I just realized tonight that I missed blogging last week. Not that there was a whole lot to blog about – I put my head down and got my four days and 15 miles in.
Progress is slow, but it’s coming. Each week is a little easier. On tap this week:
One thing for sure, starting again from scratch is teaching me the virtue of patience…..
Yes. I know. What a bombshell. But I have an explanation! Really!
I’ve been around long enough (face it – I know who Walter Trout is and you don’t) that I understand what motivates me. And the bottom line is what motivates me is reaching a goal. I’m willing to put up with pretty much anything to get there. So, while I don’t love running, if it’s the means to the end, then I *will* do it.
I guess what I’m saying is that I have a goal that involves running as a means to achieve it. Right now it’s carrot cake.* With cream cheese frosting.** The best I can tell, there’s about 300 calories in each slice of carrot cake with cream cheese icing. So, for every three miles I run, I can have a slice of carrot cake. There. See how easy that is?
Well. I guess I better go earn a piece of carrot cake….
* No. Actually that isn’t my goal. I’m keeping my real goal secret for for a few weeks to make sure my body isn’t going to fall apart again. I hope you get my point though.
** But, if carrot cake were my goal, I’d be an idiot to not include cream cheese icing…..
I’ve been reading through some of your blogs (remember – just because I’m not commenting doesn’t mean I’m not reading – just think about me as your bloggy mother) and I’m picking up on some words that have my skin crawling. “My mojo is missing.” “I’m burning out.” “I’m tired.” All these are like knives being thrown at me. Why? Because all those feelings are still fresh in my mind.
Any of my long time followers know what I’m talking about. The last time I seriously trained was for the L.A. Marathon. 2010. Yes. Like over a year ago. During that training cycle something broke. Not just physically. I got the car started several times in the past year, but I never did much more than admire the paint job before pulling it back in the garage.
Now, before we take the “Blog Mom” role too far, I’m not going to lecture you on what to do to combat burnout. I will tell you what has worked for me though. Honesty. That’s right. Realizing that running is not something that I love. I no longer stress at missing a day. Or of not being able to run three miles right now without walking.
So – here are my words of wisdom – be honest with yourself. We all “love” running. But do we really? Or do we do it because it’s easy? Because we have a training plan that takes all the thought out of it? Think about it. Be honest with yourself. Don’t be part of the “Mindlessness is our normal state of mind” camp.
Anne and Irene – I think I finally understand what you two were telling me many many moons ago…..
