Well I ran Chicago and once again, I ran it badly. I had wanted to beat my time that I had run 20 years ago at the same race – 3:44. Normally, I should have been able to do it. But boy was it hot and boy was I tired.

I thought I trained well enough to run around 3:30 and I really did want to. But I wanted our family to have a good time in Chicago more. So we did the tourist stuff – we first visited the Lincoln Museum in Springfield (if you haven’t been you need to – it’s quit the production). Then we viewed the Sears tower, ate too much, didn’t sleep enough, walked around the Museum of Science of Industry all day and then stuffed ourselves with pizza. It was a great time – until I woke up pretty much exhausted. Then it got worse as I walked out of the hotel the morning of the marathon and felt the heat. It was going to be a long day.

I shut it down pretty early and shuffled through my 26 miles. The crowds were great and although you can never run a marathon without feeling a decent amount of pain, the pain I experienced was relatively small.

In the end, it was a pretty uneventful run. My focus wasn’t on the race but on the family. As a result, I was o.k. with running slower (by 15 minutes) than I did 20 years ago. But I got myself in decent shape – despite a job change and move- and now I’m ready for my next challenge – I’m going back to the Disney Marathon where I always seem to have a good race and a great time with the family.

That’s the thing I love about marathons and distance events – there’s always another race to run another goal to achieve another opportunity to succeed. There’s always hope that the next run will be the best one. It might be the best time you’ve run but it may be the best you’ve felt or the best crowds you’ve experienced or the best you’ve done after you turned 42. There’s always something that you can get out of a marathon. At Chicago – I got a great weekend with the wife and kids – and a t-shirt and a medal – oh and a real cool hoodie.

I’d heard about Mt. Leconte from my dad. He and my brother had hiked up the mountain over a decade ago. Dad had enjoyed it so much that he’d been talking about it ever since. Mt. Leconte is like a primitive bed and breakfast located on top of the Smokey Mountains. Guests hike up the mountain (it takes approximately 5 hours – depending on how hard you go at it) and stay in small kerosene heated and lighted cabins. Dinner is served at 6 p.m. and is followed by a stunning sunset that is best viewed at a bare rock at the point of the mountain – about fifteen minutes from the cabins. After a hard sleep, if you are able to wake up, you can view the sunrise, have a hearty breakfast and head back down the mountain. The trails up and down are filled with postcard perfect views and your guaranteed to get a workout.

There is only one problem – the cabins usually fill up a year in advance. With an active family of four – planning that far out is difficult at best. But with the kids on spring break we were looking for something quick to do as a family - we called Mt. Leconte on a whim and asked if there happened to be any cancellations that week. It just so happened there was a guy who had just called in with a torn ACL. We took the reservation immediately and drove the 5 hours down to Tennessee two days later.

What a great time. There is nothing like the solitary act of hiking a mountain that strips the real world stress away. It’s easy enough to enjoy the scenery and difficult enough that your brain can’t wander back into work or personal problems. My wife is a photographer and we stopped often for her to snap off a shot of nature. She took over 300 pictures in 24 hours and would have probably taken more if she wasn’t so tired by the end of the trek. We were proud of our 9 and 11 year olds. They had a blast and usually had to be told to get back on the trail or slow down (I have a healthy fear of heights and I have to admit to having some stress watching the kids on some of the more challenging paths). In these times of child obesity, as a parent, there is no small joy to watching your kids hike up and down a mountain.

We came back worn, sore and wanting to go back. There was some sacrifice for me – my calves were so sore from the down hill (I got to carry the family backpack) that I couldn’t run for a number of days. This threw my training off and caused me to miss the last leg of the Louisville Triple Crown of Racing. But there will be other races. The purpose of my running is to relieve stress and be healthy. I was doing that on Mt. Leconte and enjoying my family. It doesn’t get much better than that.

What an ugly run. I think I did everything I could to make today’s 10k (Rode City Run in Louisville, KY) go badly – and I succeeded. To begin with, the kids were at sleepovers last night. My wife and I found ourselves alone – it happens about once a year. So, despite having to race the next morning, we went out for dinner at a nice restaurant, ate too much and stayed out too late. This morning I was barely able to get out of bed.

Combine this with my already sore body (too many hard training miles too soon) and a poor attitude and I was doomed before the gun went off.

I wanted to run a 42 minute 10k. I knew that was probably wishful thinking, but I wanted to get close. I ended up doing a 44:50 – a 7:15 pace. That’s about what I’d like to do for 26.2 miles. I do indeed have a long way to go.

I started the race out thinking I was going pretty fast. But I wasn’t. I did a 7:05 first mile but felt like I had just run a 6:05. I then did another 7:05, then slipped to 7:23 and then did an ugly 7:45. People started passing me who normally wouldn’t. I was getting pretty down but I kept pushing. The next mile was slightly downhill and I did around 7:30 and I didn’t feel too bad. My legs felt stiff as a board, but I wasn’t too winded – I put it into my highest gear and ended my last two miles at around a 7 minute pace. I had managed to salvage some dignity.

