running is all mental.

On Tuesday, I had one of those running realizations.

You know – that it’s ALL mental.

On Tuesday morning, I wasn’t sure I would be able to make it to my running group’s scheduled run later that night, so I set out on a short mid-morning run before I headed to school for a little bit.  I only ran about 3.5-4 miles, and it wasn’t fun, nor was it easy.  I was hot, bored, disinterested…not a good combo.

Later that evening, it turned out I was able to make it to the DTLA Running group (it really needs a catchier name).  I ended up doing over 5 miles – FAST – with the group.  I may have been partially motivated by the fact that we were going to do a happy hour after, but I think the fact I was running with people did the trick.

I didn’t set out to go out fast, but being around people who are about my speed made me push myself.  I felt great, too – way better than I did in the morning.  I told one member of the group, Ernesto, that I think I’ve lost my “running mojo” when I am not running with other people, but this run definitely showed me that I still have some sort of running mojo when I run with other people!

We had a great run through Koreatown (down Olympic to Vermont, up Vermont to Wilshire, and back to our starting point) and then we enjoyed the oddly named “Tijuana Tuesday” at a local bar.  I managed to knock over someone else’s (empty) beer glass, causing it to shatter and generally causing a huge scene.  At least I’m consistently klutzy?

Do you run with a group? How do your re-gain your running mojo?