Has anyone seen my endorphins?

Man, oh man. This has been one of my worst training weeks ever -- so much so that I feel like I just started running for the first time...and I have been running regularly for the last 8 weeks! A five-miler earlier in the week felt like 10; eight felt like 18. I just haven't gotten in the groove. Blah. Sometimes you go out when you don't feel like it, but eventually you start to feel a little better...the endorphins kick in and you're glad you went out anyway. Not this week. Hrmph. Every step felt like lead. Every breath felt tight. Even my clothes didn't seem to fit right this week! Fooey.

I seriously thought how in the hell am I ever going do a marathon when a few miles feels like scaling Mt. Everest...ok, I exaggerate, but I've done two half marathons this year, several 5Ks and a 10K. This is not new stuff. It's amazing how this affects your mind. Three bad training runs in a row and I'm thinking to myself: maybe I am crazy to do a marathon and I should just throw in the towel. I was reading a post from a fellow TNTer and blogger Jessica. She also had a not-so-great week but posted this quote: "You have a choice. You can throw in the towel, or you can use it to wipe the sweat off of your face." (Gatorade ad).

It was time to check mah-self.

I know I needed to get over it. Aside from my crappy runs I did have an AWESOME outpouring of donations toward my TNT goal this week! I'm almost at 40% to goal, which is great. I still have a ways to go, but I'm off to a good start. A ginormous THANK YOU to everyone who has donated so far...you have no idea how much this means!!

Today's run was a little under 10 miles and I felt good...finally! Carol ran with me this morning and it was great to get my mind off this suffocating heat and the pounding of my tired legs. Plus, afterward I rewarded myself with some new running clothes (that fit)...a little retail therapy never hurt anyone.

So, just like anything you do...you have good days and you have bad days...it's the getting up part that's important. I leave you with a running scene from Forrest Gump just because I think it's funny...but unlike Forrest, I do happen to have a particular reason for running.