The Doldrums

Distance: 2 miles
Time: 19:42

The reason for this post's title is that I'm beginning to realize that I've hit a bit of a slump in my training. I'm not rapidly progressing as I was in the beginning. I have some good days and some bad days, and I never seem to know which it will be each day. I can't shake muscle pain, soreness, back stiffness, etc. Yet I know that as long as I don't give up, these "doldrums" will pass. I knew that injuries were inevitable, but it's still tough to deal with. I have to keep in mind that I'm only about 7 weeks into my training, and I plan on keeping this going indefinitely, i.e., years and years to come. My body will adapt, I just have to be patient.

Tonight's run wasn't all bad, but I'm still not feeling great out there. I ran a 19:42, which is a much better time than I felt I ran. I knew I wanted to get 2 miles in, but about 1/4 mile into the run I was feeling so stiff and achy (especially in my lower back) that I almost considered shortening it to a single mile. But I'm glad I didn't. I began to loosen up eventually, but the back pain and some leg pain never went away completely. As soon as I finished, my back stiffened up pretty bad, so I did some post-run stretching that I usually don't do.

All the negatives aside, it was a lovely night to be out and running. It's been cloudy up here lately, even raining yesterday, and tonight the clouds began to part, revealing a plethora of stars in the sky. After a day in the heat, it's nice to be out in the refreshing night air.

Tomorrow, Deborah and I are heading to Las Vegas, so I won't be getting a run in. I'll be right back at it, though, on Tuesday. I may feel like I'm in the doldrums, but the only way out is to keep on trucking.