After the Hippie Chick Half, I totally just stopped running. I am not sure why or how, but after a lackluster race performance, I just felt burnt out. But, really, for no reason at all. I’ve been doing more races than usual, but this burnout has really been coming on for awhile. Ever since I did the 2013 Portland Marathon the fire just hasn’t been quite there. Finishing the last two Halfs I did just didn’t leave me with that sense of accomplishment I usually feel.
So, I just stopped. Completely let it go. And now I feel like I am starting from scratch. And I can’t quite say I mind that so much.
In the midst of working full time, raising a toddler who happened to break his leg, and running a part-time photography business… sometimes something has to bite it and running got the boot this time around.
As I get started again, I am trying to focus my energy on a few different things:
- The Joy: I miss the happy feeling I got from a simple run. Not feeling like I was emotionally drained when I was done, but feeling uplifted. I am trying to listen to my body rather than following a strict schedule. The catch is that if I am not following a schedule I fear I won’t do it. I have also been noodling trying to run for time rather than distance and purposefully have been making myself stop a run at an awkward (read: not whole number) distances.
- Balance: Sometimes I forget that I don’t have to be the best I just have to do my best. It is okay to run a whole week just going less than 3 miles, it is also okay to only run once in a week and call it good. All or nothing need not apply!
- Cross-training: Movement is movement and conditioning is conditioning. That’s something I have decided. I am not training for anything in particular so I need to give myself the option to move in a way that feels good. Some days that’s yoga, others it’s a long bike ride, and I have been having a hankering to do some rollerblading, but that’s another story.
As we come into the Summer season, I really hope to uphold these three pillars of awesome. I just want to find the joy again, I miss it.