Ran a 10k - Official Thread (5 Viewers)

[SFBayDuck]

Technically the answer is "yes," as I popped one dose of 600mg at about the 50 mile mark.  Realistically, I'm thinking that the factors that contributed more than a single dose of ibu were (likely a bit of) dehydration during a sneaky humid day on Friday during the first half of the race combined with pushing my body harder than I had in previous races.  I ran most everything I could, including rolling uphills that I previously may have been more likely to hike.  My leg muscles most certainly hadn't ever experienced that much impact before, and that's undoubtedly where the muscle breakdown occurred.  I think when you combine mild dehydration, the constant ups/downs of that course, the sustained effort, and my relative modest amount of training miles, that it was just too much to overcome.  And in hindsight, pushing that final 7 mile leg so hard and "racing" the last two miles to hold off two other runners was idiotic, though I didn't at the time really understand nor ponder what I might be dealing with.   

Yeah, sounds like "just" typical ultra-rhabdo, and agree that one dose of Vitamin I that early probably didn't play too big of a part (although it might have contributed a little).  So yeah, just too many broken down leg muscle proteins floating around in your bloodstream for your kidneys to handle.  

So you didn't feel any abdominal pain afterward?  I've talked to others that have had rhabdo and they pretty much all 1) puked after the race and 2) had kidney/abdominal pain in the next couple of days.

 

[BassNBrew]

Technically the answer is "yes," as I popped one dose of 600mg at about the 50 mile mark.  Realistically, I'm thinking that the factors that contributed more than a single dose of ibu were (likely a bit of) dehydration during a sneaky humid day on Friday during the first half of the race combined with pushing my body harder than I had in previous races.  I ran most everything I could, including rolling uphills that I previously may have been more likely to hike.  My leg muscles most certainly hadn't ever experienced that much impact before, and that's undoubtedly where the muscle breakdown occurred.  I think when you combine mild dehydration, the constant ups/downs of that course, the sustained effort, and my relative modest amount of training miles, that it was just too much to overcome.  And in hindsight, pushing that final 7 mile leg so hard and "racing" the last two miles to hold off two other runners was idiotic, though I didn't at the time really understand nor ponder what I might be dealing with.   

Wow. Advil has been my go to. I err on the side of over hydration as a precaution.  That actually bit me in the butt 3 years ago where I put on 4 pounds during the event and the body shut down. Given my back and hip, it’s the only way I have a shot at finishing

 

[TripleThreat]

 "racing" the last two miles to hold off two other runners was idiotic

That's what BMFrs do.  

Glad you took the advice tho... heal up.  

 

[Zasada]

And in hindsight, pushing that final 7 mile leg so hard and "racing" the last two miles to hold off two other runners was idiotic, though I didn't at the time really understand nor ponder what I might be dealing with.

Yeah there's no way you could have known.  Total #BMF, not idiotic.

I was reading an article on rhabdo and it appears one's kidney values aren't the sole source of a diagnosis.  Other symptoms (not urinating, or cola-coloured urine) need to be present for it to be serious.

Hopefully you're on the less-serious side of things, and kudos to your wife for making sure you're safe.

 

[SayWhat?]

Yeah, sounds like "just" typical ultra-rhabdo, and agree that one dose of Vitamin I that early probably didn't play too big of a part (although it might have contributed a little).  So yeah, just too many broken down leg muscle proteins floating around in your bloodstream for your kidneys to handle. 

Agreed. 

So you didn't feel any abdominal pain afterward?  I've talked to others that have had rhabdo and they pretty much all 1) puked after the race and 2) had kidney/abdominal pain in the next couple of days.

I wouldn't say abdominal pain, though this was definitely the first ultra I've run where I had GI discomfort at all, and it came and went throughout most of the event.  I didn't puke during nor after, and while I had some discomfort in my mid/upper abdomen until yesterday, I'm not sure it was kidney pain.  

Yeah there's no way you could have known.  Total #BMF, not idiotic.

