Lost interest in running

Apologies if there's already a thread devoted to this subject, but...

I've completely lost interest in running. Until last year, I would do 25-40 miles a week and would always be on the look out for new races to enter. However, after a lot of injuries last year, I've struggled to get back into the rhythm and now, I really can't be bothered. It's just not fun any more. I entered my favourite marathon to see if that would motivate me, but sadly, no. I managed one training run, my foot felt sore and I've never felt like training since.

I enjoyed the Olympics, but I can't say I've felt particularly inspired. I miss racing and the long Sunday morning runs, but after so many niggling injuries I just can't face going out for a short two or three miler.

I'd be interested to read about other runners' experiences of losing interest. A few years ago I'd get really frustrated if I missed more than a couple of training sessions; now I seriously can't be bothered. Do this mean I'm more or less officially retired from running (I've just hit 40!) or can I rekindle the interest somehow? Thanks in advance...

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Comments

  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭

    Sorry to hear this PJ. You can definitely get back into it though.

    First thing is simply getting to the bottom of the injuries. Is it one main area, or all over the place?  Have you had long drawn out injuries with physios involved and all of that?

    Running with friends, and not necessarily friends who were your running buddies at your peak will help. As will doing new routes, even odd distance races or offroaders. Things that have no direct comparison to the past.

  • Try something else.  Triathlons, kayaking, cycling, swimming, climbing.  There must be over 100 activities you could try.  Do one of them for a while.  Maybe you'll come back to running at a later date.

  • speaking as someone who STARTED running at 40, it's a little early to retire! i would follow both Stevie G and Faithsdaddy - do some other sport as well as running; see a proper physio to work out what's really going on with those niggling injuries; do different runs - maybe trail runs, rather than road races, which will also give you a proper "fresh air fix"; and run socially with friends...good luck!

     

  • PJ..I have been where you have are now. I gave up running for 2 years due to injuries. So I'm ow rare focusing on something else..Triathlons. I had swimming lessons and it was great learning a new sport and for the first time in ages I feel excited about running. To be fair running is my least favourite discipline but the swimming and cycling outweigh the running if you get what I mean.



    Running is still not pain free but I manage it.



    Give it go it maybe just what you need...good luck!
  • Enjoy the break you will return to it.  I have had the same thing happen a couple of times mostly with my cycling rather than running, I have however always returned with renewed vigour.

  • Read Born to Run if that doesnt inspire u nothing will! Im mad for it after only just reading it!

  • Thanks for the advice, everyone. Much appreciated!

    Running has been a huge part of my life over the last 12 years or so, but now I feel that bit more stiff and creaky (which makes me understand why footballers rarely play on past their mid-30s) and rightly or wrongly, I just think that if I go running again, I'll pick up or aggravate an injury. The strange this is though, I don't even miss running. The buzz of race day and the feeling of achievement after a 20-mile training run, yes, but not the day-to-day stuff. I thought I'd feel all tense and irritable if I had to take time off from running, but no. And perhaps that's the scary thing: I've turned into someone who doesn't have the slightest inclination to go for a run.

    To be honest, I can't see myself doing triathlons: I'm not a great swimmer, and it'd bother me if I'm not able to dry myself properly after doing the swim (too many awful memories of school swimming lessons that ended with bugger all time to get changed afterwards, and having to go back to class with the horrible feeling of a shirt clinging to wet skin). I'll look at other options, though, and have another read through Born to Run and Ultramarathon Man and all the rest. Apart from that, I'll just put my feet up for a bit...

     

  • How about weight training then?

  • PJ Claret wrote (see)

     And perhaps that's the scary thing: I've turned into someone who doesn't have the slightest inclination to go for a run.


    Everything you've described has happened exactly the same for me. I've now found a renewed interest (for now!) and it's only come about by gaining 40 lbs (eek) and becoming so unfit I wanted to change again. In other words maybe you need to become a total non runner and then remember how it used to be in order to regain that vigour? Though trust me, you'd be much better off NOT losing all your fitness if possible!

  • Thanks, lardarse! It's unlikely I'm going to gain 40 lbs (not that much, or not yet, anyway) as my appetite has gone too. (How on earth did I stomach pasta for so long?). It's odd, though. I do remember how it used to be, and I think, was that really me? Did I really get up at 5am to go running on dark, freezing cold mornings, very often in the snow? Yes, I did. Can't imagine doing that now. No waaay.

    So, become a total non runner? You gotta go there to come back...

  • Faithsdaddy wrote (see)

    How about weight training then?

    That's probably what I need, only I don't have access to a gym, which leaves me with two 4kg hand weights that belong to my wife! I'll look into it, though - I think I need something like that to get my biomechanics sorted. Like I said, I feel so stiff and creaky these days!

