Big Sur International Marathon
Apil 2008
Well, after over a year's hiatus, I'm officially back in training for the OC Marathon. The last marathon I ran was in Long Beach back in October...2008. I can tell you, my body's definitely complaining.
Why'd I take such a long break? The simple answer is that I lost my community.
All through last year I met pretty consistently with a small group of folks which I had been running with since the summer of the year prior (2007). We all ran the same 4 marathons last year. (Some of us ran more than 4 races.) Those shared trials seemed to be the source of our motivation early on. It fed off its own momentum through most of last year. Then, it tapered off.
I can't really put a finger on when, exactly, it happened, but sometime during my preparation for last year's Long Beach marathon, fewer and fewer of us made a showing for our Saturday morning runs. Some moved away. Others found alternate running groups. A few quit.
Right after the Long Beach race, I too stopped coming. And that was that.
I had a few false starts this year as I tried picking it back up again in solo fashion. I'd get going for a few weeks. But it wouldn't stick. I'd hit a point where my runnin' mojo just didn't seem to be enough and I'd find myself in the doldrums again. After a few weeks of doing nothing, I'd feel the itch again and start back up...only to put it on hold again a few weeks later.
I knew what was going on. I needed to find power in numbers. So, a few weeks back I joined a training group. So far so good. Barring any physical calamities, I think it's gonna stick this time. How do I know? It rained last Saturday. Over 25 of us showed. I was among them.
If you've found yourself stuck in the doldrums with something you've been trying to get moving with some momentum, but can't seem to get there, try finding a small local group to join. That might just be the key to busting past the proverbial wall.
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