Running low on motivation

Every morning I wake up with the same way.  My alarm goes off (barking dogs!) and my immediate thought is "Oh man, why do I have to get up and do XXX?"  (Actually, more accurately, every morning I wake up at least once or twice before my alarm goes up and wonder why there's a dog leg or head on me, or why I'm so hot/cold, or why I just had a dream about snakes and rats.  Then, I fall back asleep and my alarm wakes me up.)

Lately, it's been "Why do I have to wake up and go running?"

As for running?  Since I'm training for a half marathon (maybe two - I'm still undecided), that basically means run, run, run.  I get one rest day and one cross training day a week, and the rest of the days are dedicated to running. 

I like running and all, but I also like lots of other stuff.  I like lifting weights and rollerblading and biking and doing short, difficult workouts.  I like mixing things up.  

I don't like doing the same thing over and over again. (Isn't the definition of insanity doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results?)

My body also doesn't like doing the same thing over and over again.  When I run a lot, my hips get tight (pigeon pose is my bff) and my knees ache (yay for 3 ACL surgeries) and my plantar fasciitis acts up (seriously the worst thing ever). I get tired and cranky and my motivation goes from questionable, at best, to non-existent.

But, I've already signed up for the race. I've committed to doing it with my husband and sister and her boyfriend and some other friends.  

So, how do I force myself to get up and get my runs in and not bitch and complain too much?

I hold myself accountable.  I put my workouts in my calendar and set an alert for them.  I check in with my sister during the week and tell her how my runs went (or didn't) and what I did to cross train. 

I look on the bright side. I tell myself that training for a marathon during the summer means that I get to run outside in the morning before the neighborhood has woken up, watching the sunrise over the city.  It also means that I get to do long, leisurely stretching sessions and have a legit excuse to take baths. 

I get a buddy.  While I generally don't like running with people, my sister runs at about the same pace that I do and doesn't like to talk on her runs either.  So, I do most of my long runs with her.  It makes me push myself to give it my all and not let my sister beat me. 

I reward myself. I know it defeats the whole purpose of running, but I'm not at all opposed to telling myself that I can have a yummy treat once I finish the run.  This is how I end up eating half a package of TJ's chocolate covered peanut cups at like 7 a.m.  It's also how I end up eating half of the crap that my dad regularly stocks at his house.  I'm not ashamed to admit that I have housed a box of Entemann's devils food cake donuts over the course of a weekend.  (I also do things like get massages after particularly rough weeks or buy a new shirt or take a nap.)

I talk to myself.  Sometimes in my head, sometimes out loud like a crazy person.  My recent favorites are "Come on, Crudele.  You can do this." And "Only XX minutes more.  You can do anything for XX minutes."  I've also been known to change the words to songs that I'm listening to.  I wanna rock quickly becomes I wanna run. 

I listen to my body. If I'm supposed to do a tempo run and my body just isn't feeling it, I slow down and just run for time or for mileage.  If I need to cut a run short, I cut a run short.  I figure it's better than nothing, and it's better than hurting myself or burning out.  I also do the opposite - if I'm feeling great and want to go a bit longer or a bit faster, I let myself. 

And sometimes, I just flat out cheat. Or skip a run.  Or a few.  Or do a few push ups and stretch and call that my workout for the day.  

Then I go enjoy a nice bath and nap and chocolate-y snack.  I totally earned it.