July 26, 2019

Finding your mojo.

 

I’m a big believer in a runner having a window of opportunity for personal bests (PB’s) or Personal Record’s (PR) for my American Cousins. The window varies for each runner of course but 7-10 years is about the average when it will be possible for a runner , who trains consistently, to expect to challenge PB’s. After that,  unfortunately, Father Time dictates it’s time to readjust your goals. Instead of PB’s it could be a ‘season’s PB‘ or even add a minute or two to your PB time and set that as your goal; that way running become goal orientated instead of PB’s. More important of course is the goal needs to be achievable otherwise your running mojo soon disappears,  together with your records. We run because we love running but also because we love testing ourselves to either complete a certain distance or run that distance in a certain time. Very few runners just amble up to the start and then skip along with no thought of time or distance. (We call these people ‘joggers‘ and we shall not concern ourselves with them!)

In the picture above I was just about to break sub 3 hours for the City to Surf Marathon in 2009. This was my 10th marathon and I had been slowly whittling down my finishing time each marathon, each time closer and closer to one of the holy grails of running. Funnily enough in 2009 the full length compression tights were all the rage and I’d convinced myself they gave me a 5 minute advantage. The logic is sound with the tights helping blood circulation and thus allowing the heart to concentrate on other things, this results in a lower heart rate and thus an increased performance window for longer.  Sounded good but I could never get over the fact the lead marathon runners at the time, Kenyans, never wore them and so, after a few years,  they were consigned to only injury prevention or wearing on long flights before or after racing. I still have a pair , as well as calf socks, and will wear them when I’m feeling particularly fatigued , as an injury preventer. Every runner should have a pair of compression tights in their wardrobe.

As you can imagine 10 years ago, after breaking sub 3 hours for the marathon for the first time, me and my mojo were joined together in the search for my next PB. At that stage of my career I ran PB’s virtually every race from 5k up to ultra’s. It was exciting turning up at the start line knowing you would run faster than you had ever run before and it wasn’t a case of ‘if’ but ‘by how much’. Over the next 6-7 years I managed to continually bring down my times for all distances and,  even when I thought I had done with setting records , managed another year or two thanks to Raf and his magic training plans. ( https://therunningcentre.com.au )  Unfortunately injury came a calling in 2017 and 2018 and , although I managed so sneak in a 100k AURA age group record,  my times started to slide. No more sub 35 minute 10k’s or sub 2:50 marathons, it was back in the 35 minutes for the 10 and closer to three hours than I’d like in the full. My half times were a minute or two slower than I would target as the first half of a marathon and a sub 1:20 half became a challenge. No worries, I knew age would eventually catch up with me and two bad injuries ,back-to-back,  had given Father Time the ammunition he needed, bless him !

So what next ? Funnily enough running slower isn’t a problem. At 52 it’s expected of course but what does become harder is the ability to keep running the same weekly distances. A few years ago I’d be targeting twice a day runs , every day,  with a minimum of 130km  to 150km a week. I’m a big, big believer in distance over pace so hitting these numbers needed to be relaxing, remember if you see a rose,  stop and smell it !! This was possible initially but, this year,  even the rose smelling runs have started to test me and 5min/k’s average runs are now , sometimes, a challenge. I remember a few years ago I’d target 4min/k average as the benchmark for all my running and I achieved this more often than not ? Where have those days gone ?

Mojo wise I now struggle to find mine most days but that is not to say it is lost forever. Pre-Rottnest, in June this year, I had one Sunday training run with the boys when I was dropped at 5k and turned around, alone, to stumble back to the car. On the way back I managed to find enough juice to manage 19k for the run but it was a real struggle, again when it should had been a breeze. A week later I ran the Rottnest marathon for the 12th time and finished sub 3 for the seventh time, a new record on Rottnest. What had changed in that week ? Nothing really, a few days tapering and a few days carbo-loading put me in a position to finish strongly but with no explanation how, a week earlier, I had stumbled to a slow and painful 19k training run. Recovering from Rottnest has been as difficult as preparing with numerous runs that have been, at best, forgettable and worst career ending. Looking at my training for the last few months and its nowhere near what I once considered the ‘norm’.  To highlight the difference I’ve added my Strava ( You do have Strava right? http://www.strava.com ) history from January 2017 compared to my latest month of training.  Chalk and cheese unfortunately, training was so much easier when I was 50 ?

June / July 2019

 

January 2017. Some serious distance and some serious race results.

 

Right, to find your mojo the best thing to do is completely reset your goals. Give yourself achievable targets and run for only as long as you’re enjoying yourself. This may take the form of very small loops but anything is better than nothing. Just getting out the door is the first step because , after the first kilometre,  you’ll always be surprised how much better you feel, it’s just putting on the trainers and making that effort to open the door  and take those first steps. Rarely have I ever finished a run and thought that was a mistake.

Next it’s making yourself accountable and that can take the form of running with friends or employing a coach. Both of these demand you turn up when you say you turn up and also give you the encouragement you need to keep turning up ! (Especially when you’re paying for the attention.)  Note this doesn’t work if you’re friends with Mark Lee because he rarely turns up , probably looking for his mojo ? (Only joking tiger ….)

Buy yourself some very expensive race shoes, the Nike NextX is a good example of this. I have mine waiting for me when I eventually find my mojo. ! ?? I wish these shoes were avaialable in 2016 when I ran 2:41:xx twice. I’m positive the Nike shoes could have given me 3-4 minutes minimum which would have allowed me to easily break 2hours 40 minutes for a marathon. No worries, I’m hoping Nike invent the Vaporflys 50% which will make you 50% faster than you would be without them, then even I can break 2 hours ?

Remind yourself why you run, sounds simple but sometimes it’s the simple things that make the biggest difference. Also mix it up a bit. Tomorrow I’ve arranged to run 38k in the hills, on trails. Running on the trails reminds yourself about the pure joy of ‘just running’ , breathing in the scenery and just enjoying the pure pleasure of running, remember , simple things.  It is to be noted we are in the middle of a Perth Winter (I say ‘Winter’ in the broadest sense of the word?) but that makes a difference and on a number of occasions I have been beaten back to the couch by the cold (?) , dark nights. Not sure how’d I go if I ever returned to old ‘Blighty? Probably never run again. Running in Summer is so much easier , albeit avoiding the heat in the middle of the day, no one likes being fried alive.

 

The article below , published on the Runners World website ( https://www.runnersworld.com/uk/a775662/20-ways-runners-refound-their-motivation/ ) lists 20 reasons why a runners mojo was lost,  and then found. Worth a read…

 

I had 10 days off over Christmas – I was planning on two! I just couldn’t find the energy, but I pulled myself together and decided on January 1 to just run. It was only 5km and lashing with rain but it broke the excuses and my mojo is now back. It’s just getting out the door – give it 10 minutes and tell yourself that if you’re not feeling the love you’ll stop… bet you won’t, though!’ Karen Stanley

‘When it’s cold outside and you’ve had a miserable day it’s so easy to come in and drink a pot of tea and eat a cake. Before I knew it a month had passed with the same excuses and I was getting out of breath in the park with the dog and the kids. So one morning I set my alarm earlier, having laid out my kit the evening before. I got up and just did one mile. Wow, did I feel great that day! I decided to do three short, early runs a week and as time went by home life improved and I felt healthier and happier just for getting out there.’ Michael Bowen

 

“Hello mojo.”


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