Real Men...and Ultrarunning

Nope, this is really not a macho post, just mostly an excuse for another cat picture:

Image credit Gary, of a refrigerator magnet in a gift shop.  Sorry, no info as to the maker!  I should have bought it.

The link to Ultrarunning is this: if we--men and women alike--are honest with ourselves, one component of the reason why we are practitioners of this sport is what in the photo above is called "Real Men."  I like to call it the smugness factor.

Remember back to your first marathon, when people that you knew told you how they simply could NOT believe that a person could run 26 miles.  No way.  We smiled and acted all self-deprecating, but inwardly we were hugging ourselves.

Fast forward to the day when you ran your first 50 miler, or later advanced to the point where you ran a 100 miler.  The smugness factor went waaaaaay up, and you knew it.  And you liked it.

The smugness factor is not why I run vast distances in the backcountry, but in my heart of hearts I know it exists.

(Of course, to be the devil's advocate, "It's not bragging if you can do it.")

Tough Running

Another short post due to computer problems but hopefully those issues will be soon solved.

Finger issue still is complicating my ability to run, although that is improving.  Wound care doctor and my ortho see steady healing after the secondary infection that put me in the hospital a couple weeks ago.  The pain is now manageable, so today's run is mostly dependent upon my desire to run in the teeth of a howling wind and bitter temperature.

We'll see.

Night Running

Image credit here.

I need me a dose of night running about now.  I feel in a lull, because I am pressed for time due to some family medical stuff.  In fact, my available running time has pretty much flatlined. 

The medical stuff is all non-critical and non-life-threatening, thank goodness, and it all should turn out fine.  But for now it still is a very time consuming endeavor and I am wearing down somewhat mentally. 

I do see the light at the end of the tunnel, and the first opportunity I get (this weekend, I hope), I will plan a night run.  Running at night has a special enchantment and ability to recharge my batteries.  It's always worked for me as a means of getting back on track with a routine for my runs.

Hope to update you all with a tale of a successful run!

 

Motivation Following a Major Effort Run

I'm in a running lull at the moment, and it's a lull I expected.

After running well 5 weeks ago at the Umstead 100 Mile Endurance Run, I took a week off to rest my tired legs and to heal my blisters, then resumed running with my work buddies at lunchtime. Runs for a couple weeks were in the 6 mile range. Then I went longer and hit a couple of 10 milers on the weekends.

This past week has been a rough one at work where I was too busy to break away for a run on a couple days, and my running buddies were also busy. So from the pool of 6 potential runners on any given day there might be 2 available. One day, I was the only runner, and I really had to whip myself up to do the run alone. Once I was out there, it was a fine run, but my lack of motivation in advance is an unusual phenomenon.

But, not unexpected. Every time I've done some big event, there seemingly has been a letdown in the ensuing weeks. Also, in my personal life, this seems to be a time of higher than normal stress, which compounds the problem.

It's like I'm stuck in a loop. I don't feel like running because I'm stressed and otherwise just not motivated....and my lack of running ensures that I remain stressed and unmotivated.

How to break the cycle? I guess, like I have done countless times in the past, you just go and do the right thing. Not because you feel like it but because it's the right thing. In this case, the right thing is running, and sooner or later--if prior experience is any guide--the enjoyment and motivation will return.