Bike and Hope

Tuesday’s Leisurely Bike Ride (2/22/11)

It occurred to me this evening that I never take pictures of my favorite running loop because I don’t take a camera with me when I run.  All my “running” photos are taken before or after the work-out so that I can focus on running and not photography.  Tonight offered up a chance to share a little of my loop.  The weather was so pleasant this evening that I decided to go for a bike ride after work.  I rode the same loop that I usually run for my short midweek runs, and I made a few pit-stops for photos.  The point of tonight’s run was to enjoy the fresh air, not to complete a tough bike ride.

I’m a little bummed to tell you that my Sunday long runs are starting to wear me out.  I know the half-marathon is almost here—hurray!—but I’ve noticed that I feel tired and sluggish on the Monday and Tuesday after my long runs.  I’m sure it’s just the aftereffects or running nine or more miles in one work-out, but it’s tough for me to start a fresh week at work feeling less than perky about it.  On top of that, I’m feeling a little freaked out about my research, which feels like it’s stalling.  I know that it’s very common for research to happen in fits and starts, but I feel like I’ve been plugging away for a long time in my postdoc now, and I have yet to start generating a new story.  Every time I think I have something, I encounter a major setback and I can’t seem to make any real progress.  I’m really hoping that this spring will be a productive, successful one in the lab, but some days and some weeks are just so hard because I don’t see much sign of success.  There is, however, one major advantage to being a postdoc, and it’s this: I’ve been through the ambiguous, scary experience of not knowing what my project is going to look like a month from now, so I feel I’ve got a little extra courage in my back pocket, knowing that this stage is all part of the process.  I’ve just got to trust the science and keep trying.  In that way, science and running have a lot in common.  Have a plan, trust yourself, and keep trying.  Things will fall into place.

I hope!