confessional...
::insert puppy dog eyes here::
i sorta..... kinda...... well.... I SUCK!!!! i've been fooling you all, and i'm so ashamed... ASHAMED!!!
(shock. horror. i know!!)
for the past two weeks... okay, OKAY, twist my arm... three weeks....i've been the worlds worst slacker EVER. (or best slacker?! i'm not really sure how that works out...)
per TNT training schedule i am to run three days a week... 6 miler, 3 miler, long run saturday. thats what i'm SUPPOSED to run. what i've ACTUALLY been running works out more like 3 miler, 3 miler, long run... or.... 4 miler, 3 miler, long run... or, or even, 3 miler, 0 miler, long run....
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!eeeeeeeeekkk!!!!!!!
i so bewwy bewwy bad.
see here's "the thing".... well ok i dont really know what "the thing" is... i have lots of excuses, most of which revolve around "but i was on vacation, and even though i ran while on vacation, it screwed up my schedule and i havent been able to bounce back"... that and "but work has just gotten to be so busy and i've been having such a hard time waking up.."..... but it basically boils down to.... i have no oomph. i lost my oomph.
at first, i rationalized it. i'm over-training. i'm under-eating (heh. yeah right. this chick has never under-eaten in her ENTIRE LIFE) so i'm minus energy..i should take a few days easy, no big deal..... then i started feeling guilty. i'm such a slacker this is ridiculous. i need to get back out there. i'm a terrible person....... but then i ran 20 miles and i started thinking.... maybe those weekday runs arent as important as i thought they were?! maybe i can get by with a few 3-mile runs here and there..... but then, last night, i was struck by...
YOURE A COMPLETE MORON THIS IS A MARATHON YOU'RE TRAINING FOR WHAT THE @#$%&* ARE YOU SLACKING OFF FOR?!!!!!!!
so. now i'm kind of at the oh sh*t stage. and i've been sitting here, "working", and i realized, i'm in a stand-still. i need to go run, however the thought of running makes me groan... but, at the same time, i really wanna go run. (i'm a very odd character. its surprising i've made it this far in life without making any pit-stops in the mental ward. truely)
so... i'm coming clean. i confess i've been a slacker..ch-HMMbadjobmeMM... and hope that the cleansing of my guilt will... ya know... give me wings.
er something.
so. thats my confession. i'm layin' it all out there for ya... i'm the red-headed step-child of the training group, i know... i know!!! but... i'm wiping the slate clean. st. louis' 8 mile run will be the run to end all runs, i will return with my oomph, and i will be your trusty weekday runner once more!!!!
(please dont hate me!!!)
***ok. mike (who are you mike?!) had a grand idea... to schedule a run with someone ELSE so that i wont easily talk myself outta the run. GRAND idea Mike!! (again..who are you?!)... i'm going to be in st. louis this weekend, so i figured i'd just come right out and ask if there were any St. Louis folk out there that might want to have a mini-RBF meet up?! cuz i'm totally game. i feel as though i'm whoring myself out, but... i'm not. not really.....(?!?) hmmmm....
Comments
DATE: 5:36 PM
Don't worry... we all hit the burnout button a little bit, especially this time of year! You'll get back into it in no time and be fine on race day!Good luck!
Posted by: Joseph Vinciquerra | July 4, 2006 8:03 PM
DATE: 9:52 AM
Oh...you'll be fine. Trust me, I've been a slacker too. All is good. At least you're not in denial.
Posted by: Josh | July 4, 2006 8:03 PM
DATE: 6:02 PM
You’re going to do awesome on race day! (New running gear always inspires me, maybe you could buy something new?)
