With a hAt Tip to EMZ, i am using a song title for this posting. I can’t recall the last time I heard that song, but it had been going round and round my head all day yesterday. Earlier yesterday I posted a link to a youtube video of the song being performed on Solid Gold. If you missed that tweet, well…i’m sorry. I’m writing outside now, from a place where I don’t have internet access, and will simply publish this later when I get home…..
“Ain’t nothing gonna break my stride, and nothing gonna hold me down, oh no, i’ve got to keep on moving.”
As you know I’ve been struggling lately. But I can’t, and I WON’T let myself get bogged down by these struggles. Here’s part of a conversation that I had with Tracey a few days ago:
Me: I’m doing it again. I’m thinking that I really don’t need to do all of this running, and that I should just forget about the Vermont 50 and the Philly Marathon.
Tracey: What the what?
M: Well, I’ve been training for the Covered Bridges Half in June, and have paid for the 50k in August, but not for the other two. So I’m thinking that I won’t do them. I’ll stop training for the half, too. Hell, I could run a decent half right now, so why bother? As far as the 50k goes, I’ll just show up and plan to finish whenever.
T: Why do you do that? I have you doing all three, and doing well in them, so….you’d better stick with it!
Me: Well, thanks, but I’m just not so sure that it is worth it any more.
T: Yes, it will be. Now, don’t you still have to run today? Get to it!
And that little bit of encouragement from my biggest fan and supporter was enough to relight the fire. I set a goal for myself to NOT miss (read:skip) any of my runs this week. NONE. I will find a way to fit them in. New challenges are arriving tomorrow night, and I’m going to have to make some adjustments, but I will NOT throw in the towel; I will use that towel to mop up my sweat.
Sometimes, as I’m running on the treadmill, I start to get discouraged about my upcoming race.The half isn’t that hard, it is mostly slightly downhill, and I’ve run the course before. I get discouraged because it means so much time NOT on trails. I don’t run fast enough for scenery on the roads to change much, and I get bored. In the woods, though, things are always different, and I have to use my brain a bit more than I do on the runs. But then I think about how this half and the training leading up to is is also great base building for my longer races at the end of the summer. I see the half as a means to an end, with a healthy dose of NEW PR goal sprinkled on top.
Who helps keep you going when you find yourself to be lacking motivation? Ever want to throw in the towel? Why don’t you?
Discuss…..
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