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April 13, 2007

Is This Thing Still On?

Hello! Man, it's been a while, hasn't it? Sorry about that - I've been active on the general blog, but I just haven't had much to say about the running in a while. I am running, and in fact I will definitely be running The Pig on May 6 (taper starts after this weekend! EEEK!). Even more surprising, I think I might actually be in pretty good shape for it. The hills are going to kill me, and it's not going to be fast, but I think it'll actually be OK. My 18-mile run the other week was far, far better than I expected, so I'm feeling good about this weekend's 20-miler and the upcoming race. If nothing else, I'll have a good time and get to enjoy the beautiful Ohio River valley scenery.

But, yeah, haven't really felt like writing about the running much lately, and it took me forever to figure out why. Then I realized something: there's nothing new or exciting about my running this year, really. The first year, I was training for my first marathon, so it was all new and exciting. First 15-miler! First 16-miler! First 20-miler! First marathon! Every week, I was breaking new ground, and it was awesome. Then, last year, I was getting faster and breaking PRs nearly every time I turned around, so that was exciting, too. This year? Well, it's my 3rd time through this whole marathon trip, and I'm certainly not running fast enough to set PRs. Not only did is strike me as boring and not worth talking about, but it was depressing. I think the main reason that I'm not running as fast as last year is the simple fact that my training hasn't been as consistent - I'm using the same program I used last spring, but because I'm not being as consistent about it (On a good week I'll hit all my miles; on a bad week? Well, there have been more than a couple of weeks where I've run 0-10 miles. Total. Eeek.) it's not working as much magic as it was last year, although it is still doing its job (get my butt in shape to cover 26.2 miles without dying). Then there's the matter of the extra 10 pounds of junk in the trunk that I'm carrying around this year. While it's not a huge amount, it's probably not helping things.

At any rate, I spent a lot of time being frustrated by the above and feeling fat and out-of-shape. Sure, I could run 15 miles... but not as fast as I used to! Then I realized that was OK. I mean, I could still run 15 miles, which is way more than I ever thought I would be able to do. Not to mention way more than most of the general public could probably do. (Special thanks for helping me get this in perspective goes to the new boyfriend: I was whining about how I felt slow and out of shape after a 13-mile run, and he was all, "Out of shape? But, um, you just ran a half-marathon? I think that means you're in pretty good shape.) Then I gave it some more thought, and I realized something so obvious, I really should have seen it before: the structure of my life this year is completely different than it was last year, so maybe I should take another look at my training goals and see if they needed some adjusting? So I did, and here's what I found:

Last year: I had recently broken up with a guy, so I had all sorts of time and energy to put into training. I wanted to get faster, and I was willing to bust my butt to do it. Work was awful and stressful, and running/training was one of the few things I felt like I had control over and could succeed at, so I buried myself in it. I worked my butt off, I got faster, and it was all good. (Well, until I got the Cold That Would Not Die, had to take two weeks off, and realized I'd totally burned myself out. Oops.)

This year: Well, there was the extra poundage that found me during the end of last year when I wasn't so much running. Plus, I'm busier - I spend more time with my friends, I have a new boyfriend - I have a lot more outside of work to juggle with my training. Work is better, but it's still stressful sometimes, and I use running to relax and ponder, rather than to escape. I'd rather go out for a leisurely 6 mile run than bust my ass on some speedwork. Sure, it feels good to push it every now and then, but my program now is heavy on the speedwork and I'm just not feeling it.

So I readjusted. Re-evaluated. Step 1: Accept that The Pig is not going to be a fast race for me. Instead, I'm just going to take it relatively easy and enjoy it. (Well, as much as my self-competitive spirit will let me.) It's not about the time on the clock, but about the experience. Once I started thinking that way, I found myself looking forward to it a lot more, since the pressure was off.

Step 2: Figure out a training schedule that fits in with my new schedule: morning or evening runs? Long runs on Saturday or Sunday? The past few months have been something of an experiment, and I've learned a lot. I've learned that for some reason, it's easier for me to get out and do a long run on Saturday rather than Sunday. I've learned that it's easier for me to roll out of bed at 5:30 and drag my butt into work (then leave early and run in the afternoon) than it is to get up at the same time and run before work. I've also learned that this plan goes flying out the window if I have to work late since I won't get home in time to run before it gets dark. Also, there's something nice about getting the run done in the morning - it wakes me up, gets me ready to face the day, and I don't have to say, "No, I can't go out after work - I have to go home and run" if last-minute plans pop up. However, that doesn't mean that it's still really stinking hard to get up before sunrise and run.

Step 3: Forget speed this year. Instead of hitting intervals and tempo runs 2 or 3 days a week, focus on lots of nice easy miles. I'm a pretty low mileage runner - I've never really gone past 40 miles a week, and my average is probably closer to 20 - so I've got plenty of room to grow here. Plus, lots of nice easy miles will help improve my base fitness, which is certainly not a bad thing.

Step 4: Bring back the running blog! I enjoy running more when I get to geek out about it, and since very few of my friends are runners, this is where I get to do that. Even if all I say is, "I ran 6 miles this morning, and it was awesome," then it'll help me, I think. Plus, I miss the feeling that there are people out there following along in my training with me and getting pumped about race day right along with me. Sure, my friends get excited and are supportive of this crazy thing I do that they don't quite get, but they really don't want to hear the gory details about how I get there. But someone out there probably does, and I'd hate to deny them that opportunity. Plus, the RBF is a great community and I miss being an active part of it. I've been out there, reading and commenting, but it's just not the same, you know?

Step 5: Get serious about dropping the extra weight I picked up. I've been "sort of trying" to get rid of it for a few months, but I really haven't been trying all that hard. I think what I need here is some accountability, and I think what I'm going to do is steal an idea from Veg*Triathlete and do daily summary posts, like this. Sure, it's going to be boring as all get out for a lot of you to read, but having some public accountability (or at least the perception of it) will certainly make me thing twice about having beer and pizza for dinner or bagging my run because I'm feeling lazy, you know? Besides, if it's too boring for you to read, you can always go and read something else. 'Tis the beauty of the internets.

Wow. That was a long one. So, to sum up: I'm back! I'm finding my lost mojo, and I'm going to resume telling you all about it whether you like it or not.

Man, it's good to be back. I've missed you guys.

Posted by Dawn at April 13, 2007 09:46 AM

Comments

Posted by: Jessica at April 13, 2007 01:16 PM

Posted by: veg*triathlete at April 14, 2007 07:32 AM