Unmotivated, but ran anyway

Well, it was all I could do to keep running after the first tenth of a mile. I was actually okay getting up, getting a banana, reading a bit of the paper and getting ready to run.

I started running okay -- I was creaky from yesterday's 12 miler though. However, right after I started, I felt like stopping. It was all I could do to keep running. By the first 1/2 mile I think I had resigned myself to running.

Today was a short, easy run. 4.4-ish miles, no time. The course is relatively flat, and I wanted to a) get a back-to-back run in; and b) start to try to get 5 days a week in. I've been doing 4-days a week lately, and although I'm slowly getting back into shape, running every other day (more or less) actually hurts more than running back-to-back days.

Good Week

Haven't posted in a couple of runs... On Friday, I ran 4.3 in a misty rain (didn't track time). It was a nice run, but I'm sure I ran pretty slow. It was a misty rain, but I enjoyed it. I actually hoped for a harder rain at times, as a misty rain is somewhere between rain and no rain. If I'm going to get wet, might as well get credit for a good rain as well!

Today I ran 12.4 miles (!) Originally I had planned to run 10, but even before that, I had hoped to run a 10k race. Unfortunately, I waited until it was too late to sign up online. By the time I tried to sign up, the online registration was over (although the website said that online registration wasn't going to close until 24 hours later). Anyway, rather than risk not getting into the race after driving 52 miles, I decided to run locally instead. I decided to run somewhere where I didn't have to leave from my house, and I chose the W&OD trail. While driving to the starting point, I worked out the weekly mileage in my head and thought that if I ran 12 miles instead of 10, I'd hit 30 miles for the week. Plus, since I had done a 10 miler the week before, I wanted to see how I'd do on a 12 miler. Plus, the W&OD is kinda flat, so the difficulty wouldn't be too bad.

Anyway, I ran 12 at a 8:53 pace, so I was very happy about that.

Thanks!

Just a quick note to say thanks for the kind notes on a previous post. I had stated that I was losing motivation and although I responded in another comment, I felt that it was worth an actual post to say thank you. The comments about just signing up for a race was good, but someone named Audrey stated that I should change locations. You know, I did that in the spring -- I started running on trails. And you know what? I loved it. Back in February/March (I forget which post, and I'm too lazy to look it up), I ran 10 miles on the Bull Run Trail. It felt like I ran 20 due to the terrain. But it was great.

Anyway, thanks for the words of encouragement. It's nice to know there's other runners out there looking out for one another.

Been a Long Time

Since I posted... but I have been running! Yay!

Last week we were at the beach. I ran 4 days and got to 26 miles, which included a 10 miler. I was happy about the week.

This week, I have run twice (so far), with today's run being 8 miles. I can't go fast though... I ran a 9:11 pace today, and a 9:25 pace on Monday (for 6 miles). I'm thinking about running a 10K this weekend, so maybe I can use that race for some speed work.

Anyway, I am running, but not as long or as fast as I would like.

Staying Positive

I ran today -- 4.3 miles, no time. Yesterday, I had it in my head to run 8 miles today. I figured that I needed a jump start. This morning, I still had just a little bit of that in my head, and that helped me get out of bed (lately, I have been sleeping in on my 'easy' days, making them extremely easy -- not running at all). But today, after getting out of bed, but not at all motivated (plus very tired), I opted to run the 'short' loop (4.3 miles) instead. At least I ran!

I need to figure out a way to stay positive on my running. Lately, I have had no motivation, and right now, I have no upcoming races. I'm thinking of doing a 10k sometime, but haven't even locked that one down. One of my New Year's resolutions is to run 4 races this year (I got out of the 'number of miles' resolution, as that led to a lot of junk miles). I ran two so far, just need two more. Maybe an upcoming 10k would work.

Getting Slower?

I'm not sure what's going on... I'm running (not consistently), but I'm getting slower. I'm also finding it hard to keep my motivation up. This morning, I got up fine (4:39 am), got ready, skipped a small breakfast, and headed out the door. The weather was good (60 degrees) and I wasn't achy or in any pain.