Posted by: april anne | July 4, 2006 8:03 PM
DATE: 3:11 PM
I had serious burn-out last year around this time too, so this year I started to change it up- I bore easily, so I had to find new places to run around town to keep it interesting- that always helps. And running with other folks has made a huge difference because you really look forward to the conversation as well as the run. Hope that you had a good run this weekend! Let me know if you will be doing any running next week when you are here! Jennifer
Posted by: Jennifer | July 4, 2006 8:03 PM
DATE: 8:07 PM
Oh I'm so happy you're slacking, too! I have had zero desire to run. I don't know why, but just ZERO DESIRE. I thought moving to this gorgeous new city with perfect running weather would kick my training into high gear, but for some reason I just want to take a nap.It's OK. We'll get through this marathon. There's a pedicure/foot massage station at the half way point. We can certainly make it that far. And if we make it that far, we'll surely finish b/c we'll feel so guilty that we got a pedicure at mile 13.1. This marathon is going to kick ass!
Posted by: Nic | July 4, 2006 8:03 PM
DATE: 7:57 PM
I think you're just going through a normal burnout. From my blog reading it seems like everyone has had a case of it the past week, I blame it on the darkness creeping in so much earlier and hanging around so much later every day. You just need a few days off and you'll have your passion back!
Posted by: Rae | July 4, 2006 8:03 PM
DATE: 7:00 PM
I've always read that as long as you're doing some weekday training runs and the LONG RUNS you won't be too bad. Apparently the key is the long run which it seems you're doing just fine. But hey, what do I know I'm just a half-M runner who reads a lot :)Good luck - you'll do fine :)
Posted by: Kiran | July 4, 2006 8:03 PM
DATE: 10:53 AM
Ditto what they said. I have been going thru a similar thing, just dragging my butt out there. I think part of what is going on is the thrill is gone, all the shiny newness of training for a marathon is slightly tarnished, and less exciting (even as I write these words I know that is NUTS) but you know what I mean? It's like for six months we've been pushing and pushing and growing and flying and failing, and i for one am getting SICK of it! There I said it, too!! But I'll get excited again, and so will you. I bet the St. Louis race will get your mojo back!
Posted by: jeanne | July 4, 2006 8:03 PM
DATE: 8:58 AM
i like to focus on the motivation behind running the marathon. whatever your motivation is to run it, use that to help you get out for your mid-week runs. its totally normal to feel like mailing it in during the week. but the more of those you run, the better you'll feel on the big day (i think--i haven't actually done one as you know, but thats what people tell me anyway, heh). have a good weekend!! are you guys tapering down now (on the TNT plan)?
Posted by: brent | July 4, 2006 8:03 PM
DATE: 6:19 AM
It's normal! There are times when you get sick of the level of training. Unfortunately, preparing well for a marathon is an awful lot like a second job. You've prepared well enough to get through it, but if putting out a good one is your goal, you've cut the chances of that.There's no crime in electing to modify your goals. I've often said that the marathon is a race that is too demanding to prepare for well (for most of us), so join the club. Do your marathon, enjoy it! In 3 years or so, I bet you'll be back, but don't let it suck the joy out of life.
Posted by: Scooter | July 4, 2006 8:03 PM
DATE: 1:19 PM
I feel so used. So dirty. You lied to me the whole time!(I have to tell you that I only have been blogging for a week and I get such a kick out of your blogs.)Again everyone is right and being a new guy to blogging and running, I won't give any crappy advise, but I like the idea of getting some new music in your MP3 player or how about buying a new MP3 player, anything to get your mind in the mode of having to run to experience how the new song sounds, etc.Hang in there and if you ever get out of KC and head west, look me up off of I70.
Posted by: BigRunner | July 4, 2006 8:03 PM
DATE: 12:22 PM
What I'd do is tell the gremlins to take a hike. Everyone is right, we all go through it. I'm in the exact same boat, three weeks out from the Chicago Marathon.Gremlin says, "Whoa, you have a pelvic tortion. No way you can run with that." So I have to say, "I'll bet 1000 mg of ibuprofen will smash that gremlin."Gremlin says, "You missed two runs, you'll never make that up." So I say, "I'll still have enough left in me to drop kick you as I run through the finish chute."Gremlin says, "That's probably shin splints coming. You'll never be able to finish the marathon." So I have smear Biofreeze all over my legs and a bit into the gremlins eyes.Especially since it's your first marathon, rest if you need it. You have so many miles behind you now that a few extra rest days is okay. And this is the TOUGHEST part of the training.
