Staying Motivated with No Races in Sight
Let’s be real – many of us stay fit because we love to race and race well. Take those races away and it can be tough to maintain motivation. I applaud people who can push themselves to high levels of fitness without racing – digging deep at the gym or on a trail just for the pure satisfaction of it. I’m married to one of those – my husband, Tim, can SPRINT on the stepmill for 30-45 minutes, sweating profusely, for no reason other than to feel fit, vital, healthy, and alive.
Unfortunately, that’s not me.
I need start lines, big challenges, competitors to push me, and people to cheer me on. Maybe it’s because Tim, is the self-confident oldest of a small, normal, loving, attentive family, and feels he has nothing to prove, whereas I’m the 8th of a big family of nine kids – the youngest girl – stilling fighting for attention and respect even as I (gulp) push 40.
If anyone out there can relate to my experience, going through a long period without racing is tough. We miss the thrill of it, the accountability of it, the celebration after it. I’ve been there – while pregnant, I was fortunate enough to be able run throughout my pregnancy BUT being able to run without the ability to race (at least not all-out) also meant I had to find motivation to get my me and my belly out of bed and onto the track or trails with no races to try win or no personal records to attempt to set.
A few ideas for getting through this weird time:
1. Compete with yourself
- Create personal benchmarks, e.j. fastest mile time or max pushups
- Do virtual races/charity challenges
2. Compete with others
- Chase local Strava segments and FKTs (Fastest Known Times)
- Go for a creative Guinness World Record
- Enlist a friend in some friendly head-to-head competition
3. Take a break from competing
- Do whatever you want to, including something new, with no agenda
- Work on mental game, flexibility/mobility/yoga
- Take an extra long off-season and focus on other priorities, guilt-free
Whichever you choose – good luck, hang in there, and have fun!
This year taught me important life lessons: believe in yourself, be patient and persistent, forgive, empower yourself, and above all, never give up on yourself and your goals.
They say “when one door closes, another one opens”…
Today, exactly one year later, I am happy and grateful to report that I just had the exact opposite experience: the fantastic CMO of MitoQ just wrote to tell me that everyone there values my partnership, and they are requesting to expand it next year!
If I hadn’t been fired by the beet juice company, which had expanded into supplements, I wouldn’t have been able to partner with MitoQ, and I would not have this fantastic offer before me, which will allow me to train better next year.
And even though at the time it was a tough pill to swallow, I’m also grateful for the lessons I learned, making me a stronger, softer, more grateful and resilient person.
One reason I crawl through mud and flip heavy tires is to prepare myself for when life throws mud in my face and when roadblocks try to stop me from forward progress…
Racing helps me establish good habits, like thinking on my feet, and choosing to get gritty when things go wrong (as they often do, like when I got post-partum depression or when Tim got cancer).
Can you relate?
I’m feeling grateful after finishing the last race of the Spartan U.S. National Series in fourth, bumping my fifth place ranking to fourth. As someone who was still pregnant two years ago at this time, I feel encouraged by my progress, and I look forward to taking this momentum into the upcoming championship season!
My sponsors deserve a shout out for their support (Clif Bar, Pure Power, and MitoQ), and YOU deserve a “thank you,” too, for sticking with me throughout my journey!
The first Spartan National Series race was a two weeks later, and even though it was the only one in which I didn’t podium, I was only fourth by a few seconds, and even though the hills felt extra hard after mainly track training, my heart soared, knowing I could still fly on a track and race OCR well (plus qualify for Ninja Warrior Vegas finals a few weeks later, too, and pace my friend for 20 miles of her top-ten Western States finish – quite the neat variety of experiences around the country)!
I felt empowered, challenging myself in new ways, and juggling so many different skill sets, but the main thing is that I loved the experiences of both the activity/sport and the communities of people I got to be surrounded by.
I finished the OCR season strong and most importantly, happy. Doing three sports that year helped me avoid emotional burnout, which can be almost worst than physical burnout.
So if you’re trying to focus on doing your best as a runner (or a triathlete etc.), but a friend asks you to hike the Grand Canyon with them, I say go for it! Your mind, heart, and spirit will thank you. And who knows? A little break from sport-specific training might be best for performing well in your main sport anyway. Either way, I see it as a lovely version of “living life to the fullest,” and if you’re like me and you value experiences over winning, then I bet you won’t regret it. I sure don’t!
Tim didn’t “rob the cradle” – I robbed the rocking chair.
It’s true – Tim, the first person I ever asked out, totally turned me down.
There was something about him that intrigued me, with his kind eyes and calming presence…
I had worked up “liquid courage” by drinking a few cocktails at the gym we worked at’s Christmas party, and, after a casual conversation with him and a fellow trainer about if they ever wanted kids, I proceeded to text him a joke about having 8 babies with him.
I wanted to feel out if he had any interest in dating me, but I was too insecure to simply say, “Hey, I’d like to go on a date with you,” even after being coworkers for many months.
He texted back, “Haha,” with no other response, so the next day I gathered courage to prod a little more and hint that I was interested in dating him. He said no, because at 25 years old to his 40, I was “too young,” and that he “loved me like a sister.”
But for some reason, I did not take no for an answer. I prodded further, saying that age is just a number and that my parents are the same age difference.
I found out that his impression of me from a mutual friend was that I was a partier, so I had to explain that, yes, when I hang out with my friends from high school, I can play a mean game of Flip Cup, but there there’s much more to me than that.
And I got mad about the whole “loving me like a sister part” – I mean, he had only known me for a few months. “How could you love me like a sister?” I asked him, annoyed.
After only knowing him for a few months, I certainly didn’t love him as much as as I love my brothers, who have been some of my best friends for my entire life.
Somehow during a couple days of email exchanges, he saw enough of my serious, fired-up side to see me as more than just an average 25 year-old, and decided I had enough substance below the surface to agree to go on a date with me. We had a blast and the rest is history.
So this Valentine’s Day and everyday, remember to look rejection in the eye, and never take no for an answer if your heart tells you not to.
Oh, and Tim Sinnett, thanks for finally giving me a chance.