On Sunday I’m running for a good time, not a good time. Good meaning fun, not good meaning fast. This is not the season for a fast me, even by my slow standards. I have mostly come to terms with a bronze medal tarnishing my silver collection. I have mostly come to terms with my decision to forgo a spring marathon. Mostly.
I am slowly recovering from an unexpected midlife crisis. If I multiply my age by two I’m dying regrettably young. At the peak of this crisis I lost the will to run. And eat. And sleep. And the less I ate and the less I slept the less energy I had to I run. It’s a vicious hungry, tired, lazy cycle. I even lost my will to eat chocolate. Husband was concerned. Deeply concerned. I’m still not sleeping, but I am eating. And running. Slowly running. My marathon race pace has become my “tempo” pace and although I haven’t hit a pace target in four months I’m running regularly again. Sunday will be the kickoff kick-in-the-ass I need to revive my training plan and gear up for a fall marathon. Yes, this hilly, windy 30K race is my kickoff to training. My run crazies, it seems, are intact. Anyone up for celebrating 2500 years of marathoning in Athens this fall?
Title Reference: Trooper – Here For a Good Time (Not a Long Time). 1977.
This no food, no sleep thing seemed like no big deal till I hit the part about no chocolate. Now I’m worried.
And i totally sympathize. I’m now to the point where my “standing still” pace is my 10k pace. I once clinged (clung? clang?) to the old “passing rocks and trees like they were standing still” quote, and now the rocks and trees are waving while leaving me behind. But unlike me, I know you’re going to get faster. Soon. This is the start. Good luck with the kickoff!!
I’m sorry about the midlife crisis. I know you can’t really know someone just from reading a silly blog, but you seem like a spectacularly nice person and I wish you the very best.
And I am so, so glad you didn’t chose “Everybody have fun tonight, everybody Wang Chung tonight” as today’s title…
I make it a point to only Wang Chung on Sundays. And I did eat an impressive amount of chocolate yesterday, so I must be on the mend. The excessive chocolate won’t speed me up, but it makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside. That could also be the baileys.
So sorry to hear about the down time. I, too, feel like lately I may have to consider that my times two years ago are going to be life PBs and not just PBs-because-I-had-never-raced-the-distance-before.
Being only 32, it seems unlikely that this should be the case. I remain hopeful that my running life (which only started in my 20s) is just a long cycle, like the economy or the climate, that has its ups and downs.
I wonder if these times like you’re experiencing now serve mostly to give context and renewed novelty to your running. For instance, anything you do now will be compared to your recent situation and it’ll be like having “firsts” again. Like, “yay, first time I didn’t feel like napping during a 10K.”
Hee, awesome.
I like your economic comparison. Hopefully I’m at the front end of a bull season ’cause I’m tired of that bear dragging me down.
As someone who has the pleasure of running regularly with our wordsmith, I am happy to confirm Marge’s opinion that she is “spectacularly nice”.
But enough of these mid-life crises: mid-life is too short anyway and you guys are way too short of mid-life! At 53, I still have trouble placing myself in this category…and I’m still picking up PB’s…although this probably indicates how slow I must have been running in my 20′s and 30′s!
Don’t worry: along with those runners’ highs must come a few runners’ lows. The spring sunshine will restore everyone’s smiles and the joys of running will coming flooding back. And that’s a promise.
I’ll hold you to that promise … which should be easy enough to keep because it’s hard work to stay in a slump when surrounded by our band of merry runners.
Hilly, windy 30k this Sunday? Must be Around the Bay. You forgot rainy – forecast looks wet.
I fully expect to experience all four seasons in one 30K loop: the cold wind of winter, the wet rains of spring, the warm sun of summer, and the perfect temperatures of fall.
My current facebook status (a poem) reflects your sentiments exactly…
30k around the bay,
is just a couple if days away.
My leg’s still sore, and so much more,
so no big plans for speed that day!
Dave
30K Around the Bay
is in just another day.
Tonight I’ll enjoy some chardonnay,
’cause silver tarnishes anyway.