Erin Go Run

My running, like my blogging, has been down lately. In my attempt to find an excuse that explains the rut I have gotten into, I have only to blame myself. But at the end of the day, running is a roller coaster; you’ll get into and out of ruts, just like everything else in life. Shit happens. But just to give you a rundown of the excuses I have run (no pun intended) through, I hope that you will take these into consideration should you ever find yourself making the same excuses…

1. Injury*- I have mentally battled this as well as physically. And it has been such a battle on me that I’ve started and deleted many blog posts because it is almost too discouraging. But now I come clean… I am constantly running on pavement (thanks to a full-time job that lies in the center of many business districts and an hour long lunch in which I squeeze in my daily runs). With that, in addition to the many hills throughout the city, it seems inevitable that my shins will act up here and there. However, and many long-time runners will agree on me with this, at what point do you attribute your lack of motivation in running to shin splints. This is not to say that shin splints are not a serious threat or that they should be ignored. In my running days, I have come across shin splints like lame pick up lines. You give them one cold treatment and they get the message and disappear. Recently, this has not been the case. My left shin would bother me walking around, running, even touching. Never having this extreme of a case of a shin splint, I worried my entire run that my leg might split in half and break mid-stride. This happened all the while that I told myself it wasn’t too bad and I could run through anything. Is this something that should have slowed me down? Should I have stopped? Taken days off? Or was it in my head? While I was able to talk myself into getting out to run each day, I decreased my distance and intensity while increasing icing time. It’s getting better, but still mentally hurts.

*While I write strictly about shin splints in this entry, I have the same problem with Plantar Fasciitis on my right foot.

2. Yoga- I started adding yoga into my weekly routine in order to help my flexibility. While I am much more flexible than before, it has slightly taken a toll on my running; at least an immediate toll. The days that I do yoga, my runs are substantially more of a struggle and I constantly feel the need to work much harder to maintain my stride and pace- thusly affecting my energy efficiency. But, like the injury, do I let this interfere with my motivation and running ability? Is it becoming too much that I am threatening my running athleticism for yoga? Or can I even blame the yoga for my efficiency in running? This decision needs more time, since I am relatively new to yoga.

3. Diet- I live by a strange dieting regimen; semi-healthily (but lazy) during the week, awful on weekends, and snacking 24/7. Weekends consist of at least 3 fast food meals, while the weekdays consist of either pasta or some sort of frozen food. I don’t have the diet that many athletes would deem appropriate; but to many people that are just looking at me(not meant in any cocky way), I “have nothing to worry about.” O-contraire, mon-frère! It worries me to a semi-large extent. No matter my shape or fitness, it is unhealthy and affects my running. This is why I have tried on a number of occasions to give up fast food (and have done so successfully) for a period of time and have just been defeated on my first detox attempt. Of course, my mistakes in the detox led to the defeat (making exceptions such as coffee, etc), but still trying to run despite the obvious lack of energy sources even further defeated my runs, and thus, my motivation.

While the typical tone in many of my posts have been optimistic and motivating (at least I hope so), I hope that this honesty still motivates, but also makes running and exercising more realistic. Often times we get into this dream bubble that nothing can stop us and nothing will bring us down (this often happens after a PR in a race or a great workout). And worst of all, we all at some point deny that we are ever vulnerable or experience any doubt in our running. But of course, I speak for myself…