Broken running thinger

I have a tendency to completely avoid this blog when runs don't go as planned. And as it turns out, runs have not been really good in 2009.

I posted awhile back that this half would be nice because it is old hat. But despite successfully completing 26.2 miles in November, 7 miles seems impossibly long now.

And it isn't just me, Tiffany seems to have the same problem. We ran 4 of 7 miles yesterday and declared it the best long run we've had this year. Both of us are staying active with crosstraining, etc., but somewhere along the way, our running thingers broke.

It's incredibly frustrating. The first mile always feels like 10 and every step past that requires all my mental strength - "WILL. PUT. ONE. FOOT. IN. FRONT. OF. THE. OTHER."

I was terrified of the half until yesterday when we decided to just have fun -- even if that requires walking a large part of it. So I'm forgetting PR hopes and plan to simply enjoy moving the 13.1 miles around downtown St. Louis. Who knows, maybe removing the pressure will help repair my running thinger.

Anyone know of any other remedies?