Confession: I’ve been moping around for the last few weeks feeling terrible about myself for not being able to run the Rock’n’Roll Half Marathon the other day. After my clumsy fall in early May, it took me months to be able to run again. I took more time off from running than I have in probably the last 13 years, and I’m just now starting to work back up to four runs per week — enough to pick up where I left off on the training plan I made before I got hurt.
When I say “moping”, I mean teetering on the edge of slipping into a spiral of depression. For the last few weeks, I’ve hardly wanted to do anything except work, go for an occasional jog, and lay in my bed. I didn’t really know what was wrong with me — only that I was sad and feeling like a complete failure at life. I thought maybe I was just extra upset that summer was ending or burned out from working so much lately.
When I woke up yesterday morning with the Epic Half Marathon Fail of 2017 behind me, I felt like a completely different person. While I was doing some yoga, it occurred to me that I felt sort of…motivated again. I counted the weeks in my head to the Wicked 10K and decided to put together another training plan. Last night, I put that plan into a calendar in my Evernote. I got up early this morning to run for 30 minutes before work. Barring any weird issues with my knee (it’s still bothering me here and there), I’ll run again on Thursday and be back on track.
Additionally, I need to get my life together after acting like a depressed person for the last few weeks. So I’m setting some rules for September.
Rule #1: No running if my knee hurts. Even though I want to run another half marathon, I don’t want to injure myself in the process. I’m going to set shorter-term goals this time, and not get frustrated if I have to veer off my plan to recover.
Rule #2: No posting the plan on the Internet. That way I’ll feel less like I’m failing if I have to adjust it as I go. 🙂
Rule #3: No shopping. I already added a few new items to my wardrobe for fall, and I don’t need anymore. If I actually go running, I’ll probably lose a few pounds, and if I lose a few pounds, there is a whole section of clothes in my closet that will fit me again.
Rule #5: If I have to skip a run, substitute biking or swimming instead. Even if that means buying one of these weird looking swim caps, so my hair doesn’t turn green.
Happy Monday Tuesday. 😉 I hope all your kids had an awesome first day of school!
