I’m firmly in snooze button season now. Almost all of my races and adventures are done for the year so it’s time to take some well deserved R&R. This doesn’t mean I stop running entirely. I’m still getting out the door each day to at least keep my run streak going (day #3753), however my weekly mileage has been under 30 since my last MDT attempt. No long runs and lots of short stuff. And if I wake up and don’t feel like running much? Snooze button time!
Not only have I cut back on my running, but I’ve also cut back on my reading and writing about running. The latter being fairly obvious with my lack of posts recently. I wouldn’t say I’ve gotten burned out, but I was probably heading in that direction. Or maybe in another month or so. I like to lean into these periods of demotivation whenever they pop up, which is typically every year or so.
I believe an off-season is as important for the mental benefits as the physical ones. Training/constantly running to be in shape for ultras can wear down the mind just as much as it can wear on the body. I don’t have any set period of time that I cut back. Some years it’s a couple weeks. Some years it’s a couple months. The timing depends on my motivation and upcoming races.
And now that I sit back and think about it for a minute, I wonder if it’s the races (or lack thereof) that has me in a bit of a funk. My next race is the Mason-Dixon Shortest Day 50k right before Christmas, however that’s a fatass event and not really an actual race. DUC 100K is my next real race in early February, however registration hasn’t even opened for it. And I’m still 4+ months out from my next hundred. I’ve recently learned that races are what keeps my stoke for running long stoked so it would make sense to be a little blah with nothing coming up on the calendar.
I have no doubt that my motivation will pick up in the not too distance future. Especially as I put the finishing touches on my 2023 calendar. But in the meantime? Meh, maybe I’ll hit the snooze buttons a couple more times.