  • PJ Claret wrote (see)

    Apologies if there's already a thread devoted to this subject, but...

    I've completely lost interest in running. Until last year, I would do 25-40 miles a week and would always be on the look out for new races to enter. However, after a lot of injuries last year, I've struggled to get back into the rhythm and now, I really can't be bothered. It's just not fun any more. I entered my favourite marathon to see if that would motivate me, but sadly, no. I managed one training run, my foot felt sore and I've never felt like training since.

    I enjoyed the Olympics, but I can't say I've felt particularly inspired. I miss racing and the long Sunday morning runs, but after so many niggling injuries I just can't face going out for a short two or three miler.

    I'd be interested to read about other runners' experiences of losing interest. A few years ago I'd get really frustrated if I missed more than a couple of training sessions; now I seriously can't be bothered. Do this mean I'm more or less officially retired from running (I've just hit 40!) or can I rekindle the interest somehow? Thanks in advance...

    I had this problem after a period of lay-off, and was out of the sport for two years. It was only this January that I really got back into anything approaching regular training again, and I'm still not back to where I was when I had to stop. It's amazing how quickly it all falls apart and the space that you made for running in your life gets happily filled by other things so that making time and finding energy feels impossible. I think the body also tries to overrepair itself, particularly if you are low body weight, as soon as you stop, so it makes you feel like you have no energy even though you should have more than before.

    For me, setting new and different goals was really important for finally getting back into it. I set myself the goal of doing some triathlons this summer, which was good because there was variety in the training, and it was a goal that I had no expectations for except getting around as I'm a rubbish swimmer and pretty new to the bike as well. But the purpose was that it got me fit again in a way that I wasn't putting too much impact through my body.

    I'm now training for my first half marathon - again, a new target, but one that I do have an expectation for. I'm running the best over long distances that I probably ever have and it's been good motivation for me, and has worked on my base. Then I'm going to set a speed related goal for probably somewhere around February time (maybe the Southern Cross-Country Championships), and I should be back to being a nice well rounded runner ready for a great spring road racing season... that's the sort-of plan, but it's taken a long time to get to that and will be over a year of work to get myself there.

    If you still have the willingness to be a runner, you can get back, but you have to be patient and forget about everything that has happened in the past. When I started back I was upset about how slowly I was running reps in training in, so I started leaving my watch at home for the track and just trying to run with a group, or, when I did sessions alone, running off time not off distance (e.g. 6x3minutes rather than by 1km).

  • YoungPupYoungPup ✭✭✭
    PJ - there is definitely a way back, but I think it sounds like you need to work out why you want to run.



    So, why would you like to be a runner again? You say you don't miss it (much), so what's the point?



    I've had spells of upto a year or so where I didn't really run, but there was always something that made me want to start again. This varied from me being fatter than I wanted to be, me needing a release valve to deal with stress, me wanting to set my kids a good example, me missing the sense of freedom and elation I sometimes get when halfway through a lovely long run through the countryside, and so on and so on...



    The reality is the reasons why we run are individual to each of us, and it really doesn't matter what the reason is, but there has to be a reason.



    YP
  • And sometimes we don't have to enjoy it, we only have to do it, and the enjoyment will come.

    Just imagine you've got to get 20 unenjoyable runs out of the way before you start enjoying them again.  Set up a program and stick to it, crossing the runs off as you go.

  • Thanks again for all the advice!

    YoungPup wrote (see)
    So, why would you like to be a runner again? You say you don't miss it (much), so what's the point?

    The point is, I've alway enjoyed running: I feel fit, and I feel good. Running is cool. Really, I'm just trying to get it straight in my head about why I don't miss an activity that was such a big part of my life for so long. Perhaps it's just a way of avoiding the disappointments of starting training only to break down again with injuries. Maybe a bit of time off, followed by some new challenges and some new targets will help...

     

  • dancing in spikes wrote (see)

    I'm now training for my first half marathon - again, a new target, but one that I do have an expectation for. I'm running the best over long distances that I probably ever have and it's been good motivation for me, and has worked on my base. Then I'm going to set a speed related goal for probably somewhere around February time (maybe the Southern Cross-Country Championships), and I should be back to being a nice well rounded runner ready for a great spring road racing season... that's the sort-of plan, but it's taken a long time to get to that and will be over a year of work to get myself there.

    Thanks again for your advice, and good luck for the half marathon!

