Guilt over not running

Interesting post on Will Run for Ice Cream about the guilt that she experienced due to the failure to complete a scheduled training run. I sometimes feel those same feelings when I miss a run, particularly if I miss it because of other decisions made the night before (The TUD = The totally unnecessary drink). But, I found that while injured, I really missed running and the fun that it brought to my life.

I have actually become more of a social runner than I used to be pre-injury. I think that I took running for granted, and started to view it as a chore: "Gotta get my miles in today so that I can run that marathon in March..." I was running solo, training solely with a goal in mind. I would pass up the running groups that I usually went with, or I would run ahead of of everyone else to get the miles in at an arbitrarily assigned pace. Now I run with the group, keeping a conversation. Granted, I go out for a few miles at a typical training pace for me before meeting the group, but then I slow it down to the group pace for the rest of my run. We talk, we laugh, and it's a good feeling when someone who was struggling to keep up says, "I've never run 5 miles in 8:30 pace before." If I were running up ahead at my usual pace, they may never have tried to keep up, and wouldn't have PR'ed their 5 mile training run. I got more joy out of that than I would have gotten out of running 7:00's for whole run.

I too, have been questioning whether I want to run a marathon in the future. I was caught up in the pack mentality with my marathon-focused running group. I signed up because, after a TUD, I felt compelled that it was something I "needed" to do. But, I truly love the half marathon distance. I think that I may focus on that the rest of the year. What's more, with my new joy for running, a refined technique, and the social atmosphere... I think my times are going to come down this winter. And, I often wonder how many more years I have where that will be true.