I am posting for the first time on this site because I'm so interested in this discussion.  Of course you don't know me or vice versa, so drop-kick my thoughts if I'm way off. Here goes. It's probably good advice to look at what else is happening in your life.  But I think the more likely answer is that you are, down deep, bored with running because you have proven your point.  Laying your running clothes out the night before could either be brilliant planning and positive self-enabling or it could feel (rationally or not) like the essence of crushing predictability, akin to putting your breakfast on the table at sunset and staring at it all night before eating it.  I would guess that the ice cream attacks are a way of fighting back against a routine that has started to feel constrained, or creating a crisis to manufacture a "should" because you no longer see running as a "want." Running is more, well, linear than other sports to begin with; in fact, though, I think most any activity could grow stale after years of building success, surprising and impressing yourself as  you seem to have done. You have a lot to be proud of, really more than very many other people.  I think you can declare victory and march away with your head up. Tell yourself you have rounded all the bases in running, or maybe that you are taking a year-long running sabbatical.  Find new challenges in other sports.  Then maybe you will run occasionally to serve those other sports, or maybe you won't; maybe you'll go back to running refreshed and reinvent your bond with running, or maybe you won't.  Running is a wonderful thing, but not the only wonderful thing.   There are lots and lots of ex-runners out there who are genuinely more fulfilled doing yoga or cycling or paddling or swimming, no hard feelings.  I am inspired by all that you've achieved in running whether you continue with it or not.  You won.

I'm a 54y-o runner and I'm empathetic with your plight.  What works for me is:

- first and foremost: goals.  Set 'em and challenge yourself to beat them.

- new music (I recently got re-energized with "club disco" mixes (Pandora internet radio is great).

- new places and routes to run (my old neighborhood routes were knocking the drive out me).

- running buddy or groups (wow, what a difference that made for me!).

Don't quit - don't ever quit!!  One of my goals is to run a HM in under 2hr when I'm 70 (I got beat by a 70y-o lady on my first HM).

best!

There have been many replies with great advice, Kegan!  I'm a PhD student in Positive Developmental Psychology and one area I research is "flow". Flow in running is sometimes referred to as "runner's high".  You know, that feeling when you are having a good run and you just lose track of time and the world around you?  Suddenly you are farther down the path than you realize, you are tooling along at a good pace and just loving life?  That is flow....  It has a lot of benefits, both performance-wise and psychologically, and for many it is what brings them back to the run over and over again.  For me, it is what keeps me sane in the rest of my incredibly busy life: knowing I will have a great run every morning and experience flow; the combination helps me think more clearly, solve problems, write better, experience less reactivity to stressful situations..... on and on .......  So, when I started getting seriously involved in my research on 'flow', I stopped experiencing it in my runs (typical: when you think about being in flow, you can't do it).  It ruined running for me for an entire semester...  then I decided to just chill, stop seeking flow or timing my runs and just go out and enjoy the scenery.  I switched from running streets to trails and left my watch at home.  It was tough, but after a week or so, flow came back and so did the pleasure of the run. 

The point I am trying to make is this: sometimes we get so caught up in 'thinking' about our runs (flow, performance, etc) that we lose the joy of the experience.  It's extrinsic motivation vs. intrinsic motivation.  If you started running because it felt so good (intrinsic motivation) and then you suddenly began focusing too much on your pace or your mileage in preparation for a race (extrinsic motivation), you may lose the joy of the run.  The greatest things in life are those with intrinsic motivations.... so leave your watch at home, take a new route and look around at the scenery- whether it is sunny and green, hot and brown or raining... find the beauty in it and your mojo just might sneak back into your runs!!

My 2 cents...

Chris Weinkauff

Dog-lover:  I'm glad to hear this new approach is working for you.  After I posted my thoughts, I realized I should have gone a step further when discussing taking the watch off.  You hit the idea, though:  if you are still pursuing a personal goal, you need the watch sometimes and using it for pacing in repeats or speedwork is the best time to put it on, while leaving it at home on the longer runs. 

Csikszentmihalyi's book you are reading is a good one- he has written several for different audiences and with different perspectives on flow. He founded the idea of flow and it is a wonderful phenomena.  Dr. Csikszentmihalyi is my research adviser, which is such an honor!     If you would like to talk about the book, or the topic, just hit me up! 

Chris

I am new to running and feel like I am losing my mojo too. I am not sure if it is the weather, because I feel roasted half way through my run. My runs and workouts are turning into "I must do them or my level of fitness will decline" rather than "I want to do them because they are fun". I am getting frustrated with the aches and pains am developing, the lack of progress in my pace and the extreme fatigue. The problem is that I am so afraid of taking a break, and then losing the ability to run again. I used to workout everyday of the week with one day break, and now it is dwindling down to 3 times a week..what is going on?

Yes, I am losing the ability to get in a state of flow with every workout. Yes, I feel that my life was so constraint with what I should and should not eat and declining all social activities because I have to get my workout in. I did everything that people do to keep themselves motivated: have a running group to meet up, I signed up for a weekly track training and vary my workout. I just stay home and apologize and make up excuses.

I am not sure what is going on with me either, and how long this phase will take too!!

Curlytrot,

I really like Chris's advice to maybe go back and ask yourself why you started running in the first place.  I love running very much and it fits perfectly into my life..... right now!  Life has a way of changing things up on us and making the choices we make more complicated than we can sometimes handle.  I usually train twice per day 4-5 days per week and then do my  normal weekend long runs.  People often ask me how I can do that and I tell them.  Right now in my life I have time and I enjoy this hobby very much.  I also explain that when I was younger ( I'm 53 now) there was no way I would have been able to commit that much time to running.  If I had tried I would have burned out very quickly.  Raising kids, working longer hours, fixing up the house and staying connected with family and friends can pretty much take up all your time.  When I was in my early 30's I spent one summer running with a goal of running a sub 40 min 10k. I made it down to 42 min, then burned  out and quit running altogether for nearly 20 yrs.  I guess my point in all this babble is that sometimes balancing our busy lives can be hard, we set out to start a hobby like running with low expectations only to start setting goals and expectations that just require to much effort and to much time.  We burn out!!  Maybe running and general fitness aren't really the problems at all, maybe your busy life combined with high expectations are causing you to lose your enjoyment from running.  There are times that I start feeling the "Have to's" rather than the "Want to's" and those days I just try to figure out why I'm going out.  I usually end up getting past it and actually do the run and end up feeling great about it but sometimes I just take the day off and try to remind myself that this is not a life or death decision and one day doesn't make or break my goals or my training.  Some days really are a struggle but I believe if you truly enjoy running you'll end up finding the proper balance and get your mojo back.  Sometimes finding that balance takes feeling the big highs and the big lows.

Good luck and hang in there!   I truly hope you find your mojo again!

Pete

Chris, Pete and Akaerock,

Thank you guys so much. Your advice is tremendously helpful. I decided to take off this entire weekend, and get back on the wagon when I feel like I miss running. I doubt it will take too long!!

I want to reflect for as long as I can on my motivations, and the way I have been training while doing other forms of exercise.

Thanks again!

Q