In ten days, I start training for my 5th marathon.
The New York City Marathon has been on my list of dream marathons since I knew it existed. Last year I trained for this race like a maniac and was beyond determined to PR it. I put in the crazy miles, ran the repeats, did the cross training and was more than prepared to break 3:30. Obviously we know what happened with the race last year, and I didn’t think twice when it was time to sign up 2013. I knew I would be there no matter what.
At the 2012 expo. I am totally wearing this number at the 2013 race!
Well, the time has come to start training for this thing, and I am not excited or prepared to start running like a maniac again. In fact, I am pretty much dreading it. And I really need some of your love to get me back with it and excited for the next 16 weeks.
There are a few reasons why this training is proving a little more difficult for me to get excited about. So let’s all listen to me whine, complain and cry while I go through each one of ‘em!
- I am tired of training. I love to run, but I don’t always love to train. The strict schedules, the stress on my body, the fatigue – it just isn’t always fun. And if you aren’t in the right frame of mind, convincing yourself to get up at the crack of dawn 5-6 days a week to run isn’t so awesome.
- I live in a new neighborhood. And I have no idea where the eff I am going when I go out on runs. Last night I went for a 4 mile run, and ended up running on grass for a mile because I couldn’t find a sidewalk. (side note – I have a fear when I run on grass that I will take a tumble, fall into the street and then get hit by a car. If you don’t think I was visualizing that scenario for a mile on my run, you are kind but 100% WRONG!) I used to live in the burbs, and now I am in more of a metropolitan area. While I LOVE my new area, and my new house, and my awesome commute to work, I don’t really love the running path options. I’m not used to any traffic, and now I have to be super aware of traffic. This aspect will take some getting used to.
- My running buddies are far away. This is the hardest one to deal with. My girls I could always count on to meet me now live 30 minutes away. These girls are my accountability partners AND my therapists. What am I going to do without them?!?!
- Boston scared me. And I am not sure I am mentally prepared to run another big race after what happened there. In the days after Boston, I would’ve told you there was no way I would run NYC in the fall. But then I realized I couldn’t let Boston keep me from running a dream. Hopefully time will heal that fear, and I can put it aside in my mind a little bit, but I am not 100% certain of that right now.
So there are my 4 reasons why I am not so excited to start training for my race.
And now I need some advice, words of encouragement, and love to get me going!!!!! I beg, I plead…make me feel better and motivated 🙂
And in the next 10 days, I will be living up my training freedom with a trip to Vegas, staying up too late, multiple happy hours and wine. Lots and lots of wine.
Xo,
Ali
miles with style 