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Tuesday, March 15, 2011

03/15/11: Ease on down, ease on down the road...

The daylight savings time switch is a magical time of year. Yes, it's still dark when I run in the morning.....but very soon the sun will be coming up as I near home.

Unfortunately, even that knowledge isn't making it easier to get up in the morning.

Last year I did it because I needed to get healthy, I needed to lose weight, I needed something that would wake me up and keep me from wanting to take a nap at 3:00 in the afternoon. I found the solution to all of those things, with one activity.

Running.

As I was tying my shoes this morning, fighting back yawn after yawn.....I couldn't help but wonder what the heck I was doing.

I've lost "most" of the weight I wanted to lose.....I'm much healthier than I've been in years......and I'm not fighting to keep my eyes open in the afternoon.

All of these things are great. So why aren't they enough to keep me motivated this year?

I suppose this isn't anything new. I'm sure I'm not the only one to think along these same lines. I suppose it's the reason we come up with new goals each year. New motivations to go along with the old ones we've got under control.

I signed up to do a half marathon last year...as a way to measure the progress I'd made over the year. As a kind of "period" at the end of my 2010 running "sentence."

I decided to kick things up a notch in 2011. I signed up for a full marathon. There won't be a period at the end of this sentence. Nope, I've added an exclamation point!

The problem is that I'm addicted. Not to running, so to speak, but to accomplishing what I set out to do. There's nothing better than working hard for something, and then achieving it.

I find I'm signing up for as many races as I can schedule. I want to fill a rack with medals....I want to fill a book with bibs.....I'd like to make a quilt out of all the race tshirts I get along the way. Not as proof of what I've done to show others...but for myself to see.

I think of all these things while I'm running this morning. The temperatures are MUCH warmer than they've been...but it's still in the upper 20's (F). As I run, it seems as though I'm the only one awake. Birds aren't chirping yet, deer are still sleeping, windows in the houses I pass are still dark, I have the roads to myself.

My legs are sore from this weekend's run, so I'm taking it easy. The only information on my Garmin that interests me is the distance traveled. 4 miles is on the schedule. I have a rough idea of the route I'm going to take. It's normally about 3 to 3.5 miles...so I run down a few extra streets here and there to add on some distance.

I think it's funny how much more I noticed the condition of sidewalks as I drive around town. I'm constantly thinking about new routes to run. As I was driving to the grocery store last weekend, I was scouting routes that would enable me to run there instead.

Although, if I get too much stuff, I'll be walking home. Running with a gallon of milk could be entertaining.

And shopping while sweaty and stinky might not be the most polite thing to do.

Hmmmmm.....might have to rethink my plan a little. :-)
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4.01 miles, 11:18 overall average pace

5 comments:

Fran said...

Reading your post makes me think how much alike we are. We think the same about this. It's hard for me to get out of bed these days too but I do it because if I don't I have to make up for that run in the afternoon and I know that will be a much worse run.

We have to wait till the last weekend of March before daylight savings sets in but I can't wait.

Well done on your run Nej!

Nej said...

I find that reading your blog is often times like reading my own thoughts. We do have quite allot in common. :-)

Afternoon runs are horrible for me. I can't really think of ever having a good one. Even my weekend runs are all in the morning, before the days "gets started." :-)

Fran said...

Hey sis :)

"Afternoon runs are horrible for me. I can't really think of ever having a good one. Even my weekend runs are all in the morning, before the days "gets started." :-) "

That could have been my exact words! I get up on Saturday at 7 am to start my run at 8 am so I have most of the day left to do other things.

Nej said...

@ Pritch - do you have to be in earlier than 8...or do you live that far from work??

I'm on the other side of Omaha from where I work, but it's just a hop, skip and a jump from my house to the interstate....and from the interstate to work....or it would take me forever. :-)

I've tried over and over again to run in the afternoon or evening after work. I suppose if I was running with someone I could do it....but my motivation is at it's lowest after work. If I run in the morning, then I can go home and "veg out" all night without guilt. :-) :-)

Nej said...

@ Fran - ok..now we just need to live closer together so we can get some of these runs in together. :-)