Running

If your not feeling like your quite doing enough your probably doing it right. You can't over taper in just a week but you can certainly over train. Take it easy but keep moving. Early nights and stay well hydrated then @doubleodavey go after it 🏃🏻‍♂️💪

Really really struggling with motivation at the moment. I'm doing a silly challenge this year where every month we add 5km to a run, so this month I should have done a 45km run. But I just haven't been able to face it. Most of the time I can't even face a 4.5km run. My day consists of: wake up early - doom scroll in bed - eventually get up and rush to get to work - work 12 hours - go home - feed cats - eat dinner - doom scroll a bit more - lie awake in bed feeling anxious.
It's just so frustrating as I have time (I could cut out the doom scrolling! some of it anyway) and it would help me sleep better and feel less anxious (plus the weather is finally nice for running) but the last few times I've run, I've just ... stopped.
Anyway I don't really have a question, I'm just feeling pissed off about it and wanted to vent here. As you were.

work 12 hours

I think I've found your problem.

We all lose our mojo from time to time, you've recognised you want to change so that's a good first step! You could try mixing things up a bit like doing some intervals or something where you just do what your watch says and don't have to think about it?

Try not to guilt yourself re. distance.. a run is a run.. my mental health seems to be improved if I’m running regularly regardless the distance.
When I have a long run on my mind that I know I ‘should’ be doing it makes me anxious and I find reasons not to go out.

the 12 hour work days will put a dampener on most other things

Trivial change, but leave the phone charging in another room. I sleep and get up more quickly when the phone isn't a couple of feet away. If you need an alarm clock, buy a cheap one

And to echo smithchild - try not to focus on the 45km you've not done (which is, by most measures, a tough challenge even if you're well rested and stress free). If it's not something you're in the right place to do then it's just going to add a bit more stress. After a couple of years of long distance / Ironman triathlon then I still feel I 'should' be doing more even though I don't have any races in the calendar and don't intend to do another IM. That's in spite of cycling a few times a week, running a few times a week, going to the gym a few times a week and trying to rehab a back injury. It's not helpful.

Focus on the sleep - get any little 'hacks' (phone in another room etc.) to try and make good habits easier to follow. If there's any way you can take a few hours back from work each day then that'd make the world of difference. And otherwise just run when you can and don't worry about when you can't. It'll come back.

I agree that you can only really do too much at this stage. On the other hand it's good psychologically to keep ticking over, and also as @juanito suggests, throw in some MP to remind yourself what the pace feels like.

My schedule looks like:
Today: jog 5 mile round trip to Decathlon to pick up some gels
Wed: 6M incl. 3M @ MP (the only run this week quicker than easy pace)
Thu: rest or 5M easy
Fri: either 4M easy or might cycle to Expo (8M) and not run
Sat: rest? 3M easy? See how I feel when I wake up.

Early nights and stay well hydrated

Oh yeah, and definitely this! I've already bargained with MrsPub that I'm not getting involved in the 10pm/1am/4am baby feeds for two nights before the race. Hopefully the extra kip will be like a shot of EPO. :)

I did 3.25 miles last night
5 with 2x1 mile @ MP today
weds nothing
thurs 3 mile easy
friday taking three kids to softplay (not exactly rest)
saturday 2 miles and a load of walking
sunday - 105.5 laps of Walthamstow track on my own

I've been trying to get early nights, but got woken up by a drunken partner at 1.30am and couldn't sleep again until around 4.30.

Good luck at London @PhilPub and cheers for the advice from everyone else.

I'd like to think I can improve on my 9 year old 3.10 PB, but I'm quite a lot older and wearier and have a three young kids now. We'll see.....

and a load of walking

hmm - I'd be more wary of that than the 2 miles. Saturday should be mostly feet up

I'm marshalling at a XC league race - hopefully not too much. Noted though

And it's my niece's fifth birthday at the Park. Hmmm.

Do we have a list with people’s Strava aliases? Would be good to live vicariously through those running London marathon (plus anyone else really) .. if I knew how to start a list I’d think about starting one.

There's the lfgss run club group on strava... would that work?

https://www.strava.com/clubs/lfgss_run

My marathon will look a bit like this

1 Attachment

Count to 20. It feels like forever

You're the local nutter on... :)

I've already amended my final week taper plan. CNBA running to Decathlon in cold rain yesterday so it's gone down as an extra rest day.

Started putting on weight and getting sadder so back to running for me, quite excited about it. Something to put energy into.
Vague goals are to build up distance to a comfortable 20k again, and to figure out running with my dog.

5 miles this morning. This is my kind of weather lovely and bright but nice and cool, but not too cool.

This is a very good idea. Sleep has always been a problem for me and I'm not helping it by having terrible habits. I have one of those sunrise alarm clocks so I will leave the phone in the other room and try to wake up to the alarm clock instead (I also have two cats so it's not like I have a chance of sleeping in, ever). Cutting down the work day is the dream but tricky at the moment - I have a week off next week though so will try to use that time to refresh and reset.

How do cats stop you sleeping

By waking you up.

Can they be kept downstairs with doors closed?

1) Depends on whether you have a downstairs or not
2) Depends on whether you can handle incessant loud meowing
3) Depends on whether you can handle spiteful damage to your property

Oh you sweet innocent thing.

1) Depends on whether you have a downstairs or not
2) Depends on whether you can handle incessant loud meowing
3) Depends on whether you can handle spiteful damage to your property

1) None.
2) The cats only live with me because when they were strays they miaowed so loudly that no one could bear it anymore. They have destroyed the sound insulation around the door.
3) See above. On the plus side, there's not all that much left to destroy in the house.

And this is the thing that cat owners don't get...its still totally worth it.

Must admit though, I have been sleeping better since ours died!