The problem is obvious – I’ve built up a great aerobic base from Ironman. I can go slow forever. But I’ve lost my high gear. I’ve got to incorporate speed in my training and I’ve got to do it more intelligently than what I did this past week – my 42 year old body can’t handle the stress like it used to.

On the upside, whenever I’ve had a bad race, it usually gives me motivation to try that much harder. The final leg of the Louisville Triple Crown is in two weeks – The Papa John’s 10 miler. I’ve got some work to do.

I’ve had a few people email me recently to tell me how they appreciated to hear that other people (for instance - me) had problems keeping motivated all the time.

Well if hearing that I have problems getting motivated to go run or swim or bike helps make someone feel a little better about their own motivational issues - I’ll go one further. I have trouble getting motivated to get out the door most of the time. In fact, as I’m typing, I’m trying to psych myself into running tonight. My legs have been sore lately and we have a family movie night that we like to do on Friday’s. It would be easy just blow off the run.

However, I’m going to try to get it in. Here are a few of the tricks I use to get out the door. Hopefully, one of them will work tonight.

1. Just start getting dressed – without thinking, just start putting on your workout clothes. It’s easy to call off a ride or run if you’re slumped in your easy chair after work or lying in a comfortable bed before. However, pride won’t let you skip out of your daily run if you’re already dressed for the occasion.
2. Tell yourself you are only going to workout for 15 minutes. That shouldn’t seem too hard. You’ll be surprised how better you’ll feel after ten minutes and when you do, it’s easy to go a little bit longer.
3. Think about all the work you’ve put in so far. If every day off decreases your fitness level – it’d be a shame to let all that time you’ve put in go to waste.
4. Change up your pace for a few seconds. Whether it be running, biking or swimming, unless you are a competitive athlete, you probably rarely do intervals. But intervals not only help speed you up, they also help with the monotony that can drag you down in training for marathons and triathlons. So every ten minutes in your workout – go hard for 15 or 30 seconds. It’ll be uncomfortable and it’ll hurt a bit, but you’ll be surprised how quickly the session will go. Plus, you’ll probably find you’ll get a little faster after a few weeks of this.
5. Mp3 players are not a bad thing. I used to fight against using music when I ran – it didn’t feel “pure” and I felt it took away from my “me” time. But training for the Ironman, I needed something other than just my thoughts. A good play list can do wonders for a long monotonous run. I use one most of the time now and even bike while listening on “low” in one ear.
6. Go buy some new equipment. Shallow I know, but I’ve guilted myself into running or biking many times by purchasing some new shoes or gear. The motivation being if I’m not using my new gear, I’m wasting money. This is a great way to try out cool new stuff and reinvigorate your workouts (It’s also a good way to get in trouble with your significant other by spending too much money on your hobby, but that’s another issue entirely).

All that said, the best motivator I have is thinking about the sense of accomplishment I know I’ll have after I complete the workout and the sense of loathing I’ll have if I don’t finish it.

My house is located at the bottom of a long steep hill. This means that all of my runs begin with a long slow and somewhat painful climb. This morning it was particularly painful. My legs were sore from running 8 out of the last 9 days. But it was a beautiful misty fall morning and, despite the pain, I had a good run and it wasn’t because I went fast or felt light on my feet – it was a good run simply because I was running.

As I posted before, it’s been tough getting motivated in the past few months. Ironman Louisville left me with little both physically and emotionally and the Disney World Triathlon took what was left. I had no desire to run, swim or bike. A couple weeks ago I realized that my fitness level was decreasing and my waste size was increasing. But it was my mental state that finally got me back on track.

I’m not the same person if I’m not running or exercising on a regular basis. I worry more – I’m more easily stressed. I can’t sleep very well at night. I’m irritable. But worse, I don’t feel like myself. I’m a runner (and part time triathlete) and I’ve been one for most of my life. It’s a part of me.

I can’t say that I suddenly sprung from the couch and started running with a new passion or that it was some sudden realization. I didn’t and it wasn’t. Actually, I went out the door 9 days ago without feeling much desire to run at all. But I felt it was my responsibility to do it – as a father, husband, boss and worker. I’m just not as good at any of these occupations if I don’t get out and run.

So my promise to myself was simple; string together 4 or 5 days (no matter how uncomfortable) of running and then see how I felt. I struggled through a week of running, but during it I rediscovered a little of my passion for running. Now, after nearly two weeks, I’m building on it – enjoying it a little more each day and fearful of stopping and going backwards. I feel like I’m on my way back to enjoying running again (cycling and swimming hopefully to follow).