When running, I'm usually concerned that a dog is going to jump out and get me. However, last week when I was running, I came across the two deer pictured above. I started walking, took some pictures with my cell phone, and then watched them cross the street in front of me and head into a more forested area. Kind of a fun sighting on my run!My runs have been less than stellar as of late. I have been SO unmotivated. That's the reason I'm combining three weeks into one; because I didn't do that much running over the last three weeks. I really should be doing at least a 14-mile long-run, but it's been taking all of my motivation to eek out 30 minutes of running (not even 3 miles). It doesn't help that there are hills all over the place, that my life has been up in the air with many trips to Seattle, Bellevue, and Issaquah to look for housing, I was sick for a week and a half (so what else is new?), and I don't feel like I have any goals with this race. But those are all excuses I'm using to justify my lack of training.
This past Saturday, I forced myself to run 10 miles even though I'd been running nothing near that lately (or in months, for that matter). Maybe not the smartest, but I took it really easy by walking a lot. I went on a flat trail and I definitely didn't have the fastest 10-mile time in my life. It was a major mental game for the first half. I kept thinking, "Maybe I'll just go out 3 and do 6 miles total," then, "How about 4? That'd be 8 miles," then, "Okay, I'll turn around at 4.5...9 miles is still really good." But eventually, eventually I made it to the 5-mile mark and turned around. I was actually really proud of myself for sticking it out to the 5-mile mark because all I had to do was get back. That was much easier, but still not easy. I still did a lot of walking and mental pep-talking.
So, if anyone has any words of advice or encouragement, I'm all ears! (Or, would it be "eyes" when it's posted on a blog?)
Monday, January 17th: 3.36 miles at 9:55 min/mi
Tuesday, January 25th: 2.57 miles at 11:42 min/mi
Saturday, January 29th: 3.25 miles at 12:19 min/mi
Monday, January 31st: 2.74 miles at 10:58 min/mi
Thursday, February 3rd: 2.64 miles at 12:05 min/mi
Saturday, February 5th: 10 miles at 10:24 min/mi
Total for Three Weeks: 24.56 miles
Total for the Year: 40.59 miles
Highlight: Accomplishing the goal of running 10 miles on Saturday.
Tough Spot: Not feeling motivated to train, book travel for, or run the Boston Marathon.
