run it or it will run you.

these past few weeks have been a bit challenging. i've been letting myself get a bit lax with my running. and as the title says..run it or it will run you. i'm not sure why i've gotten that way. it could be because it's the end of the year, i may be a bit burned out, i probably need to get to bed earlier, or a combination of everything.

i did an estimated tally of my miles over this past year and i got a little bummed at the numbers. i shouldn't be because i didn't set a mileage goal..but still. i'm not going to blog about goals quite yet..that will come later next week. 

as for me being lax in my running and trying to become friends with "Millie"..well, that's still a work in progress. it's a mind game and i'm slowly getting myself in the right frame, but i'm still struggling with keeping my focus. the crappiest part that has been bothering me for a few months now is there is NO SNOW yet...which makes me want to kick myself in the ass each time when i thought about buying a few pieces of cold weather running gear back in october and didn't because i figured there would be snow coming soon..it's south dakota, after all. so of course..2 months later and there's no snow. and each time i contemplate buying gear..i talk myself out of it because i KNOW the snow will hit just as soon as i cut the tags off the stuff! i don't want to dump money into cold weather stuff knowing that it'll just end up sitting, unused until february or even march. so instead of spending the money now..i'll hit the sales/clearance cold weather running clothes after winter is over and be more prepared for next year. 

i'm on the last week of my 5th and final 10wk run schedule and i'm not as satisfied with this schedule as i have been with previous ones. mostly because "life" has taken over on this schedule more than it has in the past..and i just need to accept that. it's hard for me to do that when it comes to my running, workouts, etc. i've come to having the mentality of "my health is non-negotiable." it's not an option to slack. it's not an option to not workout or run. i've made it such a huge part of my life and everyday routine for going on 3yrs (consistently exercising at least 3-5 days a week!)

And on that note..my end of the year review/tally will be coming soon.

not quite..

it's been about two weeks and i have to say that "Millie" and i aren't quite friends yet. we're getting there, slowly but surely. but it's going to take more time than i thought.
i had a few ideas of what i could do to "bribe" her, but nothing has completely stuck yet. i tried to read on my kindle while running, but the glare of the lights in the gym, along with running and trying to concentrate on reading and running..well, it just doesn't mesh well for me. as for my mp3 player..yes, that's an option, but i've actually grown to love running without it. yes, i said WITHOUT music playing in my ear. i ran a few times this past summer without my zune and discovered that i don't like running with music anymore. i run better when i'm just going with thoughts in my head and concentrating on my breathing. i find that the music distracts me to the point where i'm not enjoying my run, i'm focused on the music and it seems as if everything gets out of whack. but running outside gives you lots more to look at than running inside on a treadmill. and now when i don't run with any music or anything going on except for the thoughts in my head, i seem to get really distracted by my thoughts instead of having them be a positive thing for my running.
and with that, i've been attempting to run with my zune again and i think i'm going to find a few audio books to  download and hope that gets me to the "bff" stage of my relationship with "Millie." but since i'm particular about the books i read, i'm on the hunt for a few good audio books that are read by the actual author. yes, that's my stipulation. and with that..i'll have another update soon enough.

stay tuned..