Keep on Keepin' On

So we officially completed our fourth event together this past Sunday (Miracle Miles, Walk Way from IPV Run, Hike for Holly, Strawberry Stampede). And although the Strawberry Stampede left much to be desired, I still felt like we had accomplished so much and ALL of us had so much to be proud of!

Since I was able to be around you ladies a bit more the past few days, I was getting a good read on where you're all at. And there kind of seemed to be a common thread: "I've been loosing motivation lately." I thought that this would be a great time for one of those Team Mom pep talks (remember I did get the "most loving mom-ish" award, so these talks are expected). I really just wanted to encourage you ladies...to inform you that that lack of drive you may be having is SO NORMAL!

Sometimes I have likened my relationship with running to that of some new boyfriend. You meet and he's freaking HOT! and you're feelin' really good about yourself because you've landed this great dude and he is bringing out the best in you and everyone's complimenting you because you got that new love glow and then, a few months later, when he starts getting super needy and you're thinking, "oh, wait, I need to nurture this thing? I'm tired!", then that once perfectly coifed hair you were so attracted to looks ridiculous and kinda metro and his desire to be with you now feels juvenile and annoying! You begin to realize that once the chase is gone, he's not as attractive as he once was. Well just as super hot, needy boyfriends can get old, so can your love affair with running. Welcome to adulthood.

This is the maturation element you need to be a great runner. You're not going to just "land" running and be able to walk away from it and reap the same rewards as if you dated it, fell in love with it, married it, had a few kids together with it, and still wanted to kiss it goodnight (I kept it PG). Running is truly like any great marriage, it takes WORK! And it hurts sometimes and it's boring sometimes and it can be the last thing you really wanna do sometimes, but I can say that after 20 some odd years of running (on and off), 9 Half Marathons and at least 10-15 10K's, I've put a ring on it...and it's freaking amazing!

Now don't get me wrong, my love can grow cold sometimes. But I've learned that when this happens I need to romance it a bit again. You have to give to it in new ways...no more Firestone as a "date" with your two (or three) kids, it's Roma or Novo or Tsurugi's, alone! So when I'm feeling this way with running sometimes, this is when I buy myself a new running bra, try new Bloks, make a new playlist on my IPod, or find a new route to run...or start a running team:) More often than not it's the little bit of motivation I need to get my booty out the door again.

Also, know that it is completely okay to say that you're "taking a break" from each other. HOWEVER, put a cap on it. Don't let your break be more than two weeks (unless you have an injury and need to heal), because like I learned in one of my crazy psych classes, distance doesn't make the heart grow fonder, it simply makes it grow colder. You wait too long and you might as well just order Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred cuz you're never leaving the house again. But I promise, if you keep nurturing it he'll be faithful to keep lovin' you back.

So anyway, I hope that this helped some of you...to run more, not find a new boyfriend. I'm proud of all of you and look forward to a lot more runs together! Keep on Keepin' on!!

Fight Apathy,
Her Broyle(s) Highness