Sunday, March 7, 2010

Doldrums with a Side of the Funk

It has been a month since my last blog post. A month?!?!? I rarely go that long without an update, even a brief something. My twitter activity has slowed. My Facebook updates have almost completely stopped. My running... Sigh.

A few weeks ago I woke up dizzy. I was dizzy for the better part of the day. The next day I was planning on a long run. After five miles I stopped to refill my water bottle and I felt like I was going to black-out. You know how you can get a head rush if you stand up too fast sometimes? It was like that. It scared me enough to end my run then. The last thing I want to do is pass out while I'm on the treadmill.

I made it to the doctor on that Tuesday and she said I had some fluid in my middle ear. The dizziness lasted until the following Saturday.

The next week, I wanted to run, but I just couldn't bring myself to do get it done.

The whole week.

This past week wasn't much better. Four miles on Tuesday was all I had in me. Wednesday night I was asleep by 8:45 PM and on Friday I laid down at 7:50 PM.

Physically, other than being tired, I feel fine. I just haven't had the mental wherewithal to get it done.

I see people out for their runs and I want to run too. I'm jealous that people are out there and I'm not.

I'm worried about losing the fitness I have worked so hard to get back since November when things weren't going so smoothly on the running front.

Things piked up and were going well. I had great runs at Disney and was feeling especially confident after those races. No PRs there, but I felt like I was making leaps and bounds and it the last three weeks PPFFFFFFFFFFFTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT. It's all gone.

My confidence is shaky but I know that I need to and that I can turn this around.

I had originally planned on the North Carolina Marathon, but due to a scheduling conflict, it was a no-go. My plans shifted to the Flying Pig, but now I'm not sure about that. The next week or two should determine if I can do it.

This week will be complicated by travel. But I'm ready to shake the doldrums and run away from this funk hanging over me.
Posted by Maddy at 7:45 PM
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12 comments:

  1. Hang in there Maddy...perhaps you needed the break - and don't worry about losing the fitness. You can't lose that much in 2-3 weeks like during a taper before a marathon. If you get a chance while traveling (San Diego?) get out and do a "fun" run - and think about how much you have done with your running over the past 2 years! You are an amazing runner....it will come back :-)
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  2. I agree - hang in there. You poor thing. I certainly understand.

    Have a glass of wine!
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  3. Hey Maddy don't be so hard on yourself. Maybe you just need to accept that you needed a break and that you need to have fun again, out running. Don't think too much about it, just do it!
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  4. It happens. You need to be mentally ready to tackle your training. Believe me, if you are not, then it becomes such drudgey that you will give it up. Besides, it's better to have these doldrums now than it is at week 14 of a marathon training cycle....

    Don't worry so much about losing fitness. Will you? Yes. But it will only take a week or two to get it back, and the mental boost that you will get while seeing the improvement goes a long way to cure the burn out.
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  5. Sorry things are all funk-ta-fied right now on the running front. :( I hope you get to feeling better stat and keep us updated on what you end up doing!
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  6. Hang in there, Maddy! I had some inner ear issues too (a tear) that caused ringing, which in turn caused dizziness. It sucks! What helped me to get back into it was to go out more often, for shorter runs. It kept my fitness up, but was safer in the event I felt dizzy again (I was closer to home.) Also, it's a little less looming to only have to go out for 2-4 miles as opposed to 6-10.

    Best of luck and feel better soon!
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  7. Even if you lose fitness, it will come right back. Come back when you're ready. The road will rise up to meet you!...
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  8. In my experience, the funk rarely lasts. Hopefully, you'll find your motivation again soon. Hang in there!
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  9. Good to hear from you, Maddy. I'm glad the dizziness was nothing serious. I've had problems with anemia before which affected me similarly and were no fun. Hope you are able figure out your schedule soon so you can have a firm race target to shoot for!
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  10. Kick the funk! I hope you get out of it soon :(
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  11. You'll get your fitness back in no time :)
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  12. Maddy, it's okay. The elites are taking it easy this year too. If you're not running Boston soon, you're probably not running much, like me. So chill and roll with it.
    BUT, if you do the Pig, it's a fun one. Just be ready for big hills from miles 3-9.
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