Winging It

I realized today that I am not meant to "wing it" in the running world. I need a plan of attack or my intended 9 mile runs turn into 3 miles. I can't help thinking during those runs, Why push myself if I don't have to? And, honestly, it's true. Why run more than 3-5 miles if you don't have a race you're training for? 3-5 miles 4 or 5 times a week is all a person needs to maintain fitness between training schedules. 

The problem is, I don't run 4-5 times a week. I'm lucky with once a week right now. That once a week was today. But, seeing as how it's Monday, I'm going to try for more days this week.  Part of the problem is that I didn't sign up for my usual August 1/2 marathon before it sold out. Now I'm in limbo waiting to see if I can buy a bib off Craigslist which means I'm not in a training mindset.

Speed Struggler suggested some good races here to spice up a bland running schedule...maybe I'll look into one of those. In the mean time, I guess I need to run for running's sake? To stay sane and less depressed about the June (now July) Gloom still lingering overhead? *sigh* Just not feelin' it.

P.S. Thank you to those who have been sending me motivation via Daily Mile: I'm pretty sure that's why I got my butt out of bed to run today. Maybe I'll find a new route this week, since I've been slacking with that goal.