drive time clears my head

It's getting harder and harder for me to motivate to run these days.  I'm blaming it on a combination of Seasonal Affective Disorder (which I'm not sure that I technically have, but the days are getting shorter and cooler, the nights are colder, and the first major snowstorm hit the Wasatch Front today) and post-race let down, after doing the Wasatch 100 (and finishing!).  I don't have a lot of goals that I'm reaching for, so staying on a weekly program has been difficult.  I find myself opting for drinking coffee and eating cookies instead of meandering on the trails.

I do have a 40-miler planned for my birthday in about a week and a half (a mile for each year), and I'm also reminded that this time of year, if I do a lengthy run, there will be a significant amount of running in the dark with headlamps involved.  It's been tough to stay motivated to train leading up to this 40-miler, even though it is on a route that I'm actually really quite anxiously anticipating.  I put off my training runs, though, and hope that my base from this summer's training will hold strong.

Today I put off my interval run, partly because of my mood, and partly because it was 40 degrees and raining steadily outside.  I did motivate to clean out the gutters on the front porch, so hopefully some of the basement-leakage issues from overflowing gutters will be lessened (or resolved).  I thought about turning on the treadmill and putting a movie on the computer, but just couldn't motivate myself to do it.  I did a couple of on-line Continuing Medical Education modules, and by 3pm I found myself restless and needing to get out of the house.

Thanks to Frau Holda, the White Lady of Winter (my Subaru wagon) for getting me and the dogs out of the house today.  I needed some sort of inspiration, and the hills of the West Desert gave me a little.  The Oquirrhs and Stansbury Ranges are dusted with snow, the light was filtering onto the golden grasses and blooming sagebrush of the desert floor, and through the dark intermittent storm clouds poked rays of brilliant sunshine and blue skies.  All of this reflected off of the still water of the Great Salt Lake and standing water of the surrounding wetlands. 

Even though I didn't get any exercise today, my mind was uplifted and my energy was a bit renewed.  We'll see what the weekend weather outlook provides, and maybe I will be able to get out with the dogs.  I'm going to let the muddy trails dry out a bit first though, and until then I will just enjoy the view.