running on empty

So much for a run this weekend...Honestly I am burned out both physically and spiritually. I actually was feeling like this almost a month ago and have never really recovered. I have been running without any real break since January of 2004. Normally after I run the Mini, I stop running or am injured for training too hard and have to stop running. After last year's high of finishing in under 2 hours and not being injured I knew it was the year for a marathon. So in October I ran that marathon - what a grueling but uplifting experience. Afterwards I was sort of in a funk, but thought I would come out of it once training for the Mini started. I think I placed such a burden on myself to run faster that I took the joy out of my running. Every run became a chance to run as fast as I could, which left me disappointed more times than I would like to admit. So, I have been on a sabbatical from running for just over a week now. I am not missing it like I usually do and this has me worried . I am taking this time to figure out some "new" things I can do to make running fun again. I think the first thing I will be doing is ditching my wonderful GPS that I got for Christmas. I focused too much on time and pace and not on just running and having fun when I wore it. I'll only where it for the purpose of calculating my distance on long runs or to time my speed work. Secondly, I am going to experiment with trail running. Fort Harrison State Park has some nice trails that I'd like to try. Finally, running with other people. I always thought of myself as a "loner", but I have realized that running with people makes the run more fun and gives you a reason to meet up and run. This last one is probably the toughest one to try to follow -my schedule is going to continue to be crazy at work this summer. One last thought is to have a goal. Okay, having fun is a goal, but I mean something like a PR or an event. No secret here - I am seriously contemplating running the Chicago Marathon. I have a few weeks before training will have to start, so there is time. I just need to get excited about running it. There is a movie coming out later this year about the 2005 Chicago Marathon - a documentary. I have a link to the movie titled, "Land of the Gods". It looks to be a great inspirational movie - just what I need right about now...