My New Goal

Yesterday, my roommate asked how my run went that morning. Whatever I said and however I said it made her respond with, "You're done with running, aren't you?" Eeek!

Running has become a task rather than a joy. Over the past several days, I've begun to realize that's probably because I'm making it more complicated than it needs to be and putting more pressure on myself for results than makes sense. So, I've been getting all freaked out and "wanting" to quit.

I posted about my mental struggle on the fabulous Sub-30 Club the other day. (It's a private group but if you like running and you like fun people and you'd someday like to hit a sub-30 5k or already have and might like to encourage others in the same pursuit, you might like to join.) I asked for strategies to combat my quitting brain and one of the members, fondly referred to as our resident d-bag (I've never been able to figure out why) suggested this:

The more I can dumb it down the better. The more I think, the slower I get. It's running. It's not rocket science. Clear your mind and run. At least that's what I do.

Today, another member asked whether it was okay to take walk breaks during a run and good ol' d-bag responded this way:

As runners we tend to complicate things. Run. Get tired, walk. Then run some more. The simpler I make running, the easier it gets and the better I become at it.

His comments hit me like a ton of bricks - good bricks - the kind that wake you up and make you stop over-thinking stupid crap. I'm not winning any races anytime soon and I never ever will if I start to hate running. So why am I letting myself get SO stressed out about it? Running is an activity I enjoy that has the added benefit of making my body look great and last longer. I need to stop worrying over every little thing and just do what Dwight says:

In order to pursue this new goal, I am going to start running without my watch at least once a week. This week, it will be a fun run on Wednesday evening with a friend and some other people I've never met before. (It's not even part of my training schedule! [insert shocked face]) Should be good!