Tornadoes took the lives of many in our area on Wednesday 4/27. The water was out at our house for most of a day and the power was out for about 5 days. These were just minor inconveniences compared to what some experienced and are still experiencing. Trying to go for a run was one of the last things on my mind.
The rest of my family packed up and spent a few days in our hometown waiting for power to be restored to our house. I left after work Friday to join them. I took my shoes with me intending to get in a run while there. Saturday morning (4/30) came and despite the lack of motivation, I strapped on my shoes, watch, and HRM strap and hit the road. I ran around my old stomping grounds - places I played and rode my bike as a kid. It was a pretty good run, but my heart wasn't in it. I managed 3.38 miles in 30:21 for an average pace of 8:59/mile.
I came back home Sunday evening and didn't even think about running Monday morning. I was home alone, and my mind and heart were just not in it, so I skipped it. A similar scenario occurred both Tuesday and Wednesday before I decided I was going to have to force myself to get back on the road Thursday morning. I got up later than I should have, but was determined to run anyway, so instead of driving to the park, which adds about 15 minutes to my morning routine, I just stepped out the front door and took off. There's a water tower near our house and I knew it was somewhere around 1.5 miles away, so I planned to run to it and back, figuring I could do that in less than 30 minutes and still have plenty of time to get ready for work. It was a brisk morning, and I noticed there was frost on my car as I left our driveway. The route to the water tower is a straight shot, but fairly hilly. From my house it starts out pretty flat for the first hundred yards or so, then there's a pretty good downhill stretch and another uphill stretch up to the highway at the end of our road. Soon after crossing the highway the uphill continues for a few hundred feet and then crests. From there, there's about a quarter mile downhill stretch followed by 3/4 of a mile almost all uphill to the water tower. Here's a graph of the route elevation. The water tower/turnaround is right at the peak in the middle. The blue line is my speed in minutes/mile. The spike on the right is where I had to stop at the highway for traffic on my way back. I did 3.1 miles in 37:57 for an average pace of 9:22. I didn't really push myself until the last quarter mile or so when I kicked it up to about 7:30/mile.
Saturday 5/7 I wanted to run a little farther but wasn't in the mood for a really long run, nor did we have the time due to a planned very busy day. I did the same route as above but kept going for another half mile past the water tower to make it a full 4 miles. I took it fairly easy and kept a 9:30 pace until I came to the final hill before our house when I picked up the pace to around 7:30-8:00/mile. I did 4.05 miles in 37:57 for an average of 9:22/mile.
I'm hoping forcing myself to get back in a routine will help me gain some of my motivation back. I had worked pretty hard to get my speed up for the 4/30 5K. Then all that happened with the storms just took the wind out of my sails. I'm not complaining. I'm blessed to have my family and my home safe and all in one piece. I haven't decided yet what my future running goals are going to be. I don't know if I want to schedule another 5K or if I just want to start taking it a little easier and running more for pleasure than for competition with myself. The runs I have really enjoyed are my weekend long runs. I want to try to get a few more of those on my schedule. There's also a half marathon in October that sounds like a blast.
I feel like I'm in running limbo. I enjoy getting out and running, but pushing myself to go faster every time I strap on my shoes is starting to wear on me.
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