     

  • Hi there...Iam at that stage at the mo but it always seems to happen to me after a big race. I loose interest in running and just cant be arsed..iam still running but again its a chore.. I have entered into a 3/4 marathon in october and half completed 2 halfs already this year...any advise on gettin getting out of a rut? HELP

  • Hi PJ,

    if you search the word mojo (as in 'lost my mojo') you will see lots of threads on this, including one started by me (joined club,lost mojo).  i have had a few periods in the 5 years i have been running where i have completely lost interest.  Times have slowed and that has demotivated me even more, injuries on top have just caused a downward spiral.

    For me i just had to keep doing it.  My 10k pb is 39:30 but during a bad period recently i couldnt get near 46mins.  I kept saying 'what is the point to go out and run 46 mins +? might as well stay home' but i still went and still logged the distance and eventually things got better.

    For me it is impotant to run no matter what as i used to be quite over weight.  i know that if i stop running I will be 17 stone again in a matter of months.  i do experience peaks and troughs, at the start of the year things were tough, now they are great, who knows what next year will bring?

    the important thing is to get out the door and run, your love for it will return!

  • PJ you say you have just turned 40. This could be a good spur to rekindle your enthusiasm as you are now in the Veteran Category (I've assumed you are male), and could start thinking that you could be competitive in this age group. I didn't start running seriously until I was 40 and am now in the 60-70 category. It is the competitive aspect that keeps me motivated. I don't think that I could run to just keep fit.

  • Terence Earney wrote (see)

    PJ you say you have just turned 40. This could be a good spur to rekindle your enthusiasm as you are now in the Veteran Category (I've assumed you are male), and could start thinking that you could be competitive in this age group. 

    At 42 I always thought my best days of sport were well and truly behind me, but now you point that out, that is actually very good.

    Thank you.

  • Once again, thanks for all the advice and encouragement! So, I'm now a veteran? For heavens sake, I've only just come to terms with football commentators talking about players younger than me (Scholes, Giggs et al) as old crocks! But that's a good point, I could be competitive as a vet, providing I can rekindle some interest and avoid injuries.

    And what's a mojo, anyway? (I assume it's not those horrible chews we used to get from the local sweet shop!)

  • lol, i'm a bit younger than you but i loved mojos!

    you are showing your age if you dont know what losing your mojo is!

  • last place wrote (see)

    lol, i'm a bit younger than you but i loved mojos!

    you are showing your age if you dont know what losing your mojo is!

    I only know that mojos can be lost or found. Apart from that, I have no idea about what a mojo is. I've never heard anyone say anything else about a mojo, such as they used their mojo, or wished they had a better mojo, or that they went on holiday to Florida and saw a really big mojo.

    I'd look up mojo in the dictionary, but it's Friday and I can't be bothered.

  • There was a recording by legendary blues man Muddy Waters several years ago entitled "I've Got my Mojo Working" but it just don't work on you.

  • Mojo is a magical charm bag used in hoodoo, which has transmuted into a slang word for self-confidence, self-esteem or sex appeal

     

  • I entered my first race 27 years ago; there I have said it. 12 years....you are just a beginner! Over this time my enthusiasim has come and gone; I have entered races and just could not be arsed, got in my car and gone home... At the moment I am absolutely buzzing... have a minor injury in my calf and am climbing the walls! Have just entered my first ultra...cannot wait... I think your enthusiasim comes and goes; try a new challenge, something VERY different (Open University?). But keep a diary and a scrap book of 'stuff' numbers, medals etc. I read my diary from a few years ago and read what I was thinking then; it is brilliant!!! I remember an event on which I was a team manager; I remember it as one of the greatest experiences of my life; great fun! but at the time I wrote, "This is s**t why are you doing this? Do not EVER do this to yourself ever again" (Quote). My best motivation to get back to it is my waist line..... In a few weeks, months, years you will remember the 'good old days' with rose coloured spectacles and wonder why you ever gave up! Trust me!

  • Thanks, Sideburn. I did feel a bit of regret at the weekend when I read about someone doing a 20-mile run in preparation for the marathon I'd entered, but again, I've not felt the slightest inclination to actually get my running shoes on. I guess I'm just really surprised by how little I miss day-to-day training. I hope you're right about how enthusiasm comes and goes. This is the first time my enthusiasm has seriously gone, and I'm a bit puzzled. I'm OK about it, but puzzled.

  • I have always wondered why; I remember that my results used to go up and down with no pattern, one week great next c**p. I even used to get ribbed for it. I went well in the winter (but raced in the summer) and in the rain (but hated racing in the rain) have since discovered that I get hayfever very badly. You do not tend to get hayfever.....in the winter and when it rains.... I am sure this was part of it...

  • 6 years on.... did you ever get your 'mojo' back?? 
  • You can try little jogging everyday..But you must be involved in some kind of activity to keep yourself healthy..
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