I was reading an article on rhabdo and it appears one's kidney values aren't the sole source of a diagnosis.  Other symptoms (not urinating, or cola-coloured urine) need to be present for it to be serious.

Hopefully you're on the less-serious side of things, and kudos to your wife for making sure you're safe.

Bolded =

And yes, very grateful for my wife's persistence. 

 

[bushdocda]

Googled rhabdo.  Damn @SayWhat? wishing you a speedy recovery dude.  

 

[SFBayDuck]

Googled rhabdo.  Damn @SayWhat? wishing you a speedy recovery dude.  

It’s basically your kidneys inability to handle all of the proteins floating around in your body as a result of your muscles literally breaking down. Ibuprofen can make it worse because it also puts a load on the kidneys. Dehydration can obviously play a part as well. It’s not just for ultra runners, but crossfitters and a few U of O football players during offseason workouts a couple of years ago. 

 

[-OZ-]

And here I am, pleased to have my biggest run week in a while of a measly 42.5 miles. #JVsquad

 

[tri-man 47]

And here I am, pleased to have my biggest run week in a while of a measly 42.5 miles. #JVsquad

#crosstrainer  #busydad

 

[MAC_32]

#crosstrainer  #busydad

It's all relative. I'll probably never be a juxt, grue, pbm, duck, etc. And that's fine. I don't want to be. The necessary trade-off's don't align with my priorities.

 

[-OZ-]

It's all relative. I'll probably never be a juxt, grue, pbm, duck, etc. And that's fine. I don't want to be. The necessary trade-off's don't align with my priorities.

I wanna do it all! Tri, ultra, Spartan, ninja warrior...

And be a successful attorney

And a great dad

And 180 lbs with 6% buddy fat

And eat ice cream

And be a multi millionaire

 

[bushdocda]

Buddy fat. 

 

[Zasada]

Buddy fat. 

Buddy fat :  The fat which results from going out for beer with friends instead of being a BMF and running that 20-miler you had planned.

 

[-OZ-]

Buddy fat. 

Saw it after I posted. 

Kept it for shiggles. 

 

[tri-man 47]

And be a multi millionaire

Start hiding money.

 

[gruecd]

Really solid cutback week long run today:

First 5 easy (7:45 avg), middle 5 faster (7:21 avg), last 5 fast (7:06/6:54/6:41/6:31/6:24).

Last few felt comfortably hard but not unbearable. Good confidence builder going into the half in a couple weeks.

 

[gruecd]

New VaporFlys are going back. Hate the material plus they're too narrow in the midfoot. 

 

[ChiefD]

I would like to retract my claim on @JShare87‘s vaporflys.

 

[gruecd]

I would like to retract my claim on @JShare87‘s vaporflys.

I did like the 4% version. Not at all the Next%.

 

[SteelCurtain]

Was considering running a half tomorrow in Philadelphia.  My wife and I are going to Phillies/Red Sox game tonight.

My wife put her foot down and strongly suggested I don’t race. She puts up with a lot of my running and I could tell this probably wasn’t worth fighting, so I’ll not be racing tomorrow.

Time to fire up the beers tonight!  

 

[JShare87]

New VaporFlys are going back. Hate the material plus they're too narrow in the midfoot. 

After my first run with the new Next %s, I almost returned them. Give them a few more runs, they are amazing. Trust me on this one. 

 

[gruecd]

After my first run with the new Next %s, I almost returned them. Give them a few more runs, they are amazing. Trust me on this one. 

Already on their way back. Too narrow.

 

[tri-man 47]

Already on their way back. Too narrow.

I understand that for you, and I can see how they might not be the best fit for your power stride.  Carry on!

 

[Juxtatarot]

Naperville Trails Half Marathon Race Report

Well, this is almost a week late but I'd still like to do a race report.  There are a few things that are interesting and I wanted to write them down for future reference and case you guys cared to comment. 

