So my running lately has been lame almost crappy. It’s been a year since my last PR!!! Given, the last one was pretty sweet: Third Woman and won my AG
but it was… A YEAR AGO!
I had had a great string of PRs in every distance and felt wonderful and been injury free for years… then… I got sick with an ulcer, got lazy, got married, kept falling around (or more sometimes) than once a month, pulled a pectoral muscle, got lazy again, got really cold, had leg spams… you name it. I DON’T HAVE A REAL REASON. And I know it.
It is still just so sad. Mostly because I don’t have a reason. Still, I prefer to have a lazy season than an injured 0ff-season!!!
Things are changing now. Though, post Boston, I still feel really really tired. My runs have been slow, like 3 minutes over marathon pace, painful, and pretty forced.
I am starting to feel like I a non-runner. I really don’t know how they do it. It sucks quite a lot. Ugh.
When was your last PR or what was your longest dry spell??
runningandthecity 
Being in my mid 40s I haven’t had a pr in years though I was 2 seconds off my 5k pr this past fall. Pretty much I look for improvement over the season these days. I try not to focus do much on what I did a few years ago.
Even elite runners have dry spells sometimes!
If you feel like training for a pr at least you know exactly what to do, and this season can be a season of improvement from race to race! Just have fun with it and see where it takes you!
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You make really good points. going into my 40s (39 right now) I might have to start getting used to this. What bothers me the most is that I don’t really have a real excuse, I wasn’t injured, just didn’t feel like bothering… So strange for me. Good thing is I haven’t totally given up 😉
Yes, I know what to do, I just need to get moving… at some point!
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Sometimes you just need a break. It is totally ok! Don’t beat yourself up…..you can only improve now right? 🙂
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Yes! I know. it’s just so weird. I used to get injured, get slow and come back really upset. now… it’s so weird to not have a good reason why I jumped the shark!
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My last PR was at the Eugene Half in April 2013. I had a fantastic race and was totally psyched for a fast fall marathon… but I was injured after Eugene and ended up losing a lot of time from running. It sucked. I had a short training cycle for the NYCM and my goal was to finish and feel good. I met that modest goal, but felt really discouraged about my running as I slowly rebuilt my foundation. Fast forward to now: I’m feeling strong like last year at Eugene, and I’m striving for a huge PR at the Newport Marathon at the end of this month. I found my running mojo again. You’ll find yours, too.
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I am looking forward to that. but it’s so strange.. when it’s been like 10 months of crappy running it all seems so far away! Thanks though!! and so happy you’re running strong and ready to bust out of the gates!!!!!
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I agree with you–it’s hard to snap out of that feeling. Being 39, I felt like a lot of pressure that the clock was ticking on my-good-running-years, but it’s really not. This is a mere blip. You’ll be back out there PR’ing before you know it.
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Really?? Okay. That makes me feel better! 😉
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I began racing when I was 40. I used to nearly always PR and place in my age group. Now, I feel like I’ve plateau to some degree, but still do OK locally. The desire to train hard wanes and I’ve spent too much time marathoning lately. I’m looking at some shorter distances for now. BTW, I notice the 40-44 and now my new 45-49 age groups are more competitive. Maybe a switch flips when you hit 40 that makes you want to work harder. I don’t know, but after a crappy Boston, which you did not have, I have felt a little aimless too. I made myself go out for eight miles today, and it felt good. Give it a try now, OR maybe conserve your energy for the big 4-0 AG. ;))
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That’s right Diana! The 40s age groups are totally insane, often with overall winners in local and regional races coming from those groups. It gets harder and harder to place!
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my explanation: -1 at this point we really care or we wouldn’t still be running, so we know what we’re doing. there might be less of us there (kids, work, etc) so it’s more competitive and easier to get pusher forward! 2-it’s now or never baby, to capitalize on what we learned and push the limits before we get slow!
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I know the feeling. I started running only 2 yrs ago and was doing great until I was diagnosed with a hip FAI/labral tear in Jan ’13, then April ’13 I underwent a shoulder rotator cuff surgery. 2 months after that and countless hours of PT I went back under the knife because scar tissue built up and had to be cut out. Then back to PT. Then I went back to running and after approx 3 mo of training ran my first 1/2 in Oct ’13. Ran it in 2:01 with a 9:18 pace. I was pleased with that but about mile 11 I felt like my leg was going to fall off. Hip was killing me. I knew I should never had run the 1/2 but it was a goal of mine. Stopped running after that and in Jan ’14 I finally had the hip surgery. Orthopedic surgeon shaved down both the femoral head and socket and repaired the torn labrum. After 3 weeks on crutches and 3 months of 3x per week PT I started running again. I signed up for Boston Run To Remember 1/2 coming up on May 25th”14. I have ran a total of 8x since my 1/2 last Oct ’13 and hip surgery Jan ’14 and I can say I know what uou are going through in a sense. But what kept me going and still does is pure stubbornness and blogging and reading other people’s blogs and their trials and tribulations like yourself. So just hang in there! It gets better. Everyone deserved a little down time – a funk if you will. Keep blogging and reading anything to do with running, videos to. They always helped me through my many ortho surgeries (8 in 10 yrs). Happy blogging and running! Sorry for the long winded response but you asked! LOL
-Mike
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