I'm starting to train again for the upcoming year. I have S-RTB in May and I'm thinking about a 50-miler around the same time. There's of course RTB in September and the RI 6 Hour in November. Better to get in running shape now after taking December mostly off from running and strict diet what with all the Christmas cookies and beer.
I felt pretty good on my first few short runs but inevitably I had a late night run (as time would allow with the little one) and it was bitter cold (New England in January - go figure). I started thinking - "why am I doing this again?"
From past experience, this will fade and I'll start feeling really amped up about running again as I get deep into the training. I'll be a running machine that is until I have yet another 4-hour plus run on a cold Saturday morning through the woods. It will no doubt be raining (as it will be in the April timeframe) and I'll want nothing more than to just run the race I'm training for and finish this and stop running for good.
Then I'll start tapering - running less as the final weeks before the race approach. I'll have all this extra energy and I'll want to run more (weird since I just swore it off a week earlier). This is kind of like the old college pledge - "I'll never drink again!"
During the race, I'll usually feel good but as the end approaches I'll motivate myself by thinking about how good it will feel when it's over and how much time off I'm going to take.
I'll be running the next day.