This is a half marathon through forest preserves on well maintained limestone trails.  Probably about two-thirds through prairie (which is quite high in September) and the rest through woods.  I used to run it a lot (2010 through 2015) normally as a tune up for the Chicago Marathon.  I've skipped it recently but decided to run it again since I'm running the marathon again next month.  They changed the start and finish but the rest was the same.  One bad thing is my watch always used to measure less than 13.1 for the race.  In 2015, for example, my watch had it as 13.05 miles.  Now?  Much different.  13.32 miles.  Is it now longer?  Is it the right distance and I have GPS or tangent running issues?  Who knows?  My guess is it was longer than before though.  

Weather was OK.  Temperate was flat at about 63.  There was a light rain throughout.  Wind wasn't bad unless I was running directly into it without tree coverage.  But I'm a wind-##### so it probably really wasn't bad regardless.

Looking around before the start, I wasn't too impressed with the other runners.  It's not a big half.  There were only 608 finishers.  There were only a handful of runners that I thought might possibly beat me but most, even up front, just looked like normal runners.  Sorry if that comes across dickish but that's what I always do at races and I'm usually a good first glance judging.

The gun went off and nobody starts out that fast.  During the first mile, there is a pack of about six of us.  One guy quickly passed all of us, but his stride was so bad I was internally laughing.  After a mile or so, he dropped back.

Mile 1 6:08, Mile 2 6:03

My the end of mile 2, there was only four of us leading.  One guy is a little pudgy and I was surprised he was still hanging on.  I could tell the other two were very good runners.  One of them was chatting up a storm so the pace obviously wasn't too difficult for him.

Mile 3 6:08

The pudgy guy dropped and it's down to the three of us.  This pace was faster that I wanted to go.  It was faster than PR pace and I'm not in PR shape.  However, I was feeling OK and the competitive juices were flowing.

Mile 4 5:58

The chatty guy asked me about my age (they were in their young 30s) and they were impressed that such an old guy could still run fast.  They expressed their hope that they could still do this when they get as old as me.  However, I quickly started to realize that they were speeding up and I couldn't hang with them.  

Mile 5: 6:10

I let them go and slowly started falling behind.  I was acutely aware how far I still had to go!

Mile 6: 6:33

There was some increase in elevation this mile and it was horrible.  I slowed way down.  I decided I was stupid to race this when I wasn't in what a considered PR race shape.  If I would have been near my car, I would have walked off the course.  But I was several miles away.  I decided I'd run for a little longer until I was closer and then quit.

Mile 7: 6:24

I caught an elevation decline and suddenly I wasn't feeling too bad.  

Mile 8: 6:28

Some uphill again, it got tougher, and I wondered it I wanted to finish this or not.  Part of me certainly wanted to quit.  However, three factors made me keep going.  One,  it was Sunday and this would be my long run for the week.  If I stopped I wouldn't be getting in a decently weekly volume.  Two, I would have to explain why I quit to others.  What makes perfectly logical sense to me never seems to make sense to others.  Three, I was in third place.  Isn't it kind of stupid to quit in that position?  

Mile 9: 6:14

Downhill again.  Feeling pretty good.

Mile 10: 6:30, Mile 11: 6:25, Mile 12: 6:32

I don't remember much about these miles although I knew I'd finish.  I was disappointed they felt so hard and I was running slower than I wanted.  I was still in third place and unaware of anyone behind me.

Mile 13: 6:34, remaining .32 on watch at 6:16 pace

I felt pretty horrible by the end.  The last half mile or so is on grass on a horse track.  The footing wasn't great and I kept stumbling.  There was a runner suddenly behind me and I wanted to finish third, not fourth.  The runner was reasonable far behind but I tried to speed up just in case.  Regardless, every time I looked back the runner was closer and closer.  I held on by 7 seconds.  For what it's worth (and I didn't realize it at the time) the runner was a woman.  

Final result: 1:24:01.  3/608 overall.

