It's the triathlon's fault.

So I fell off the wagon. Not as hard as it may look from posting history - I fell harder off the blogging wagon than I did the running wagon. But I have fallen.

I still run. I do. But somehow, it's not the same. Remember how I started out as a "runner"", and then finally graduated to being a runner? Well, now it's like I'm the person formerly known as a runner. I started running on March 15, 2004. 2004! That means five years later, I'm still reaping the benefits of the journey I started. Reading over my old entries (you should try it - it's pretty amusing if I do say so myself), I can see the love I once had for it. But somehow, somewhere along the way, it's become much more of a chore.

I think it was gaining some of the weight back that made it harder. I stopped running for a bit, and spent the time eating cookies instead. (I never have gone back to real Coke, I've replaced it with the much healthier Diet Coke. Hey - it's caffeine free Diet Coke!) Then, when I started again, there was more of me to haul around, I couldn't run as far, and it just seemed - impossible - to get back to where I was. Plus, there was the hills. Hills just aren't as friendly as they used to be.

Actually, maybe that's not it. I know when it happened. It was training for the triathlon that did me in. I got really burnt out, and have never really recovered. The fact that the triathlon was almost three years ago is not relevant, right? Three years isn't long enough to recover from burnout, it takes much longer than that. Right?

Oh, no, it was actually before that. It was the plantar fasciitis. Sometime in the past (maybe in 2006? 2007?), I developed a problem with my heel. I think it was due to some poorly fitting shoes - curing me of buying shoes from people who know not of which they speak. It persists to this day - sometimes more, sometimes less. So when the spirit moves me, and I run more than a couple of times in a week - I can be sure that my heel will start hurting again.

Or maybe I'm just making excuses. And I should stop. Fat, burnt out, broken down... does it really matter? Running is good for me, and makes me happy. I should run more. I really should.