I think it’s pretty common amongst runners that from time to time we lose our mojo. You know, our zest for running. Our spark. Our drive. Our motivation to don our running shoes and head out the door to hit the road, or treadmill, or the trails, or wherever else our feet want to take us. Ever since the Miwok 100k race ended, I experienced a different lack of mojo – my writing mojo.
And it’s not like I had a lack of things to write about! For whatever reason, the words wouldn’t come or if they did, I didn’t feel like firing up the computer and typing them up. But I have things to say! I would tell myself. This is true. My list of things to write about is growing. But that didn’t seem to help.
After a big race where months were spent preparing for it, the post-race blues can set in. Somehow we’re trying to keep those feelings we received from the race going, and running becomes something we have to do. Well I don’t know about you, but when faced with something I have to do, like pay bills, it doesn’t become fun.
It’s like we see people run, and post all about their fabulous, and sometimes tough runs on the social media, and it all sounds so good and enticing, but then when it comes to us, the feeling is lost. This is what I’ve been feeling when it came to writing. I mean, I could’ve wrote my race recap for Miwok in a day or two but it took me six days to write it up. Why? Because I just wasn’t feeling the writing vibes.
Even as I write this I’m not exactly sure where this post is going, but that’s okay. I started, and sometimes that’s all it takes to help get the mojo back. And I’m talking any kind of mojo. Even the running mojo.
So, here are three things I’m implementing to get the mojo back, and they might help someone else:
1. Start small
Did you know there are certain word counts to be considered a successful blog post? A range where more people gravitate to reading it. Yeah, I didn’t know that either, but I don’t really adhere to it because even if one person reads a post, I call that a success. And that’s how we should treat a run when we’re not feeling it.
Start off with a short run, like a 10 or 15 minute run. Yes, for most people that’s one whole mile, and for a very small group, it could be closer to three. After 10 minutes, reassess. You just might find yourself saying “10 more minutes” and if not, that’s perfectly alright. Call that a success!
Every time I write I’m going tell myself, this is a 10 minute post. Whoa, now I have an idea!
2. Spruce things up
I’ll be honest, I’ve been tinkering with the idea of changing up the look of this blog. It happens every year or so, and while I haven’t completely decided to dive into the task of a blog facelift, I haven’t completely ruled it out either.
– Anyhoo, changing up running routines and routes can have an enormous impact on getting the running mojo back. Are you mostly a road or treadmill runner? Venture outside even more and find some trails nearby. No, trails? That’s ok. Move the incline dial away from zero and jack it up to double digits, or find some gnarly hills you can hike up.
– Music is a powerful motivator too. Put on some new tunes or podcasts you’ve never listened to. I can suggest one I particularly like.
– Check the wardrobe. Something as small as a new running top can jazz you up.
– Finally, maybe it’s time for some new kicks. If you buy some new running shoes, you’re more likely to take them out and not have them sit still in the closet collecting dust. Unless these shoes are horribly painful to wear. In that case, take them back to the store and if not, set fire to them.
3. Take a break
Whenever we do something consistently and intently with high intensity (even if we don’t think we are), we can also suffer burnout. I sure know this happens to me whenever I’ve been training for a long time.
And I find it happens more often when I race hop. You know hop from race to race to race with no sufficient break in between them. You know those voices, if I don’t have a race, I won’t run! I feel like with that mindset the motivation is simply getting to that next race, and that becomes more about the destination than it is about the journey.
Ok, I’m going off on a slight tangent here because of all the ways to get running mojo back, I’ve seen it time and time again the advice is to sign up for a race. And here’s my thing, I’m not going to sign up for a race just so it can get me to run. Running should be something I want to do. Not something I have to do. Of course, I always love saying running is something I GET to do. Yep. That works better in motivating me to get out the door on tough days when I don’t feel like doing so. I get to run. And I also get to write! So there. It works!
But, if that’s not helping then maybe that’s a sign a break is needed.
I want to write for a long time because I absolutely enjoy it. Whether it’s through this blog, or in my personal journal, or though some other avenue, I’ll always write because it helps get all words stuck in my head out of my head. But there are times I take breaks from it and it helps me to reset my purpose for writing in the first place.
As runners I feel like that’s something we should do as well. There are times when we need to stop for a moment and take the time to find out what we want to do next. A short (or long break) from running, or from whatever it is, can be the very thing that brings us right back to it.
Thanks for reading!
p.s. This post definitely took longer than 10 minutes to write. 🙂