I'm not happy with my time as I was expecting a distance "shorter" and maybe finishing a minute or two faster.  But, whatever.  It was a good effort and and I was happy with the fact that I didn't bail when times got tough.  It does weigh on me that I couldn't keep up with the top two.  Maybe I could have if I would have trained differently over the last several months.

Now, this week:

I was a wreck Monday with fatigue and my injuries and ran super slow.  After 10 miles Tuesday, my Achilles hurt so much I was in pain walking.  It still hurt Wednesday and I took the day off.  Thursday and Friday I started feeling better.  This morning, I didn't feel strong but managed a 20 miler.  However, my heart rate was super low all week.  Today, I finished my 20 miler with averages of 7:39/127.  I haven't had such a good pace/HR ratio since this winter. The bump is  something I've noticed a handful of times.  Sometimes I get this surprising heart rate lowering bump effect after a difficult race. I can't quite explain it.  Workouts and long runs seem to give me small, slow improvements but races sometimes give me a decent size jump.  It makes me wonder if a lot of the PR success that I was having last fall was aided by the fact that I was racing consistently about once a month.  Something to think about.

 

[gianmarco]

I also had a 7:39/127 HR.

Just curious, was your 7:39 AM or PM? Mine was 7:39 AM if you were wondering.

 

[gianmarco]

Oh, and great race, you BMF.  Just filthy.  In awe of what you can do.

 

[ChiefD]

@Juxtatarot -that race report had so much awesomeness to it. 

1. Not being impressed with the other runners at the start. This had me laughing out of the gate. So bad ###. Love it.

2. Stride guy and your internal laughter. 

3. Old guys rule. 

4. I wanted to quit but didn’t want to explain to “others” ( like the wankers in this thread) 

5. Well la di da I didn’t feel all that great but was still a bad ### and finished third.

 

[ChiefD]

Was considering running a half tomorrow in Philadelphia.  My wife and I are going to Phillies/Red Sox game tonight.

My wife put her foot down and strongly suggested I don’t race. She puts up with a lot of my running and I could tell this probably wasn’t worth fighting, so I’ll not be racing tomorrow.

Time to fire up the beers tonight!  

Don’t Run. Salvage The Poooooooooooooosay!

 

[parasaurolophus]

Any of you guys ever try doing any sole repair on your shoes? Been running in the adidas boost supernova M's. Love the shoes, but i wear out the soles before anything else. I keep them super clean and the uppers fit so well they pretty much look brand new, until i turn them upside down. 

Bought some stuff on amazon to give it a whirl. 

 

[JShare87]

Anyone here ever have a severe Gout attack? I have never been diagnosed or anything but just had the weirdest thing happen to me. Finished my football game this morning, went to the gym and did legs, got home and relaxed on the couch. I hung out for about 30 mins, and my foot/ankle began to throb and hurt like crazy. The pain lasted about 4 straight hours. Pretty much gritting my teeth the entire 4 hours.

I didn’t injure my leg in anyway, but my foot and ankle began to swell, and I could not move it or put any pressure at all on it. I could not walk. After doing some research, the only thing I could come across was a severe Gout attack. Anyone ever deal with this? It has gotten better but still cannot walk very well and range of motion is almost non-existent. The pain was similar to my knee pain I experienced earlier in the week. Had a Medrol dose pack (thanks @gruecd) saved for a rainy day, I took it after the first hour because I’m a b****.

 

[gruecd]

Had a Medrol dose pack (thanks @gruecd) saved for a rainy day, I took it after the first hour because I’m a b****.

Was that a Medrol or a Midol?

 

[JShare87]

Was that a Medrol or a Midol?

Now that I think about it.....

 

[tri-man 47]

@parasaurolophus - never done a shoe repair like that, nor would I dare to try!

@JShare87 - Yikes!  Hope it's a quickly passing issue.

 

[SFBayDuck]

Nicely done, @Juxtatarot!  It's always fun to read the reports of you BMFers that are actually racing, not just surviving.

