If you ever catch on fire, try to avoid seeing yourself in the mirror, because I bet that's what REALLY throws you into a panic. -Jack Handey

I am tired. I'm not just tired, I'm tired of running. I can't seem to remember why I even liked running in the first place. I dread lacing up my running shoes because I know whatever amount of running I do manage to get out of my legs is just going to be a disappointment. I used to love running with friends, but now I feel stressed out when I run with other people because I'm sure I'm holding them back from going faster. Just over a month ago I ran 26.2 miles and now I can barely run 4. I hurt, and I'm tired and I'm sad. But most of all, I'm just scared that I'm not ever going to get back my desire to run. Or worse yet, I'll want to run, but I'm not going to be able to get my legs to cooperate.

I haven't really blogged for over a month because this is how I've felt. Until today I've been following the above wise words of Jack Handey, thinking that if I didn't acknowledge how bad all of this running stuff was going, then maybe I could avoid panicking about it. Silly, I know. You would think by the time I reached 24 I would have learned that ignoring a problem doesn't make it go away. But, now that it's out there, I can recognize that there is really nothing to panic about. I just need to relax and be patient, the running will come. It might take me longer to get back into running than my teammates- but hey, it took me longer than them to finish the marathon too... the important thing is that I'll get there. In the meantime, I'll follow the wise words of a much wiser Jack, our coach, Jack Fultz. Like Jack always tells us- "Keep on keepin' on"- the running will come.