Ho Hum

Maybe it’s the winter blues, maybe it’s the relentless work schedule, maybe it’s the lingering letdown from accomplishing my crazy goal of StoneCat 50 miler in November.  Or maybe it’s a combination.  Whatever it is, it’s equating to a feeling of “Ho Hum”.

Scott reminded me the other day “you usually get this way during the winter”.  And even though I may have wanted to debate that point, he’s right.  I hate being cold and I hate the dark. I feel tired before I start some days.  And yet I live in the Northeast, where it’s cold and dark for so very long.  Match made in heaven, right?

Last weekend, I joined Meaghan for a 13 miler and felt fantastic.  You know, that feeling that confirms a good workout – sore legs, tired, almost a sun kissed face (due to cold wind of course).  As the new week began, I fizzled.  This week was particularly cold, but in addition to that discomfort, I also had a business trip to the even colder area of Vermont.  We’re talking temperatures of negative 10 – and that’s without the wind chill.  We’re also talking about making sure my car was backed into the hotel parking space just in case the battery needed jumping.  It didn’t, but boy my car was not happy about having to start during such cold temperatures.

I managed one 4 miler on the hotel treadmill and that was it.  I can’t say I was being lazy per se, but just a feeling of “ho hum” or “whatever”.  Not good.  Although I’m not running Boston this year (pout), I have signed up for a Spring marathon.  So it’s not like I have nothing on my calendar.  Time to kick my own butt.  And stat!

So what to do to get out of the Ho Hum space?  Here’s my plan:

Run with a friend as much as possible – I usually enjoy solo runs for the most part, but running with a friend makes it more fun.  Plus it provides great and free therapy! 

Monitor what I’m eating/drinking – When I’m “all in” to my training, I become a better eater and drinker.  I do what I have to in order to avoid bonking on a run, so that means taking the time to creating a good/healthful dinner and drinking water or other non-Coca Cola products.  My dessert should come in the form of a multi-vitamin.

Reduce my time on the computer – This is more about work related computer time, but let’s face it, it’s very easy to gaze mindlessly into the computer screen at absolutely nothing and suddenly find you’ve lost hours of your life you can’t get back.

Reframe my picture – Stop thinking “I have to run XX miles” and think of it more as “I get to run XX miles”.  Huge difference!

Obviously I could do what a lot of people do and head to FL right about now.  That would solve a lot of issues!  But for what I’ve got to work with right now, I think it’s realistic to give the above a shot.  “Ho hum” is not a good feeling to have about anything.  I’m hoping to recharge by simply acknowledging that this is a tough time of year, but that I also have some control over how I react to it. 

And I’ll start with a long run that I “get to” run, of course!

How do you manage the winter blues?