I think I was a different person

This is where I’d be directing my attention. What’s changed, how I can fix it etc. It’s very easy to take our mental fitness (ie happiness) for granted but quite frankly it needs working at, just like everything else

Run, but run for a reason. An aimless 5 mile loop can be hard work, “I’m going to run to that cafe/train station/point of interest” is better to begin with.
Or as Brant touched on, just go and disappear into the woods for an hour.
And find the Running Commentary podcast. It’s a perfect companion to your runs.

Was thinking that’s a great idea about that bloke running a marathon in a day and doing all those little jobs until he shaved his beard. Maybe making a baby at the end of it makes up for it though… 🙂

If you want to try a book, have a go at Instant Motivation by Chantel Burns. It’s on Amazon, easy read, accessible, well worth a go. Good luck

Lots to digest above

Enjoyed the marathon film and makes me realise the amount of stuff I’m not doing daily ☹️

I’ll report back in any progress

overweight…drinking most days

Install an app like DrinkAware to give you a handle on how many calories you are putting in from booze (and how often). I did it after a trip to the doctors and it drove home to me how little the recommended “dose” per week is.

Have a think if there are other good habits you can gamify and see if you can find an app for them?

I don’t do self-help books but I have a feeling David Goggins’ Can’t Hurt Me is what you’re looking for. Check it out.

Personally i don’t agree that you should necessarily be fighting to get back to what you were and comparing all these stats and beating yourself up is not helping. Sometimes we change, our interests and desires change. It might be permanent or it might come and go. When i 1st got into cycling i gradually built up to doing loads of rides and a few races but now it’s dropped off and i initially would beat myself up thinking i need to improve all the time but I’ve stopped that and now levelled out with maybe one ride a week if i feel like it just to keep the endorphins and fitness going a bit and if i don’t feel like it take the dog for a long walk or go to a yoga class. A really slow medative yoga class is incredibly restorative i find. Just find something you actually want to do and stop comparing yourself to old self or others but don’t give up.

Then you’ll realise how good you have it

*edit – I’m joking, I bought this (below) and it helped in part for me to lose weight and get back out on the bike

I had a case of similar winter blues. A shot of Dry January worked wonders. Totally reset my drinking habits and felt great, now I only really have a drink on holiday or an occasional weekend away. Anyway it’s worth a shot.

If you do fancy an easy read try Dan Millmans Way of the peaceful warrior. Can’t say it’ll get you back out on the bike but it is as good read and will give a bit of a change of perspective.

A book for inspiration you want. Running related which should be good from an interest point of view.

Then this is exactly what you need.

Guy is a legend in the making. Amazing mind set. Could be the inspiration you need. If you are feeling low and not in the mood to read, get it on audio and just chill and listen.

Nearly finished “Can’t Hurt Me”

Wowzers thanks for this recommendation, the guy is a machine and a wake up call for any excuses you might make up in your head.

I also went for a pointless run just for the sake of it.

😳😳👍👍

A few random ones:

What I talk about when I talk about running

Who moved my cheese

Winterdance

Fire Season

I like adventure rider type books.

Try… http://www.jilloutside.com

Whether I’m running or riding I just love musing over a local map & then randomly exploring. it does mean you never quite know how long you’re going to be out and, particularly running, I’ve quite often ended up having to walk back because my fitness ran out. You can then enjoy reading up on local history afterwards – there’s loads of Napoleonic war prisons, deer leaps, nuclear-proof microwave radio towers and random stuff you’d never realised was out there. Which might well feed your next trip. Old man pottering, I guess. Conversely, I unexpectedly found I like the community/everyone in it together feel of a Park Run, even when I have a slow one.

#Tiger6791. Glad you enjoyed the book and found some motivation in it. I’m not a social media user, but I joined Instagram to see some of Davids motivation videos. He doesn’t disappoint. In the book he explains his difficulty in swimming and passing the swimming tests, on Instagram there is a short video of him with legs and arms bound, then throws himself into an open body of water! Lots of little motivation speeches too. Worth a visit if you enjoyed the book.

@lotto

Really did enjoy it thanks, I thought he had a screw loose for most of the book which was pretty understandable really given the 1st chapter.

Only at the very end does it seems he found peace with himself.

But yeah he pretty much quashes any ‘it’s raining and I CBA’ type excuses 😀😂👍