You may have noticed that this year, I haven't blogged about running very much. To be honest, I think hosting our monthly Runners Tell All linkup is the only thing that saved me from not posting about running at all.
As I've mentioned before, 2013 was an insane year of running for me. I ran over 850 miles, which included 2 full marathons, 3 half marathons, a 25k, a Warrior Dash (5k mud run), and 2 5ks. (Get all the race recaps here.) That's not a lot for some people, but by the end of the year, I was burned out.
I spent the first half of this year running without a watch and without a time or distance goal of any kind, and I won't lie: it was nice. I ran when I wanted, as long as I wanted, as fast as I wanted, and I loved it.
But around the beginning of September, I fell off the wagon. I was tired of running. I was bored and had no motivation or desire of any kind to head out for a run.
Word to the wise: When you're in the middle of a running slump, the last place you want to be is on Twitter on a Saturday morning. Saturdays, if you don't know, is when most runners do their weekly long run, and my feed is a long list of updates from people finishing 10-, 15-, 20-mile runs. It was super depressing.
This is not the first post on how to get out of a running slump, nor will it be the last. But I wanted to share some of the things that helped me get back on the running wagon. Because I am back on it and loving my runs right now. Hopefully this will be an encouragement to any of you who are in the middle of a slump of your own.
Okay, so you're in a slump. You're not a terrible person. You don't suck at life. And yes, you will be able to run again.
Once I admitted those things to myself, I was able to cut myself a break. I realized there wasn't any point in allowing myself to swim in guilt for skipping a few days (or even weeks) of runs. It is what it is, and recognizing my slump for what it was helped me to feel less guilty and more optimistic about my future return to running.
No, not literally naked.
Obviously.
Running naked is a runner's way of saying running without a watch. It's easy to get caught up in numbers. How fast did I go? How far did I go? What was my overall pace? What were my mile splits? Numbers are fun, and I get way too much joy out of plugging my latest runs into dailymile. But sometimes it's necessary to just go run for the heck of it. Run because you want to, and don't care about the clock. (But, see #4)
This is not a new tip. Every runner in the history of ever has included "run in a new place" in a list of ways to get out of a slump. But that's because it works. Part of my problem was that I was so bored of my route. Whether it was running laps around my apartment complex or running through the same neighborhood streets, I was tired of it.
You might think, as I did, that there's no way you can run in a new place because of your schedule. But you just have to get creative!
I have actually started running during my lunch break, and it's been so much fun. I had always thought I couldn't do it, but Tamara's post made me reconsider. It's great to run in a new area and during a different time of day than I am usually out, and if I keep it to 3 miles or so, I actually don't get too terribly sweaty. (Unless I'm doing a tempo run or something.)
If you can't run during your lunch hour, consider bringing your running clothes with you to work and going straight to a nearby park or neighborhood. Often, my problem is that once I get home, I'm done. There's no way I'm going out. But if I have my running clothes with me, I can change and head directly to a new location and go running before I get home.
I know I said in #3 to run naked, but sometimes the opposite it needed: a training plan. Another reason for my slump was that I had been running without a watch for too long. I was doing the same route at the same(ish) pace, and I was bored out of my mind. Some people get into a slump because they've been following a training plan for too long, but it was about time for me to have some structure.
I've mentioned this book before, in part 1 of my "How to Start Running Series."
I bought Run Less Run Faster a while ago but had never used any of the training plans. To help get me out of my rut, I decided I was going to train for a 5k, which is what I'm doing right now. After running a marathon, a 5k sounds like a lame, but it's actually the base for all the other distances. One of my goals for 2015 is to run a sub 1:50 half.
The training plans in this book provide you with 3 types of runs per week: a track workout, a short tempo run, and a long run. They include all the paces for each run and include stretches and warmups to do.
This might not sound like a novel concept to many of you more experienced runners, but I had never done any real tempo or track workouts before, and it's been really fun to follow the training plan and try to hit the goal paces for each workout. I find myself actually excited to see what the plan is for that day, and even though the paces are tough and I'm dying by the end, it's fun to run, even for just a few miles at a time, in the 7s.
It's so easy to look at social media or read blog posts and be discouraged by how many people have their act together and are running and beating their goals and basically being awesome at life. But instead of being discouraged, try seeing that as motivation and encouragement.
Having the monthly Runners Tell All linkup this year has been so much fun. YOU have made it fun by commenting and visiting other blogs and linking up and sharing your story. It's been motivating for me to read about your training runs and your favorite moments and your favorite running gear. If you're in a rut and you're frustrated about it, tell someone. Share your frustration with a fellow runner and let them be an encouragement to you. Because as awesome as we try to sound in our Saturday morning Twitter post, we've all been there. You're not alone, and this won't last forever.
Now to find a 5k to sign up for....
Have you ever been in a running slump? How did you get out of it?