Lethargy Rears its Ugly Head
I ran a half marathon on Saturday. A half marathon that I felt good about and that went a long way toward convincing me that I was back on track after a long vacation from consistent running. It was a milestone, but could have turned out to be a plateau. As is so often the case, I came off a really good race/run milestone and somewhere in the depths of my brain a switch was flipped off on the mojo machine. I seem to go through brief periods of lethargy that threaten to knock me back down the steps of improvement I’ve been climbing. Yesterday I had 5 lunchtime miles planned. This plan was derailed when the opportunity for a company sponsored lunch came up and I jumped at the opportunity to not only get a nice juicy mushroom cheeseburger but to also skip a run I wasn’t completly excited about doing.
I don’t understand why or how this happens. If “nailing” a 1/2 marathon and the prospect of an upcoming marathon (23 days and counting) aren’t enough to keep me motivated, what is? Seriously! What is?
So I spent the afternoon trying to concentrate on work amid the background noise of working up the will and energy I knew I’d need to get out the door and run in the dark after dinner. I don’t like to run in the dark after dinner. I’ve done it, and I’ll continue to do it, but I don’t like it.
Fortunately a middle way presented itself. Instead of skipping the run or tripping through a black fall night, I threw on my shorts and ran 5 miles on the treadmill here at work. It made me late for dinner, but I was able to admire darkening day while I trotted along indoors. A nice smooth run with no broken sidewalk to trip me up, no oncomming headlights to blind me and no scurrying animals to be wary of.
Another 5 miler in the books, and a 22 miler on Saturday (crap, that’s tomorrow!). Then I can let the engine idle and coast until Dec 6th.
What happens after that?
November 13th, 2009 at 4:55 pm
Nice visiting your blog and thanks for the comments! I have had a huge case of the lazies this week and it’s driving me crazy. As we speak/write, I am ignoring my tempo run but I MUST GO!
It’s nice that you access to a treadmill at work. Are you running CIM again? Happy 22 miles tomorrow, you’ll do well!
November 13th, 2009 at 6:39 pm
I did the opposite. I dodged the treadmill and hit the streets. Good luck with your long run tomorrow.
November 13th, 2009 at 10:01 pm
Let’s worry about that, when that get here. Good luck with the 22 on tomorrow.
And congrats on the great half marathon performance.
November 16th, 2009 at 10:17 am
I so get it! After an event I tend to struggle with motivation for awhile too! Nice job getting that run done and good luck with your upcoming marathon. :)
And thanks for stopping by my blog! ;)
November 30th, 2009 at 12:22 am
YES!! Dark Runs suck! But we do them.