However, by the 1/2 mile mark, I was seriously considering turning around and going back to bed. I figured, hey, I'm not sweating that much yet, I could probably just change and lie down for another hour. It took several seconds to get that thought out of my head -- mostly by reasoning that I would a) not get much rest; and b) not really be able to get back into bed, as I was sweating at this point. Okay, I thought, might as well tough it out.

At 2 miles, I wanted to turn around again. Finally, at 3 miles out, I did (well, that *was* the planned distance turnaround anyway). I slogged it back home and managed to do 6 miles at a 9:16 pace. Not too bad, but not too good either.

Now, I've only run two days this week, and I should have run at least 3 times by now. My goal is running 5 days a week, but I think *if* I run tomorrow (and lately, my track record of running on my 'slow' days is pretty bad) and run on Friday, I should get 4 runs in this week. Saturday is very very iffy, as we have a big day planned.

Well, at least I ran!

Well, at least I ran this morning! I got up (finally) at 4:45 am to run this morning. I was still feeling achy from the Saturday run. I started feeling achy on Sunday afternoon. I guess the lactic acid was still built up in my legs. Anyway, I never got to anything close to a fast pace. I tried though. I ended up doing 6 miles at a 9:12 pace -- although my effort was harder.

It wasn't as muggy this morning as in mornings past. Plus, I needed my running vest as it was pretty dark. I started wearing the vest last week and it's only a matter of time before I need to pull out my head lamp. Summer's starting to come to a close!

Great Run!

I ran 10.04 this morning. The weather was great (in fact, I was just a bit chilled for the first 1/2 mile) and I finished up on mile 10 with a 7:56 mile! I ran the entire thing at a 8:46 pace. I was very happy with the run.

As for the entire week, well... I'm glad I ran. But it took a 10 miler to get my mileage up to 24 miles for the week. I did get two 6 milers in, but that means that one was was only around 2 milers (2.66 to be precise). Not a great week, but it beats my average as of late -- nothing.

Still running....

I'm still running -- which is good; I just haven't posted... I ran a very short 2.6 miles on Sunday (on a treadmill), ran 6 on Monday, skipped yesterday, and ran 6 again this morning. I'm starting to get my running legs back. I didn't feel too shabby this morning at the end of the 6. It was 70 degrees and quite humid this morning. Plus, I didn't eat anything beforehand. On the other hand, my hip flexor didn't hurt, nor did my Achilles hurt -- both of which are good things. Probably skipping yesterday helped that. We'll see tomorrow. I *hope* to do 4 tomorrow morning.

Good week

Wow, a week where I ran 5 days in a row. I can't believe it. I only ran 24 miles, but still. It's a good week. I ran 8.13 miles today at a 9:10 pace. It should have been faster, but I past no less than 4 minutes waiting at traffic lights. I went a different route today, and although I like the route overall, I can do without the heavy traffic intersections.

I felt pretty good. In fact, I was running a 7:30 pace for the last 1/4 mile. I think I can begin running 6 miles/day next week.

I Can't Believe It!

I can't believe that I've run 4 days in a row. Wonders upon wonders! I even felt that I should run further out when I hit the turnaround point. I guess this is good!

I intentionally ran 4 again today (4.10, at a 9-something pace). I really really don't want to re-injure myself. I felt like I could have easily run 6 today though. I'm thinking that if I get up early enough, I'll run 8 tomorrow. Just don't know where. My usual routes are getting pretty boring. I'll need to think about it. Perhaps driving someplace to run, like Burke Lake or the W&OD trail might be nice. Again, it depends upon how early I get up. I need to be home by a certain time, and if I drive, I need to add like 20 minutes to the end of my run, so an 8 mile run (1:10-ish) becomes 1:30 - 2:00 hours (driving to and from the destination).

Any way I do it, I'm just glad I'm running again!