Trying to get motivated

With my summer vacation winding down, I would expect to be using all this free time to run as much as possible.  But instead, I find myself barely putting in miles, bailing on runs, shortening runs, taking walk breaks during runs because I'm "over it."  Most days I wake up and can't get myself out the door for a run; I end up reading, running errands, watching tv (something I never do during school year), going for A.R.T., all while thinking I should head out for a run...by the time I get my butt out the door, it's the warmest part of the day and I use that as an excuse to cut the miles or have a bad run (ie. took a walk break yesterday).

But maybe this is my subconscious way of seeing if rest plus A.R.T. will make running enjoyable (ie. painless with a spring in my step) again.  My knee pain is gradually subsiding and my calf is starting to feel like a muscle instead of a rock.  I've been getting A.R.T. 2-3 times per week since the MRI and it's very helpful.  However, it has caused my calf to feel sore, as though I'm doing hard workouts daily.  I'm not sure if that's contributing to my feeling of fatigue during every run but it's possible.  Apparently, frequent A.R.T. sessions break down muscular strength (makes sense) and a lack of strength in the calf means running hills is harder and the hills are where I feel myself fatiguing quickly.  This week or next will be my last of frequent A.R.T. torture sessions so it will be interesting to see if I regain the spring in my step post-treatment.

I'm heading to Vegas for a few days of "relaxation" and doubt I will do any running while I'm there; I'm taking my running clothes but will be with a huge group of girls and see little time in our schedule for "me time."  I will be slammed with work starting next week but I'm hoping I will be able to relax each evening with a long run.  I'm looking forward to a race in November and will put myself on a mileage ramp up plan next week.  I'm assuming that will help with the motivation factor as I miss having a race on the horizon.  Since I've been working on correcting my running biomechanics, I've been running 1-2 miles/4x a week in my Vibram KSOs and I want to continue to increase my mileage in them; the short runs I do in them make me feel like a little kid and I long to get to where I can run 10+ miles in them.  I feel I have ideas for regaining motivation/joy in running but am open to suggestions....