Decision Time

Looks like it’s been around 10 weeks since I last posted an update, and during that time, training has been a roller coaster. I’ve run as many as 72 miles in a week, the most I’ve run since August 2014 when I hurt my hamstring, and I’ve also run as few as 15 miles in a week. Since consistency is one of the most important aspects of building fitness, that’s not a recipe for success. Basically I’ve just had one interruption after another, from work, to life in general, to most recently being sick for almost 2 weeks. Unfortunately that seems to be the pattern for me of late, and I’m starting to wonder if it’s just been a long strand of bad luck or if it’s my new reality.

On the upside, I feel like I’ve been able to do enough running that I’m positioned to get fit if I can string together a few weeks/months of good, consistent training. That’s a pretty big “IF” though based on recent experience. Most days I feel as motivated as ever, maybe even more so because I feel like I need to prove I can still run fast as a Master, but I do have my days where I wonder if it’s worth it. There’s definitely an appeal to not worrying about running every single day, oftentimes twice a day, and not suffering through long runs, workouts, bad weather, etc. Still, for me, the appeal of running fast outweighs that….for now.

All that said, I feel like I have a good plan in place and just need to have the focus and ability to execute it. If I can, I feel like I can be in decent shape by the end of the summer and be ready to race well come fall. I actually hope to start racing again sometime next month, being fully aware that my first few forays into competition are likely to be more embarrassing than anything else. Workouts have been few and far between since I started running again back in March, and anytime I try to run under 6 min/mile pace it gets ugly pretty quick. Part of this comeback is going to have to be to put my pride aside and be willing to run much slower than I have in the past. In that respect, I feel it’s actually a good thing that it’s been more than two years now since I toed the line in a race, as it’s sort of allowed my own expectations for myself to fade away.

Anyway, hopefully consistent training is getting underway this week and I’ll be able to keep the blog more up-to-date going forward. This is about it for me though and I’m calling it decision time, giving myself the remainder of this year to figure things out. Either I’m able to make a go of it and start making progress, or I’m going to continue to struggle to be consistent for one reason or another. If it’s the former, and I’m really hoping it is, then I’ll keep grinding away as long as I can. If it’s the latter, then I’m going to hang it up from a competitive standpoint and just run 3-5 times a week for basic fun and fitness. In other words, it’s time to fish or cut bait!