getting out of funk-ytown

Had I initially wrote and posted this last week, the tone would’ve most likely been a little more subdued. The past couple of weeks have been interesting to say the least. To be completely honest, running has been a struggle, and I’ve had to fight for every inch of every mile.

One way to describe what I’m feeling: burnt out

I feel like I’ve been burning every candle at every end and not just in running, but as a consequence my running has been in a funk because of it. Mentally, it’s tough to get going even when I have every intention of doing so. And I do have every intention. But we can’t run races by training on intentions, can we?

A few weeks ago I began to notice my midweek runs went from 3 to 4 times to once or twice with my long run on Saturday and a fairly short trail run on Sunday. The weekend before last, I ran a pretty hilly course with my group and completed a total of 13.24 miles that day, and it wiped me out.

Now, I don’t always take a nap, but many times, during particularly tough runs, I take one. I usually wait until after the run to do so, not during the run, although there have been times when I could’ve easily conked out in the middle of one. Naps usually occur sometime in the afternoon, but this one seriously put me down for over two and half hours early on. And when I awoke, I felt so drained and groggy. The next morning when I meant to hit up the trails, my legs were so completely shot. There was no amount of coaxing or bribery I could do to get them going because they simply weren’t having it.

A few days later I dusted off all the cobwebs I gathered from a few days off and went out for an easy run to get going out of this funk, but the funk was still there. Oh yes, I was living in funky town.

That week I was also having issues with sleeping well. The fact of the matter was, I wasn’t and this made me simmer in the funk longer because I was just so exhausted. I’d wake up in the middle of night, and fall asleep an hour or so before my alarm was to go off. Let’s just say, I entered snooze city.

Last Saturday, on Halloween morning, I went out with my group for 7 miles (I did a total of 9.69 that day) and while it wasn’t a particularly difficult run for the most part, it wasn’t easy either. Playing in my head was the idea of my last long trail run the next day, but due to the New York City Marathon going on, I ended up watching it and instead shortcut my last long trail run to 3.64 miles on road. Again, my legs felt tired and worn out during the short jaunt in my neighborhood.

After Sunday’s short run, I resolved to the fact my training is done. There really isn’t anything I can do now that will greatly benefit my race on Saturday, so I’ve settled into taper mode. Albeit, a short one.

Now, all I can do is focus on my nutrition, hydration, getting as much sleep as possible, and devising my game plan for this 50K. Despite being in this funk for a bit, I’m ready for this race, and I already feel a lot better resting my legs. The mojo is back!

Thanks for reading and Happy Running!