I dunno whappen this last few months. As I approach 55 I suddenly realize that most runs that I do are "chores". I have to force myself out the door, and on most runs I'm thinking about what I need to do after the run. I'm rarely enjoying the moment anymore. I'm a busy guy (shiftwork) and I'm a husband and a father (8yr old). I gotta make changes, but it's so hard to let go of something I've been doing for 40 years.
I think I will try Monday-Wednesday-Friday running for a while. Weekends are free to do whatever kid-stuff comes up. I can stop training for races!! I won't/don't miss racing events. (In fact I sort of dread going to allcomers meets now to run 2:30-something in the old guy 800m race. I keep up with other old guys but 2:30-something really bugs me. I can enjoy doing that privately.)
Yeah....3 sessions per week will bring me joy and slight fitness, and I'll still feel like a runner. Maybe 8-10km ish per session, with some hard efforts here and there. Maybe I'll push a Mile every Friday. I won't get any faster, I'll most likely get slower, but I'll be OK with that if I'm not in any organized races. 3x a week will be a satisfying dosage, and I might get back to loving the feeling of it again, with that modest schedule.
Anybody have similar experiences?