Wind gusts were starting to pick up. It was 40-something degrees and raw. Spring had taken a siesta and wind-blown drizzle hit my face like cold needles. My running group started our long run along the Ridgeland Multipurpose path then took a different route and cut through some neighborhoods. Mike had already completed 10 miles by himself (he got up well before dawn), me and several other runners were just starting our journey. For the record, running with other people is the way to go. The conversation makes the time go faster.I watched my watch — the miles were starting to pile up.
At mile 10, Mike finished his 20 miles and the other runners peeled off and went home. I had 10 more miles to go — by myself. I reset my watch (it was a psychological move — I’d rather see single digits pile up instead of double digits). A tree had fallen over the north end of the trail, so we had avoided it earlier. I made a beeline for it. I didn’t want to cover the same ground I had run on the previous two hours. In less than a mile, I came to the fallen tree, found a way over it and continued my run. My marathon is in less than a month. I needed to get this run done.
A fallen tree wouldn’t stop me.
When I train by myself, I don’t run a set route. I just watch my watch and go where my imagination takes me.I listened to a book and on a whim, took a right instead of a left. That had me traveling up Old Canton Road by the Madison Airport. Unprotected from the wind, rain stung my face. Passing cars whizzed by me. I could almost hear the drivers muttering “dumbass.”
But I plodded on through the slop. Soon I was back on the trail again and came to a section that was flooded. Brown water flowed across the trail — It was no time for a swim. I turned around and headed back toward a particularly hilly section of trail. I ate a Cliff Bar at mile 17 (nutrition is an important part of long runs) and made the last push up the big hill over Rice Road. At a water fountain near Reservoir Park, I refilled my water bottle and headed back toward my car. The last mile was uphill (and I had to climb over the downed tree again). At the tree, I helped a cyclist get his bike over it. Then I sprinted the remaining half mile — I finished at 20.44 miles.
I drove to get a smoothie and went home to take a hot shower.
I have one more long run to do before the marathon. I’ve loved the time with my running partners. I’ve enjoyed the beauty of the trail. And I look forward to the adventure on the streets of Cincinnati.
I’m tired today but not that sore. The sense of accomplishment is natural ibuprofen. Yesterday’s run was a confidence builder — a reminder I can do just about anything I put my mind to — or what it doesn’t want to do.
“Running is nothing more than a series of arguments between the part of your brain that wants to stop and the part that wants to keep going.”
— Unknown
That is why I run. It’s my training for those days when my brain is like that tree blocking the path and I need to find a way around it.