Posted by: Tom | July 4, 2006 8:03 PM
DATE: 11:38 AM
What? You are cheating on me already? I tell you, this relationship is just not working....All kidding aside, don't be so hard on yourself or worry about it to much, sometimes improvising your schedule like that is better than following the program, it makes you feel "fresher" once you get back to logging the miles you are scheduled to do, at least for me it does.And besides, how can we hate you? You like Bill Simmons, so you get a few "gimmies" for that, at least in my book.
Posted by: Djgoldnboy | July 4, 2006 8:03 PM
DATE: 9:49 AM
No hate here. I think it's natural for it to be hard to get back into the routine after taking some time off. Just start back into it nice and easy. Maybe keep the pace extra slow for your runs so they're enjoyable and don't hurt. That should be enough to get the endorphins pumping again and from there the madness just sort of feeds off itself.As long as you're getting your weekly long runs done, that's the important part!
Posted by: Chris | July 4, 2006 8:03 PM
DATE: 10:00 AM
I don't blame you at all, we all get bored at one time or another. About the best advice I can give is just to take it day-by-day. Don't think about what you did (or didn't do) yesterday, or what you are going to do tomorrow. You just need to wake up in the morning, kinda go on 'autopilot', and say "TODAY I'm going to do what I'm supposed to". It also helps me to mindlessly put on my shorts and shoes, even if my brain is protesting. I'm much less likely to back out if I'm already dressed for a run.
Posted by: bit | July 4, 2006 8:03 PM
DATE: 10:56 AM
No worries, it happens to every runner eventually. What has always worked for me is simple:HAVE FUNIt gets harder and harder to always push yourself. Take a break, ignore your time and pace. Just enjoy yourself. If there's a nice national park or other scenic course you can run on that you don't normally run on. Do that. Hell, take your camera with you (cellphones work good) and take some nice scenic pictures of your course to post for us.Bottom line: This is supposed to be fun. So, don't let yourself think of it like it's a job.
Posted by: Jeremy | July 4, 2006 8:03 PM
DATE: 10:01 AM
I guess my form auto-completion messed up -- that last message was from me.
Posted by: bitweever | July 4, 2006 8:03 PM
DATE: 11:06 AM
I think Ben and Jerry (of ice cream fame) said it best "if it's not fun, why do it". Running is not for guilt!maybe we can start a secret blog, where we don't use any names, and just talk about how guilty we feel when we don't run!
Posted by: Running from my House | July 4, 2006 8:03 PM
DATE: 11:33 AM
well... considering you just ran 20 miles (in a row!!), you can't think you're a slacker ass. i'm going through the same thing you are this week. just hang in there, rest, and you'll get back into it. maybe go buy you a new running outfit or get some new songs... that always makes me want to go out and run.
Posted by: brent d. | July 4, 2006 8:03 PM
DATE: 11:23 AM
Like the others mentioned, stuff like this happens. Maybe get a hold of your TNT mentor or another teammate and schedule a couple of runs with someone else. It's harder to skip out on a run if you are meeting up with someone. :)In the end you'll be fine. It just takes a little more effort to get the ball rolling again.
Posted by: Mike | July 4, 2006 8:03 PM
DATE: 11:36 AM
if the cleansing doesn't give you wings....try a red bull!Guilt sucks, no doubt. All you can do is be better from here on out (and know that we are watching you with an eagle eye, ready to kick you out of the club without a moment's notice!)
Posted by: Flatman | July 4, 2006 8:03 PM