Lost

LOST

Winter in Michigan can be a trying time for runners.  There comes a point where you get tired of bragging about how cold it was when you ran.  The photos of the ice encrusted eyelashes stop being funny.  You just get sick of it and start losing your sense of humor with mother nature.  Right now, that is exactly where I am.  

My training plan for my next big race started at the end of January. My first week of training was wonderful.  The temperatures were in the 50’s and all the snow was gone.  On my rest day I walked the dogs and fell on a patch of ice.  I banged up my knee and needed to take a few days off.  The next week we were treated to 14 inches of snow in under 24 hours.  I put on my Yaktrax (traction for your shoes) and took the dogs out trekking on the snow covered streets to log some miles.  White it was good time spend with my furry friends, I can’t say that I enjoyed the weather.  The following week I wound up at the doctors office to treat a sinus infection.  As an added bonus, the next week I started physical therapy to treat the lingering injury from my fall on the ice.  My mojo is hanging on by a thread.  I’m trying to salvage what is left.  I’ve googled the heck out of “losing my running mojo” and this is what I found.  

Here is the nonsense:

 Count miles, don’t count miles, challenge yourself or don’t put pressure on yourself.

 Run with friends. Run with faster ones or slower ones or just get new ones. 

 Eat better or run someplace to eat. 

 Run in a different place or different time of the day or just take a total break.

 Take a break or sign up for a different type of race or get a coach.

Here is what I did like:

Address stress and get better sleep- these two go hand in hand.  If anything causes me to lose sleep, it needs to be addressed the next day. 

Take an electronic sabbatical. These days we are so attached to our phones and Facebook that it is hard to be out of touch.  Turn off and tune into your life, even if only for the duration of your run.

Forget about comparisons and be happy with who you are and where you are. 

Embrace the five minute rule.  Get dressed for your run and get out there, even if just for five minutes.  If after five minutes you still aren’t feeling it, then go home.  But more times than not, you will get your groove back and keep running. 

Run someplace new.  Although I’ve run every street in my city, I’m sure I can still find new places.  New cities and new countries.  Heck, maybe I’ll just run to the moon. (just checking to see if anyone is reading this...)

It has been a while since I lost my running mojo.  It’s odd to think about that since last year at this time I couldn’t run at all and I was dealing with some serious running depression.  I know this is temporary and that once the weather turns my spirits will improve. But for now, I am slightly lost.  I am desperately hoping my next post is called “Found”