I don’t think you can become an outstanding runner unless you get a certain amount of enjoyment out of the suffering. You have to enjoy absorbing, controlling it and – ultimately – overcoming it.
Derek Clayton
The marathon is now less than 6 weeks away. I would say that I almost see the light at the end of the tunnel if it weren’t for some extremely long runs that we have ahead of us. We have an 18 miler next weekend and two 20 milers looming over our heads.
I weaseled my way out of the ½ marathon Saturday and ran with one of my very dear friends whom I haven’t spent time with in a while. My thoughts were that 13 miles would go by super fast because we had so much to catch up on. It would be a breeze. Well, when you have wind gusts of around 25 miles per hours, running is not a “breeze.” Cold, windy and cloudy would best describe the weather that day. To add even more difficulty to our run, we chose a very hilly route. Most of the run was spent fighting the wind and moving uphill. It was difficult to have a good conversation because I was out of breath most of the time. It took us longer to complete 13 miles then I care to admit. I came home exhausted and hurting. I’m looking outside as I write this, which happens to be the following morning, and it’s bright, sunny with just a slight breeze (enough to cool you off.) There’s a sad irony to that…
I’m struggling mentally with that run. I keep thinking “that was only ½ way, there’s no way I could have gone longer.” The reality is that, had I been mentally prepared for more, I could have. It would have been a struggle but I would have completed it. I keep trying to tell myself that. That run does make me more concerned about the mileage I’m putting in during the week though. I feel like I need to become more comfortable with the pain and the only way to do that is to wear out my legs. So I guess I’ll be adding another running day into the mix.
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