 

[tri-man 47]

@Juxtatarot -that race report had so much awesomeness to it. 

1. Not being impressed with the other runners at the start. This had me laughing out of the gate. So bad ###. Love it.

2. Stride guy and your internal laughter. 

3. Old guys rule. 

4. I wanted to quit but didn’t want to explain to “others” ( like the wankers in this thread) 

5. Well la di da I didn’t feel all that great but was still a bad ### and finished third.

Yeah, pretty much this. 

#2. It bothers me a lot when I find myself running alongside someone with a bad stride, since that implies I'm not doing a great job of my own.  I used to inwardly sneer at all the young kids lining up at the front of the corral, but I've come to accept the fact that a number of them will beat me.  

#3.    

#4/5 - I recall we had that lakefront race some years back where you did drop out ...but still had to wait around for me.    So I know you've got that thought of dropping out lurking in your brain when the day's not quite right.  It does surprise me, though, that a front runner like yourself can have such thoughts.  Nice to see you hang on for third overall!  

 

[gruecd]

Mile 6: 6:33

There was some increase in elevation this mile and it was horrible.  I slowed way down. 

@Juxtatarot's ####ty mile pace is basically my goal pace for my half later this month... 

 

[gruecd]

@parasaurolophus - never done a shoe repair like that, nor would I dare to try!

Agreed with @tri-man 47.  It's always the sole that goes bad.  Hell, if not for that, you wouldn't even know that I've run in most of my running shoes.

 

[MAC_32]

Life threw us a curveball this weekend. We were on the blunt end of a microburst Friday. That video is not our neighborhood, but ours looked the same. I wasn't taking video because I was trying to conserve as much battery as possible. Electric finally got to our place yesterday and sliced up the tree that was sitting on our power line all weekend. After we hauled that out to the curb all lumber has been taken care of, so now all we can do is sit and wait for power to be restored then the loose wires that are hanging about 18" above our deck to be remounted. Preparing to walk across the street to watch the Browns tonight though.

But, running - the non-plan got ripped to shreds as I only did a 5 mile mental health run this weekend. Going to try to do the previously scheduled shorty long after work today, but based on the fueling I have here there could be an audible needing called. We transported all of our food elsewhere, so none of today's food required a fridge. Hope you're ready for this, stomach.

 

[pbm107]

Mile 6: 6:33

There was some increase in elevation this mile and it was horrible.  I slowed way down.  I decided I was stupid to race this when I wasn't in what a considered PR race shape.  If I would have been near my car, I would have walked off the course.  But I was several miles away.  I decided I'd run for a little longer until I was closer and then quit.

I have been in the spot in half marathons way too many times, but I have never been able to avoid falling apart.  It is really impressive how you were able to maintain sub 6:30 miles the 2nd half of the race.

 

[Ned]

Life threw us a curveball this weekend. We were on the blunt end of a microburst Friday. That video is not our neighborhood, but ours looked the same. I wasn't taking video because I was trying to conserve as much battery as possible. Electric finally got to our place yesterday and sliced up the tree that was sitting on our power line all weekend. After we hauled that out to the curb all lumber has been taken care of, so now all we can do is sit and wait for power to be restored then the loose wires that are hanging about 18" above our deck to be remounted. Preparing to walk across the street to watch the Browns tonight though.

But, running - the non-plan got ripped to shreds as I only did a 5 mile mental health run this weekend. Going to try to do the previously scheduled shorty long after work today, but based on the fueling I have here there could be an audible needing called. We transported all of our food elsewhere, so none of today's food required a fridge. Hope you're ready for this, stomach.

Ugh that sucks man.  We got hit by one a few months back, but had far less damage.  Scary stuff - glad everyone's ok.

