Thursday, February 16, 2012

The Smell of Potential!

As I typed up my Daily Mile report this morning, I asked if anyone has seen my running mojo as I seem to have lost it this week. I've been running long enough and training for enough races that I know (and almost expect) I will have bad runs and even bad training weeks. Except, I did not expect it to come this early in my training! For crying out loud, it's ONLY week 5! I have had ZERO desire to get out of bed for my runs this week which is very strange for me. Usually, once I'm out the door, I'm ok, but getting out the door this week has been a very big battle!

I noticed on my run (after I finally hauled my butt out the door) that it is definitely time to rotate out my Brooks Ravenna 2s and get out one of the new pairs I have stashed in my closet. I am always sad when I rotate out a pair of shoes...they have seen me though many run times and LOTS of miles! I know I missed some of the miles while tracking on this pair of shoes, but they have seen me through at least 340 miles. That's a lot of bonding time!

As sad as it is to rotate out an old pair, I LOVE new shoes (I am SUCH a girl as Jamie would say!).
Look how pretty they are?! Even though they are the EXACT same shoe, down to the color, as my current Brooks Adrenaline 11s, there are so many possibilities with these shoes!

First, they have that wonderful new shoe smell...until Saturday, anyway! And yes, I always smell my new running shoes; doesn't everyone? (or I am just weird?!) Just thinking of the bonding that I will be doing with these shoes is exciting. Heck, these could even be my Marathon shoes!

Opening up the box, I smell the thrill of anticipation. The different roads and miles that these shoes will take me on. The experiences of good runs. The experiences of bad runs. The time with my good friends. I LOVE it! And yes, I am EXCITED for my long run on Saturday in these new shoes.

So, today I say goodbye to my trusty "old" Ravennas. Funny how road running shoes typically do not look old when they need replaced, isn't it? Looking at them, they still look good! They will now go into my walking shoe pile and every time I put old my old trainers, I am reminded of the miles we've had together.

Maybe pulling out my new shoes will be all I need to get my Mojo back. Only time and miles will tell!

Have you ever lost your "Running Mojo"? What did you do to get it back?


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10 comments:

  1. Gosh, I've lost my running mojo more times than I can count.  But one great run always makes me fall right back in love with running.

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    1. Good point, Heather! Fingers crossed that Saturday will be a good run (how could it not with my Best Running Friends?) and will give me my mojo again!

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  2. Pretty!!!  And, no, you're not the only one who sniffs new running shoes.  In fact, I sniff new shoes before I wear them every day until they're un-sniff-able (whether that be after a week or just one run), then they are officially not new anymore. ;)

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    1. I won't wear them until Saturday, so if you'd like to sniff them, they will be new :)

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  3. Five weeks in doesn't seem an unreasonable time to experience a little mojo loss - after all, you have been going at it for over a month, and the marathon is still so far off.  OK, sorry, maybe that doesn't help.  Nice job listening to your body on the shoes, do be careful even in using old running shoes as walking shoes as their loss of support and cushioning can still have an impact.  I think we can do more to hurt ourselves when we aren't running than we do when we are running.
    As far as regaining mojo, I usually find a weekend off helps, then I feel a bit of urgency to make up the lost ground and really hit things harder the next week.

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    1. Thanks for the comments, Greg! I hadn't thought of loss of cushioning impacting my feet with just walking, but you are totally right--still need to take care of these feet even when I'm not running!

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  4. Love this !! I smell my new shoes too HA!! Happy Trails!

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    1. Thanks, Deanna! So glad I'm not the only one :)

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  5. Oh my gosh yes!  I lost my mojo at the very end of my training for my last half marathon.  I was so disappointed in myself to feel so un-motivated right before a race!  The race went great, but now I'm coasting through a week of total rest to recover and I'm hoping some of that mojo will be restored because I want to jump right back into training again!  Maybe I just need some new shoes!

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    1. Good luck getting your mojo back, Nikki! Hope you can jump right back into training. What's next for you?

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