I’m not sure if it comes across on this blog or not, but I like to push myself — personally, professionally, athletically.  It’s a way of making sure that I’m being my best self and living life to the fullest.  The upside is that it nearly always leads to something great: speaking a new language, conquering a fear, running faster.  The downside is that I sometimes forget to sit back once in awhile and just enjoy what I’ve accomplished.

Case in point: after hitting a personal best in the half marathon for the second time in a row, I almost immediately signed up for the Berlin Half Marathon in March, with the express purpose of getting closer to my goal of a running a half marathon in under two hours.

But my training since then has been less than ideal.  For one, it’s winter and although I was really doing my best to stick to my training plan — even in the total darkness wearing an awesome headlamp and fluorescent security vest — my motivation was not high.  I was pushing myself hard at work and I was generally just worn out.  Eventually I came down with a cold and took some days off.  And then in the week leading up to my defense, I basically did nothing but work and sleep.

And now staring down the 4+ weeks left until the race, I know I’m in no shape to race a half marathon.  But I still have this incredible desire to run it, just for the love of running.  That’s something I’ve rediscovered lately and it has been my secret motivation: run just because I love it, without a watch and without any idea of my pace.  Harkening back to my early days of running just for the miles and not for the time.  Right now I’m stretching myself beyond my comfort zone in so many other areas of life — so relaxing into my running and enjoying it for what it is, feels absolutely perfect.

I’ll still be hitting the pavement and putting in the miles to train for Berlin, but this time I’ll be concentrating only on the love.

How do you recognize when it’s time to take a break?  Would you run a race without a watch?