14 Miles

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 The best part about doing a hard thing is adds a benchmark to refer to when the next hard thing comes along. The logic goes, "If I can do X hard thing, I can do Y hard thing" It doesnt make the next hard step easy, but it puts it within reach of whats possible. 


I honestly didnt know how this morning would go. I'd been looking forward to a 14 mile long run all week. By looking forward I don't mean I wanted to do it, just that it was coming in the training plan. Its not that I dreaded the run itself, but with one eye on the weather I knew it would be a cold mess and I needed to adjust my expectations if conditions called for it. 


By the time I got out of work late last night, the fluffy flakes fell in snow globe style. Beautiful but treacherous. I closed the garage door at home with two tire tracks through the thick snow in my driveway and went inside to bed, still not fully committed to the run. 


On top of it all i knew about a tight deadline to get out the door because our family planned to be out the door for a weekend trip by 7:45am. A 14 mile run takes about 1hr 55mins give or take. I had a feeling it would be more give because of the way things looked with the snow. 


3am and my body woke up. "Ok. Well, I guess Ill go." At this point in my running life, its become a habit. Im not sure what else I would have done. 


I planned about as boring of a route I could think of earlier in the week based on my best guess of roads that would be partially clear. One big 7 loop followed by concentric loops of 5 miles and 2 miles. Each time I passed my house to practice my mental fitness. I knew it would be a battle not to veer off back into bed after the first loop or the second.


As predicted the roads were mush. Not as sloppy as they could have been, but still slick leaving traction somewhat questionable. I tried the sidewalk for a minute, but it wasn’t clear and reverted to the predictability of the road. I felt a little surprised by the amount traffic until i figured out every landscaping company must be out cashing in on the white gold from heaven. I imagine they must have been a bit befuddled by this recreational runner taking a jog in the wee hours of the morning. I suspect they muttered "that guy's crazy"


They wouldnt be far from the truth I guess. I didnt see anyone else out there running. If only they knew the extent of the crazy. I doubt they suspect this was a 14 mile run in the snow crazy. 


There are certain things the body can only experience after a long effort like this one. It is an experience that doesnt come at mile 3 or 7. Around mile 10 I started to feel my legs start to rebel. Mile 12 I could mentally tell myself "only 16 minites and the nonsense is over" the final mile I felt pretty gassed but held a rhythm through the neighborhood. My planning payed off and I finished about half a block from home.


Mission accomplished. Success. 14 miles @7:54/mile







 


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