Pulling out of a running rut

I admit it - I'm in a running rut. I like to pretend like that never happens to me, but it's happening now. It's been crazy at work, and my miles are WAY down. Last week I got up early to run one morning, and it was raining. Usually I just run in the rain anyway, but I though heck with it. I'm not training for anything right now, so I can do some cross training instead. On Saturday I set off to run 6 miles in the snow and ran half that. I wasn't tired, I wasn't injured. I just wasn't motivated.

This happens to me sometimes particularly in the winter, but this is the worst rut I've had in a while. I started running in 2006, and after three half marathons in less than a year I took about two years off from running. My IT band problems were significant and not healing, and I wasn't motivated. In the four years since that significant rut I've run another seven half marathons, two marathons, and dozens of 5k and 10k races.  I need to figure out where that motivated lady disappeared to.

December is a rough month because there are few races to do. It's dark when I leave for work, and it's dark when I get home. I'd rather lie on my couch than run on a treadmill - that is torture. So here I am in a running rut. My husband and I did a few miles last night, but my weekly miles are probably less than half of what they usually are when I'm training for something.

It happens, and I am registered for the Inaugural Portage (MI) Winterblast Half Marathon in February. It should be an interesting challenge to run a half marathon in Michigan in the dead of winter. I just need to keep my eye on the prize, suck it up and run on the treadmill if I need to and pull myself out of this running rut. It doesn't matter how many miles I'm logging right now as long as I get myself out there. Running is almost entirely a mental sport, and I've got to get some mental motivation. 

Speaking of, this is one of my favorite running quotes. This should help: 
"We run, not because we think it is doing us good, but because we enjoy it and cannot help ourselves...The more restricted our society and work become, the more necessary it will be to find some outlet for this craving for freedom. No one can say, 'You must not run faster than this, or jump higher than that.' The human spirit is indomitable."
-Sir Roger Bannister, first runner to run a sub-4 minute mile  

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