How To Beat A Running And Writing Slump
The past couple weeks have met really nasty weather in the southeast. Nothing has been particularly catastrophic and the roads haven't been a huge issue, for the most part, but there have been temperatures down into single digits and, most problematic of all, the sidewalks have been largely impassable with snow and ice.
I may or may not have made clear before how much I hate treadmills, but if I have, it's worth reiterating that they're one of the last pieces of exercise equipment I would willingly use. My excuses have graduated in merit though. I used to just say they were boring, but now I have a pretty good spiel about how I think they can mess up your stride and cause injury. The science may not back me up, but at least it gives me a decent story.
All this to say that I haven't been running nearly as much as I would like or as much as I should for the past couple weeks. I did threaten to strap some shoe spikes on and get after it anyways, but the very real threat of eating it on an icy sidewalk has kept me inside for the most part. To make matters worse, when I'm not running, I lose my primary writing muse.
So what am I to do when I need a little extra motivation? Sign up for a half marathon, of course.
I recently got my tax return to help cover entry and I have been training for the past few months, so I decided to stop screwing around and sign up for a race to give me a clear cut deadline to help define my training regimen as opposed to the amorphous-run-a-half-marathon-eventually-plan that I was beginning to slip into. So now, I'm set to run the Rock 'n' Roll half marathon in Raleigh on April 12th and I'm already getting hyped up about it. I'm also getting nervous already about waking up early enough so I can only imagine how much more I'll be feeling the nerves for the next 5-6 weeks, but I'm determined to make my time goal and I think this will be a lot of fun.