It's not sunshine and rainbows ALL of the time

I write about all of my runs in my weekly re-cap posts:  the "normal", the bad, and the good.  I realized recently that I tend to write more about the positives than I do about the negatives; after all, I'll write a whole post on an amazing workout, but just a sentence or two about a meh day.  I think it's easy to emphasize the positives online; just look at anyone's Facebook or Instagram for proof of that!  We often share our ups but not our downs, and then we start thinking that everyone else's lives are perfect because that's all we hear about.  I love running, and I really do love it every day, but that doesn't mean I am leaping for joy to start every single run, and I don't want to discourage any other runners by presenting myself that way.

I think I am fortunate to love the training process, and I also think that's why I'm a lifetime runner.  Honestly, I enjoy daily training just as much, if not more than, racing.  The journey truly is the reward.  Again, that doesn't mean I don't have harder time periods or days when I don't necessarily want to run.  If anyone says they never have a day where they want to pull the covers over their head and do nothing, I think they are lying!

Winter is absolutely the hardest running time for me.  It can be so dark and so cold for my early runs. On Thursday and Friday last week, after I'd run twice in single digit "feels like" temperatures, and was facing a 20 mile long run on a route TBD since the roads were still hazardous, I had some periods of time where I was ready to throw in the towel and take up sitting on the coach and eating junk food as my new hobby.  What was I thinking scheduling a February marathon?!  What am I thinking trying to run PRs??  If I were content with finishing the marathon as my goal, it wouldn't matter if I skipped runs here and there, but I sure can't miss a 20 miler in PR pursuit!

But I also know what makes me happy, and while being lazy is all good and fun for awhile, it doesn't fulfill me like running does.  Running without goals doesn't fulfill me like training hard does, although I have had life seasons where that was what I needed.  I go through slumps where I wonder what the heck I was thinking with training for [insert crazy goal time/race here], and I think that's completely normal for any runner!  I think I'm blessed to have done it so long that I know I'm going to be happiest if I go out for every run, even on the days that are harder to (plus the OCD in me has to check it off the schedule!).  Some runs may be hard to get started, but once I'm out there I enjoy them 99.9% of the time (the 0.1% I've regretted have been when I caused a pain or illness to get worse).  I also embrace chasing my goals!

So don't give up when you have days that are harder or when you feel unmotivated!  It's all completely normal!  Don't give up when running is hard - it will get easier!  Every runner has ups and downs...now, if you never want to run that may be a different story, and maybe you're a better fit for another activity (that is how it is with me and swimming!).  I want to go out for most runs, but there are some days when it is intimidating or feels more like a "have to" than a "get to".  I always try to re-frame that and think about how blessed I am to be healthy and to be able to do this!  I choose to do it!  What I wouldn't give to have been able to do it at times I've been injured in the past!  But nothing in this world is perfect, so we shouldn't expect it to be.  Peaks and valleys will come, and those also make us stronger in the end.

Set goals that make you want to jump out of bed in the morning!  Even though, that's not going to happen quite every morning - especially during winter.

I'm very thankful for a warmer patch this week!  And I am jumping out of bed thinking about my next goal, which is the Arizona Rock n Roll half marathon on January 15!