Starting Anew

I've still got a hacking cough that gets quite annoying and I still have a weird pain in my lower abdomen near where my appendix used to be. I'm still trying to run through it even though my mileage has suffered. I was up to around 50-60 miles per week and now am closer to 30-40 for the last couple of weeks. I was able to get an 8 miler in yesterday on pitbull trail. Well, I ran from BSS to the trail head and then up to Military road and back. I ran at right around 7 flat pace. I ran 6.5 today and pushed the pace a bit to try and force myself out of my comfort zone which seems to be around 7-8 minutes per mile. I ran 6.5 in 40:24 which is right around 6:15 per mile. I felt o.k. as far as my legs go but I was coughing so much that I kept getting short of breath. I still feel good about the run. I need to remember when I go out on training runs that I'm trying to improve and get out of my comfort zone rut. That means "push the pace pansy!". I recall being in High School and taking off from the duplex and starting the run no slower than 6:00 and after warming up hitting miles between 5:20-6:00. Granted I was only running 4-5 miles per run at the time, but I'm not convinced that I'm too old to run faster times than I did in High School just yet. I remember I used to look forward to my workouts with a fervor and I had goals for each run, etc. I remember one speed workout in particular where I went to the Smith field house to run 4x800's and the entire morning all I could think about was how I was going to attain my goal of averaging 2:15 per repeat. I know that having goals works because I ran my first in 2:17, the next 2 in 2:15 exactly and then I said to myself "well, to get my goal I now need to finish with a 2:13." And that's exactly what I did. That was one of my finest workouts, but it goes to show that desire and hard work will produce results. I just wish that I could find the zeal that I once had for working hard during my runs instead of just coasting along. Motivation has been a real factor (lack of motivation) for me the past several years of running. After that trail race Saturday, I thought about how back when I was running like I did during those workouts like I mentioned above, there was no way I would have just coasted along in the race and not cared about my finish place or time. Oh well. Anybody have any suggestions on how to get re-motivated? After all, I am still only 33 years old and should be running as fast as I ever could.