Runner Hiatus: What I learned about running by not running

I’ve been an avid marathon runner for over 15 years. I’m a runner at heart. I run not just to stay fit and healthy, but because it’s my therapy, my sanity, my social life and in short, it’s just part of my life. Like all relationships, it’s been a little rocky and nothing is perfect all of the time.Taking a Runner Hiatus is scary, but sometimes it’s the only solution.

What is a Runner Hiatus?

Well it can happen to anyone for any one of a zillion reasons. But if you’re like me, making the decision not to run is a big one. Especially if you’re considering taking off weeks or months. But let’s be clear, a hiatus is just a break. You don’t have to break up with running.

And durning that break, you can still stay active and give your body and your mindset a break from the physical and emotional grind of running. Today’s post is my running confessional about what I learned about my sport and my body during our time apart. It’s also about how I’m getting back into it now and my running goals moving forward.

Why Did I need a Runner Hiatus?

I don’t know the exact cause, but 2015 was just a tough year for me personally. Every time I felt like I was “back on track” some crappy life event would throw me off. I ran two marathons and neither of them was anything to brag about. I trained just about all 52 weeks of the year and I have nothing to really show for it..  In short, I was running a lot, but I was not running smart. And that is kind of a stupid thing to do.

Running the distance, but not getting anywhere

I kind of want to use the analogy of walking the wrong way on the escalator. Like you’re charging in one direction but the escalator is like “lady, you’re doing it wrong.” And then I tend to be really stubborn, so I just keep charging. That is a lot of wasted energy that will ultimately lead to burn out or injury, and I think I ended up with a little bit of both.

After my sub-par performance in Ventura I seriously thought I was going to take no time off and turn around and try again at CIM in Sacramento less than 3 months later. This is one of those things that is just crazy about people like me. Not in a zillion years would I tell a client to do that. After a bad race and pretty much 12 months of sub-par running to skip recovery and try again? See what I mean by wrong way on the escalator?

Luckily, my mind and my body caught up with each other before a 3rd crappy marathon went down last year. The well needed rest was imminent and in early October, I made the decision to take the rest of the year off running.

The hugest AH-HA! From my 8-week Runner Hiatus.

Whaaaaattt?! 8 WEEKS OF NO RUNNING? That’s a crazy thing to say to a lady like me who has run 25-40 miles a week for the past 15+ years with only a few marathon recovery breaks, a stress fracture recovery and a little bout of runner burnout. It’s kinda scary.

• What will I do with all my time, will I get stir crazy?
• What about all the food I love to eat, am I going to get fat?
• What about all my runner friends, will I lose them or die of runner envy?
• Will people think less of me for “quitting?”

Those are legitimate fears that gave me serious anxiety. I’ll cut to the chase here, none of those things happened. And the relief of knowing that brings me to a level of comfort I didn’t know existed. I’m not sure what I was running from or towards for the past 15 years, but I never knew I could learn so much by simply sitting still. Here are the short answers to these big looming anxieties that I had.

What did I do with all my time? Did I go stir crazy?

I won’t lie, this was an adjustment. I went from about 12 hours a week of exercise to about 4-5. That’s a lot of waking hours to do something productive with, or not. This break for me was timed with the holidays, so that worked out very well.

I didn’t fall behind in anything and I got plenty of rest to recover from the typical holiday stress and made it through the season in good health. I also learned how butt kicking and effective short HIIT style workouts are. My cross training and weight days will never be the same.

What about all the food I eat? Did I get fat?

Hands down the HUGEST awareness of all. I’ve always said “I have to run, I eat so much.” I know this is obvious now, but it’s not until you physically experience it. But you can learn to trust your body and respect how smart it really is. Here’s the news flash: when you don’t run so much, you’re not as hungry. Ha!

I absolutely LOVE my new appetite. I am no longer food obsessed. When you run 30 miles a week, it’s a constant “what am I going to eat to prepare for my run? How will I recover?” Plus, you’re just hungry all-the-time. I am fully loving not having to think about food as much – it’s been the most freeing thing about this break.

Did I lose my runner friends? Did I die of runner envy?

No and yes. My runner friends are wonderful people and we are all still friends. I do miss the group at November Project on Wednesdays and will look forward to seeing them again soon. I do miss long runs with Kate and the occasional speed workout with a runner buddy. But now I’m enjoying my morning motivation walks with a different group of friends, the social piece is still here.

Did I die of envy? Uggg….a little each day. Seriously, this was the hardest part. The Carlsbad marathon just passed and I’ve run that race more years than I haven’t so that was tough to see and know that I missed. And this is why I know I love the sport and will be back. Maybe not as hard and diligent as I was, but I will run races again, and that I’m a incredibly excited about!

Did people judge me for “quitting?”

I sure hope not and I don’t think they did. At least not to my face. And truly dedicated runners know that it’s actually harder to stop than it is to keep going.  I won’t ever know the answer to this, I just have to trust that I know I did what I needed to do. And I’m glad I did. 

How I’m transitioning back into running now.

This is the fun part! Which is kind of crazy because anybody who has started or re-started running knows, that it is actually very painful. It’s hard. And you lose your running endurance and speed SO fast that it can be quite literally shocking when you start over.

Now, I know it all comes back, but that transition process can be so difficult, some never do it or prolong restarting longer than they need to. I was also terribly concerned because I’m so competitive with myself. Starting from scratch out of the gate, there would be no way I could be at my paces and that is practically demoralizing. So how in the heck is this fun for me now?

21- Day Running Challenge

Now, I know I’m a little biased because I wrote this 21-Day Running Challenge. But even with that, I can honestly, and whole-heartedly recommend this program to anybody who for a little structure to get up and running. Whether they’re taking their first few steps at running or looking at lace up again after a planned or unplanned break.

Being patient with yourself as your runner legs return is much easier said than done and that is why I’m absolutely loving this 21-Day Run Challenge right now. We’ve have had people use this same plan to quite literally, run their first or fastest mile ever with outrageous success. This is one of the most versatile running plans I’ve worked with.

**This Post Was Originally Published on Eat. Drink & be Skinny**