@anton0003 Yes. I'm glad to see a thread on this because I've sort of been dealing with it for a few months, and I'm not sure what to make of it.
I figure skated as a kid until high school, then had a few years of basically no physical activity. I got into running outside via couch to 5k 7-8 years ago to lose weight I put on and fell in love with it. I built up distance, ran a few half marathons, joined a running club. I ran almost every day and I was slow af, but I loved being out there.
Until this past summer. I don't know what happened, but I sort of lost my love for the sport. Nothing happened in particular, I just lost the drive I'd had to get out there every day. It wasn't fun anymore.
After a couple of months of phoning it in, I took a break from running. Not a long break, maybe a week or so. I used that time to think about what I wanted to do and what I was interested in pursuing and working on. I ended up gravitating toward lifting and strength training. I wanted to feel strong, and aesthetically, I wanted to look a little less "soft."
Now my routine is to hit the gym 4-6x/week. I run on the treadmill for 20-30 minutes to warm up, then I lift/strength train. So I'm still running, but not in the capacity that I was, and I don't consider myself a runner right now. I haven't run outside in months, and every time I step outside and feel how freaking cold it is, I'm glad. I feel like I'm doing the right thing for me at this point in my life. Who knows, maybe I'll pick up serious running again at some point. Maybe not. I've also gone back to my first love, which is figure skating. I take lessons and practice when I can, which isn't as often as I'd like, but I'm so happy to be doing something I love so much.
Sorry for the long winded response! Typing all that out was really helpful for some reason, haha.