Fresh Again

This morning's run was the first run in the past couple of weeks that has felt really good. It is hard to think of what is different today, but it was a pleasant surprise. Part of the difference may be realizing that it is all "downhill" from here. My training lightens progressively between now and October 7th. Next weekend's long run is 12 miles, the next one is 8 miles, then comes the marathon. In a sense, the next couple of weeks are a matter of keeping the machine running smoothly and not hurting anything.

The past couple of week's malaise may also have been a function of feeling the "have to" of training more than the "want to." It makes a huge difference to me to have a choice in what I do--even if the activity is the same. It just feels different if I have to. It seems that people in our contemporary culture place a high value on choosing. We want to choose our TV stations (how many cable/satellite stations could we possibly watch?), our breakfast cereal (an entire aisle at Cub!), a place to worship (does any small town really need 15 different churches?). Even if Cub only stocked the three types of cereal that I would choose, I would think they were deficient if those were the only options. Would I be satisfied with a satellite plan that only included the four channels that I ever watch? What if there was only one church in our town?

Another reason that today seemed fresh again may have been that it is day one of my brother's half marathon training plan. While I usually look forward to running alone, I often find myself looking forward to running the Holiday Halfathon with him in 12 weeks. Whatever the reason, I enjoyed some of the fun coming back into my running today. Makes me look forward to tomorrow even more.