The Road Back

I feel like I’m just staring at it, waiting for it, eager for it to bubble up and show me the signs that I’m ready. I know a watched pot never boils, but dammit, it’s boiled a hell of a lot faster over the past 30 years, so why is it so slow this time around?

Over the past year and a half-ish, running got cozy on the back-burner. I never really turned it off and was always running, but instead of focusing on mileage, training plans, and racing, I took time to travel, run as I please, and spend time with my husband after living apart for a year. I don’t regret the decision to cut back running, but that hungry feeling in my heart is back, but a little bit different than years past.

The hunger isn’t about racing or mega PRs, but that high of running long and running fast — two things that have been proven to make me, simply put, happy.

I’m not following a specific training plan, but rather following what I know best. Six days of running what I can per week, a mid-week, medium-long run, a 10% increase long run increase on the weekends, take recovery days, and don’t be afraid to run slow. I know this pattern works and eventually I’ll get back on a regimented schedule, but it’s the slow build that is just, well, slow.

I also know that 35-40 miles a week isn’t anything to balk at, but when I look at my 70 mile weeks from last year, I have a frame of comparison that keeps creeping in lately. It’s the classic tale of the tortoise and the hare, and we all know how that ends. But these turtle legs sure could use a rocket boost purely to turn off that chatter in my head.

So until Silicon Valley invents turtle boosting shoes, I’m going to keep going. I know that it will come back, it always does.

I’ll (try to) practice patience, be ok with legs that are taking their time, and do this the right way. Run focused, roll ‘em out, strength train in-between, and simply, find my happiness out on the road.

Now about those shoes…