Learning New Lessons

Due to scheduling conflicts as school and Saturday kids soccer has started up again, my buddy and I were unable to run together for our 17 miler. Iin a funny way it worked out better that way for me as I needed to do this run by myself to clear my head from the drama of the past week. The 6-7 milers during the week were fair. Not anything amazing. I keep trying to push my pace during the week, but I don't know if I see any real change. Some runs the pace is better, other runs of the same distance I struggle through. Not sure what I'm doing that's different, but I'll take the good runs when I get them.

I got out early for a Saturday (6:30) and the heavens were spitting on me. It really wasn't raining, but there was something being sprayed in my face. I had only gone 2 blocks when I felt something weird on the top of my right foot. It felt like a rock between my foot and the top of my shoe. I stopped to look, but didn't find anything. So I kept going. I went about a half mile further and the pain (it was more of an annoyance than pain) was still there. So I adjusted the tongue in my shoe, retied the laces, and went off again. Still a little troublesome, but didn't really was a non-factor the rest of the run.

Over a mile into the run, the rain really starts coming down. With no real shelter from trees, I just have to tough it out. I chuckle to myself as I think that this is some kind of test. Either I can leave my goals of training for a marathon at the puddles in the road and go back home because of the rain, or I can keep myself focused and run through the little bumps in the road. As in life, when something bad happens, I can either give up because its too tough, or keep focused see my goals through to the end. I decided I would keep running. After 3-5 minutes of rain, it let up and didn't really rain the rest of my 17 miles.

I was out of gels so I had to find something else to keep my energy up. All I could find in the cupboards were M&M's. A few of those each little break and a half a banana on the bigger breaks seemed to keep me energized and able to complete the rather long run. I'd stick to the gels though from here on out.

The last 2 miles were pretty difficult, but I was able to finish the 17 miler at a good pace of around 9:25 minute miles. Though my right foot was sore the rest of the day I was still pleased with how the run went and I'm beginning to think that running this marathon is actually possible. Gotta run.