Road to Vietnam, Week #6: Motivation Check

Hi folks! I’m still feeling useless as last week’s illness really did a number on me. What WAS that virus?! I had a very sore throat so I had difficulty eating and drinking anything, plus a low-grade fever that left my mind in a fog when not medicated. As a result, I did absolutely nothing for training and nearly ruined my mom’s birthday getaway in Tagaytay by being too weak to go. (I went, though, propped up by Berocca and Decolgen.)

I got to talking with one of my friends who’s just gotten back into triathlon training after about three years of burnout. I asked him what kicks him into gear these days. He said he just likes the feeling of needing to move and getting happy doing it. He flipped the question back at me, and I said I just like being good at stuff.

What Motivates You?

No wonder I haven’t been happy while training lately — I am always trying to hit targets and numbers and generally “trying to be good at stuff”. Even with last week’s realization that it’s all just exercise, my prime motivator for everything I do (whether work or exercise, haha) is a drive to excel. It’s great when you want to turn out quality work, but isn’t so smart when you’re trying to regain fitness. Ilang beses na yang “too much, too soon”.

As I ease back into workouts this week, I need to be extra-conscious of overdoing it and setting myself back even further. This Type-A-ness needs to go. What happened to the Noelle who just liked running for the heck of it, and didn’t even need a Garmin her first year of running? What happened to just enjoying the feeling of moving, rather than quantifying how fast that motion is? What happened to “I’m just thankful I can swim, bike, and run”?

I would like to start from that point of being happy to move. Can you help me, too?  I’ve cultivated this image of being a very fit person, always on the go, always fast and competitive… Almost like a fitness robot. But I’m only human. 🙂

About Noelle De Guzman

Noelle De Guzman is a freelance writer and recreational athlete with over 12 years of experience in fitness and endurance sport. She believes sport and an active healthy lifestyle changes lives.

11 thoughts on “Road to Vietnam, Week #6: Motivation Check

  1. I too run by the numbers and driven by the need to excel, but after 5 years I realized that there is much more to it. Still passionate about running but much more wiser now.

  2. I’m on the other side of the coin who just go for a run and log some mileage… and pray to finish a sub2 haha!

  3. Three years I was where you are now. Then I turned 40. Then I realized my joints and muscles had taken about 60 years’ worth of damage. So I dialed back, picked up long-distance mountain hiking, went to a lot of concerts, and did swim/bike/run when I felt like it. Now I can’t wait to toe a starting line, slow or not. Maybe think about applying your fitness to some other pursuits? Keep training, but don’t worry about an outcome and just enjoy the process and what your body can do because you’ve taken care of it for so long.

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