I wasn’t a pregnant runner. It was winter, I was nauseous as the time and I just had no desire to run while I was pregnant. I shouldn’t say that I did have a desire to but it just wasn’t a top priority. So instead I focused on walking, yoga, and strength training. I felt strong and healthy my entire pregnancy and it made a huge difference when it came to childbirth.
Now this isn’t a post about childbirth or pregnancy but rather what comes after. I had these grand ideas of running (well run/walking) my first half in November only 4 months postpartum. I figured I could do it. I had been active my entire pregnancy and I was a fit mama so why couldn’t I? Well I didn’t heal so quickly and the dreams of my first half were over.
In December I found out we would be moving so of course the first thing I did was look for a race to run. I found the Hippie Chick Quarter Marathon and decided that would be my race. I received a comped race admission thanks to Brooks. We moved and after that chaos settled down I started to train. I actually got back into running much more easily than I had imagined and it felt good. I was running 4-5 days per week and cross training. I was pushing myself hard because I knew that I couldn’t back out on this race.
The race came and I had an amazing time but as soon as that race was over so was my desire to run. I had pushed myself so hard for 4 months straight that I just lost all desire. I was burnt out. The idea of lacing up my running shoes made me cringe. I would force myself to get out and run but I had no heart for it. I didn’t want to be there. I dreaded every mile. Finally by mid June I just stopped cold Turkey. I needed a break. Unfortunately this break resulted in me hardly working out at all.
After two months of not taking the BOB out for even a walk (okay for about a month of that the tire was flat and Neil and I were to lazy to get it fixed) I finally took it out. As soon as I started walking I WANTED to run. I surprised myself and it felt good. The only thing is when you take nearly 3 months off from running you kind of lose all that endurance you built up and my desire to run miles turned into about a quarter of a mile. Now that my desire to run is back I’m easing in slowly and going back to the basics, back to Couch to 5k. I’m ready to get back running but I don’t want to suffer from burn out again. So for the next 9 weeks it’s all about Couch to 5k and taking it slow and easy.
Q: Have you ever suffered from burnout?
I started running at the end of 2007 and went on for a few years, running a ton of races and I loved it, it was a good outlet for me. But around the summer of 2011, we were buying our first house and thinking about kids and I injured my foot, so I figured it would be a good time to take a break. Little did I know, I’d be here two years later still not running, oops! I keep thinking one of these days I will get back into it but perhaps it was just meant to be a part of my life for a short time and I think I’m okay with that for now.
I’m on a break from running, but not intentionally. I’ve been having hip flexor problems and I’m waiting for them to go away because I have a half next month! ah!!
I tend to get burned out every year around Christmas time. I train really hard from August to December, and last December even ran my first half, but after that, it’s hard… partially due to the cold weather (I’m a wuss, since SoCal weather isn’t even cold), darkness in the mornings (again, wuss), having family in town for the holidays… I usually don’t feel like running much until the end of January or so, but by then I’ve lost so much fitness that I end up getting discouraged, and usually just stop running and focus on strength training until August again. It’s a vicious cycle that I hope to break this year! We’ll see!