I feel sorry for people who don't get to feel the world the way I do. Sometimes running for me isn't just exercise, it's an experience. There's an indescribable beauty in being 4 miles into a 16-mile run watching the sun coming up over the horizon, casting its golden rays all along the bend in the Ohio River. On my iPod, John Mayer's "Gravity" plays, and I get to my favorite part: "Just keep me where the light is." As I plod along Riverside Drive, the reflected sunlight dances as it hits the waves on the river and at that moment I realize there's no place else I'd rather be.
I've been telling people that I am running a marathon again for two reasons: 1.) to get attention and 2.) to have a legitimate reason to whine. Joking aside, the moments like I experienced on Saturday's 16-mile run are really why it never crossed my mind not to run the marathon again this year. There are definitely times where I miss not going out on Friday nights, and times where I'd really like to go home from work at night and relax instead of going to the gym for 2 hours, but those sacrifices are more than worth it when I can bask in the sunlight on a Saturday morning.
Unfortunately, the 16 miles this week weren't all spent gazing over the horizon. It was a tough run--more mentally than physically. As veteran runners of the Pig know, the most grueling part of the race is the last 4 miles down Eastern Avenue. The route is flat, but seeing the city in the distance and watching as it never seems to get any closer, is quite an obstacle (especially if you're hittng the dreaded wall somewhere around mile 20-22). For the run last Saturday, the coaches at the Running Spot had us going all the way up Eastern, through Mt. Lookout, then all the way back down Eastern. Their reasoning for doing this (other than sheer torture) was to help get us past the mental obstacle so that on race day, we can focus on the physical, i.e., why don't my legs want to move anymore?
I got through the 16-miler with no problem, and am looking forward to the down-week this week and doing the Heart Mini on Sunday. I'm hoping for better weather this year-- it was cold, rainy and all together yucky last year. I'm also finally going to start joining the Running Spot group on Tuesday evenings as well, now that the time has changed and we no longer would be running in the dark (which I refuse to do). Looking ahead to April, there should only be 2 more up weeks: an 18-miler and a 20-miler. Now that the weather is becoming more agreeable, and I'm getting stronger and more comfortable with the hills and the distance, I'm really starting to look forward to and visulize race day. 40 more days...
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