 

[ChiefD]

Life threw us a curveball this weekend. We were on the blunt end of a microburst Friday. That video is not our neighborhood, but ours looked the same. I wasn't taking video because I was trying to conserve as much battery as possible. Electric finally got to our place yesterday and sliced up the tree that was sitting on our power line all weekend. After we hauled that out to the curb all lumber has been taken care of, so now all we can do is sit and wait for power to be restored then the loose wires that are hanging about 18" above our deck to be remounted. Preparing to walk across the street to watch the Browns tonight though.

But, running - the non-plan got ripped to shreds as I only did a 5 mile mental health run this weekend. Going to try to do the previously scheduled shorty long after work today, but based on the fueling I have here there could be an audible needing called. We transported all of our food elsewhere, so none of today's food required a fridge. Hope you're ready for this, stomach.

Holy Sheeeeeit.

Glad you guys are ok. 

 

[Zasada]

Final result: 1:24:01.  3/608 overall.

I'm not happy with my time as I was expecting a distance "shorter" and maybe finishing a minute or two faster.  But, whatever.  It was a good effort and and I was happy with the fact that I didn't bail when times got tough.  It does weigh on me that I couldn't keep up with the top two.  Maybe I could have if I would have trained differently over the last several months.

You are such a #BMF.  Great work not quitting.  Having goals to not only podium, but win ("keep up with the top two"), is incredible.  

Given that you're in an entirely different running universe than me, I'm only here to admire your performance and cheer you on for your goals.   

 

[ChiefD]

You and me both. I need to follow my own advice. It's been so damn hot and humid here, and with no race on the horizon I'm being fat and lazy.

If you do 50, I'll commit to 30 miles. 

Well @pbm107 - I failed my part. Only did 27.6 this week, which is still my longest week in awhile. Saw you got your 50 in -  .

Guys - I am in a seriously bad rut now. I don't want to do this anymore. I'm sick of the heat and humidity. I'm sick of my entire schedule having to be arranged to get runs in (even the minimal ones I'm going now). I'm tired of getting up at 4 am on Saturdays to beat the heat and humidity.

I'm only doing this so I don't get fat and lose too much fitness - I've put in too much hard work over the last few years to get to this point. But I'm burning out - I just don't care right now.

How the hell do I get out of this? Any help would be appreciated. 

 

[Zasada]

How the hell do I get out of this? Any help would be appreciated.

RF;DBAP.

I guess the weather is going to start working in your favour now.  If you can keep things going for a few more weeks you won't have the weather to worry about.  Until it gets cold. 

Your situation is the reason I keep dragging myself out of bed hours before the crack of dawn.  I'm afraid that taking even one day off from my normal routine (5x weekly) will result in a slippery slope to regression.  I fear that it could all implode, but my upcoming HM has me telling myself "just keep this up until November, you can decide to take time off after you best your PR".  Hopefully I will PR that race, and then I have Houston two months later which could act as a further carrot.

Dangling those race carrots in front of me has been quite meaningful.  

Can you get 5Ks in more frequently without having to rearrange your schedule?  Just getting out, even if for a short one, might get you back into a rhythm.  

 

[ChiefD]

RF;DBAP. 

I guess the weather is going to start working in your favour now.  If you can keep things going for a few more weeks you won't have the weather to worry about.  Until it gets cold. 

Your situation is the reason I keep dragging myself out of bed hours before the crack of dawn.  I'm afraid that taking even one day off from my normal routine (5x weekly) will result in a slippery slope to regression.  I fear that it could all implode. Yeah, this is kind of where I am right now. I feel like I "have" to do it versus wanting to run. I don't want to at all.

Can you get 5Ks in more frequently without having to rearrange your schedule?  Just getting out, even if for a short one, might get you back into a rhythm.  Yeah, this may be a possibility. I've never really been a fan of 5k's - probably because I'm so slow. But maybe the "race day" adrenaline rush might help me.

Thanks. 

 

[Ned]

Well @pbm107 - I failed my part. Only did 27.6 this week, which is still my longest week in awhile. Saw you got your 50 in -  .

