Update!

Been away for a few days, struggling with my typical "late off-season blues." Motivation has been really low the past few days, and I even questioned whether I am meant to be a runner, which is scary, because I know it's what I love. Here's what's new:

Thursday: This is when it began to really hit. I took an extremely easy 7 miler on trails, which wasn't all that bad physically, but left me completely drained.

Friday: A 3 mile really, really easy jog. Just trying to recover from whatever mental issue is bringing me down.
Saturday: Ran a 10 mile road race (1:07:39), which was a mixed bag. My time was pretty slow, BUT there were two bonuses. First, it was the best race I've had since my final track meet, which is a good sign. Plus, I managed to beat one (perhaps two...) of my main local competitors in the final 200 meters of the race, which is an EXCELLENT sign, because it shows that I at least have matched his endurance, and only need to bring my speed up to par. But, my time indicates only a 19:20 to 19:40 5k equivalence time, which is right around a PR, but I would hope to be in much better shape. Oh well, I'll let the season come to me.

Sunday: Motivation hit the lowest of lows, and I finally realized I needed to take an intentional day off (my first since March.) So I did, and I hung out with friends and biked around for a few hours, which felt great.

Now: Haven't yet run today, but I am going to. I'm going camping with a couple friends tonight, but I WILL make time for my run no matter what. Maybe 7-8 miles, easy. I'm gonna try to hit 50 this week, but anything over 45 will be acceptable. Next week, the big six-oh, hopefully.