planning the rest of the week of activities. I hope my motivation shows up as well.