Guys - I am in a seriously bad rut now. I don't want to do this anymore. I'm sick of the heat and humidity. I'm sick of my entire schedule having to be arranged to get runs in (even the minimal ones I'm going now). I'm tired of getting up at 4 am on Saturdays to beat the heat and humidity.

I'm only doing this so I don't get fat and lose too much fitness - I've put in too much hard work over the last few years to get to this point. But I'm burning out - I just don't care right now.

How the hell do I get out of this? Any help would be appreciated. 

Any local trails worth running?  It's a great change of pace from pounding pavement all the time.

Got a bike?

 

[pbm107]

Well @pbm107 - I failed my part. Only did 27.6 this week, which is still my longest week in awhile. Saw you got your 50 in -  .

I failed too, bailed on my 5 at HMP Friday. I just didn’t have it. Calling an audible this week and skipping my Tuesday strength run, with the hope that I will be able to get through my Tempo on Thursday.

 

[Ned]

Week 3 - step back week came just in time.

Tue: 3mi easy @ 9:11/143.  Felt very sluggish.
Thu: 4mi easy @ 9:19/153.  156SI and sun made this miserable.
Sat: 3mi easy @ 9:29/137.  Felt a bit better, but legs were still a little heavy.
Sun: 6mi easy @ 9:05/146.  Legs had some pep at the beginning, but it became a drag towards the end.  Best run of the week, but I'm def not 100% right now.

16mi running.  I have to admit, while I'm happy I'm running, I still struggle with the old me.  16 for the week feels totally pathetic, but at least I'm running.

No riding this week due to schedule + weather issues.    

 

[ChiefD]

Any local trails worth running?  It's a great change of pace from pounding pavement all the time.

Got a bike?

Yeah, I actually thought about the trail running. That may end up being the ticket. There is a 9 mile trail where I ran that race last winter I could run/hike. Maybe I'll try that this weekend.

I do have a really nice Giant mountain bike I haven't ridden in years. I should take it in somewhere for a tune-up. But that's not a bad idea. Thanks.

 

[Zasada]

Yeah, this is kind of where I am right now. I feel like I "have" to do it versus wanting to run. I don't want to at all.

That's me every morning lately.  Even last Saturday, I'm sitting in my car at the trailhead at 0700, about to kick off a ~20K trail run, and I just want to sit there.

But I got going.  And once I got going it was good.  Really good.  Because I've been keeping the volume up this year, I'm still progressing and I saw it right away on the first big hill.  I ran some of that climb, more than I ever have before.  And then through the rest of the 25K I ran more of the uphills than ever before.  And PR'd pretty much every segment on the route.  That got me energized and has me feeling better about my runs this week.  

Sunday, my friends wanted to go out for a hike, and one of them has been taking lots of time off lately (and putting on some weight).  So I know when I go with him there won't be any running and even the uphills will be a pretty easy pace.

So I tried something new:  Normally when I know things are going to be slow, I leave my running vest at home and take my backpack, which has much more #### (2L of water, knife, first aid kits, granola bars, etc) in it.  This time to make things a little harder, I filled a 4L (~1 gallon) jug of water and threw it in my pack.  So adding some weight to my already heavier gear.

While only ~9lbs of added weight, holy hell did it ever slow me down and make me work on the climbs (about 750m/2,400ft of elevation).  But again I felt great at the end that I did some work (and still had the company of my friends).

So I guess my point is perhaps you need to challenge yourself more.  Run some strides or intervals on your shorter runs.  Something that is harder than just your usual "easy" pace.  Maybe it will get you energized by the end, rather than just "checking the box". 

Sorry, wish I had more.

ETA:  I see from a subsequent post that you have trails nearby.  Definitely mix that in.  Does it have any elevation?  If so, if and a Strava Segment doesn't already exist for one of the climbs, add one.  This is a big thing for me.  Go out and PR a tough segment, especially a hill.  Start with power-hiking and then progress to running.  Moving up the charts on a segment has been a huge motivator for me.