Breaking out of the Funk

It’s been so long I don’t know where to begin.

I had a wonderful 40^th B-Day party on the 9^th. I celebrated by spending the evening with family and friends. My wife had dinner catered in and we had plenty of food and drink on hand. Funny thing is I don’t feel older, or even old for that matter. I am glad that I am able to run and be in the healthy condition I am. I am sure that has everything to do with how I feel. I even feel this way despite the fact that my wife plastered the lawn with fake tombstones and “Over the Hill” signs everywhere. I’ll take the good and the bad as long as I can still feel as healthy as I do at this time in my life.

I have 10 days until the Madison Mini (1/2) Marathon. I have to admit I haven’t been training as much as I should have been and I am getting a little nervous. Ever since vacation last month, I seemed to have been slacking a bit and not running the longer distances I should have to prepare for this. I do get motivation from reading a lot of wonderful blogs out there and it really seems to help, but for some reason after my 12 hours days of working/commuting, I seem drained. I know exercise gives you energy and all and I have been running just not like I should have. Lately my body has been aching more than its normal pains. I am not sure if has anything to do with running a few miles on concrete everyday to get to the paths I have near my house or worn out shoes or psychological. I changed my shoes, tried staying off the concrete as much as possible and tried to get my head out of the funk I was in. I read a great post over at Runner Dudes blog yesterday that seemed to help. So last night I started off my evening run and ended up doing 7 miles at a quick pace (quick for me). I left right after I got home from work at 6:00 and didn’t get home until 7:45. After my return and showering, I was exhausted and in bed by 9:00. During the week I don’t normally have the time to commit to these longer runs, but I just felt I needed to get the cobwebs off and needed to break out of my routine. I was sore but felt great afterwards. Today, I assumed I would be feeling a little beat up but not a bit. I hope to get out tonight for an easy three and then cut the grass. I have 10 days to get my head and body in the right place. I have come to terms that I am not going to worry about a PR and just enjoy the race as much as I can. I have a long run scheduled with a friend of mine for Saturday morning and I am off work for a 4 day weekend so I hope to get a few quality runs in preparation for the upcoming ½.

Last weekend we had some college friend visit us up in Wisconsin for the weekend. We had a great time and a friend of mine took us all out in his boat for the afternoon. We docked at a sand bar and were able to let the kids swim and enjoy the day.

Summer seems to be coming to a quick end. My son starts school next week and for me that signals the end of summer. I am ready for some cooler and less humid weather for running anyways.