It came to me during my 12-mile slog-fest Saturday and I couldn't help but exclaim, out loud to my running partner, "Marathons are a really stupid idea."
Her response, "YA, I'VE BEEN TELLING YOU THAT FOR YEARS."
But, crazy as she thinks I might be she hung in there with me for six miles of running and then biked along beside me for the return trip. Somewhere toward the middle of mile eleven she even busted out with the Rocky theme. Though at that point not much was helping. I was in the pain cave for sure. And the thought of adding 14.2 more miles onto that run felt overwhelmingly unattainable.
Every single run this week was a battle for me. I can come up with a list of reasons....too early, too late, too fast, under-fueled, over-fueled, dehydrated. Whatever. Its all a bunch of excuses. The truth is that THIS IS RUNNING. There are going to be good days, and there are going to be challenging days. But you aren't going to learn anything about yourself, or push through any boundaries without it getting a little tough. If running a marathon was easy, what would be the point?
So I had a little chat with myself, I said its time to suck it up and attack this challenge. This is running. This is you figuring out what you're made of. This is you living up to the challenge that you threw down for yourself.
This is you preparing to run from the statue of liberty to central park. How lucky are you? How lucky are you to be able to run? To be able to spend time training? To be able to pick your challenges rather than have life choose them for you? To have friends and family supporting you along the way (even if they think you're a little nuts)?
You are too lucky to be whining about bad running days.
So this is me, running.
4 comments:
All I have to do, when I'm feeling like I don't want to work out, is watch that ironman video about the dad who carries his son for the race!!!! Not only does it make me cry like a baby, it makes me realize how lucky I am and how little I have to complain about!!!! Keep up the hard work!!!!
Dick and Rick Hoyt...youtube it...I'm sure you've seen it!
How about some speed work? If the long miles are getting you down, how about a short day of intensity to mix it up, build a little strength, and make the long miles a touch faster? Just a thought.
Oh yes, and watch Dick and Ricky Hoyt, incredible.
Or anyone in Team in Training.
Yes, the Hoyt's make me all teary anytime I see a clip of them. Un-be-lievable.
Dano....I do "speed"work during the week. Hill repeats on Tuesday's and tempo runs on Thursdays. The only long-sloggy running I do is my weekend long run. Coach says "just get it done, don't worry about pace". Just happens that this week all my runs were just tough. Heavy legs. And then I start to get frustrated. Downward spiral of negativity and all that. But I'll bounce back. It ebbs and flows. Such is the mental game we call endurance sport.
Post a Comment