No more justifying indolence

I read this article in Running Times a few weeks ago and it struck a chord.

The Runner's Witness: Find Your Saddle
Making a commitment to get race-fit again by Tamara Rice Lave

Some excerpts:
"I didn't cease training hard because I no longer enjoyed it. I stopped because my life changed, and I didn't have the same group I had trained with for 10 years. I was adrift without the San Diego running community -- my friends who had carried me through week after week of gut-wrenching Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday sessions. And toughest of all, I didn't have my beloved coach, Kevin McCarey, a man who has the remarkable ability to make even the hardest workouts fun. So instead of taking advantage of the new community that was available to me in the San Francisco Bay Area, I lamented my loss and spent more and more time running alone."

"I bet that many of you are just like me. You were good once, but now you're just OK. Maybe you used to log 16 miles on your long runs, but you've cut back to 10. Or perhaps you frequented the track on Tuesday nights, but you switched jobs, and so you stopped going. You promised yourself that you would do workouts in the morning, but the bed was warm and you ended up sleeping in. Or maybe you just had a baby, or your mother is sick, or you've taken up tap dancing. Some of these are valid excuses, but others are just half-hearted attempts to justify indolence."

I've never heard a runner be so honest about falling off the horse and it's exactly what I've let happen to me. I hope that soon Running Times adds the online bulletin board she mentions because I'd love to know there are more people out there like me who know they can be fast but have just failed to use their talents.

Maybe I'll see Tamara at a race someday and be able to thank her for her honesty.