Yesterday was a huge day for me. I ran 21 miles in 3 hours 55 minutes and 2 seconds - wow - I love writing that! It makes me feel exceptionally proud. I am three weeks out from running the Keybank Vermont City marathon and I needed a good long run. The last few 18+ milers were really tough both physically and emotionally and then yesterday was fun - honestly fun (sometimes tough but that is a given with the distance, time and terrain involved). I ran to Rosendale to meet my running partner (at mile 11) where we ran around Rosendale out Rt 32 and then onto the rail trail out to New Paltz - so 14 miles road and 7 miles on the trail. A 21 mile run is uncharted territory for me because in my long runs I have done a 17, a 19 and an 18.5 so my goal yesterday was to get between 18-20 miles in and to try and not feel like I was dying (and I won)!
All of this is planning, strategy, training and luck of the day. I told myself going out that I needed to make this good; to feel why I want to do this because these are all things (tangible and intangible) that I will need to draw upon when I run the marathon. I needed the confidence that you get from running 20 miles because I know firsthand that you don't need a 20 miler under your belt to run a marathon and feel good. I did it last year with two 30K runs, but I want to not only finish, but beat my time which is the work and ridiculous emotion that goes into multiple long runs above 15 miles. These runs test endurance while also being the testing ground to getting this right. While I don't have any control over the temperature of the day; I have control over when I go out, how I fuel and I how hydrate and these runs have helped me with that. I finally found the right hydration drink that I can stomach and enjoy over 3 1/2+ hours running (thanks nuun lemon-lime) and Thrive's date energy bites you work for me. I found the right socks so no blisters which is HUGE and a problem that i have been dealing with for over the month (painful and not so pretty).
That's the technical part of endurance running; here's the fun part - I loved it. I felt joy, love and pride in what I did yesterday - so much so I feel like I can't express it in words other then saying it was all encompassing freeness. After all these weeks of dreading the long run I found it; what I have been looking for. I look forward to going to Burlington and doing this for real with heart, knowing that I can. What I take from all of the training (the tears, the fear, and the friendship); is that anything is possible - this is real and just like life - don't ever give up!
Today I am still riding my high of yesterday and recovering by relaxing, Tomorrow I begin again. 35 miles this week - so proud! And I have the most amazing tan and dirt lines to show for it!
"Happiness is being on the beam with life - to feel the pull of life." -Agnes Martin
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