The Last 20 Mile Training Run

Sometimes when I'm running I compose blog posts in my head. I spent a couple of hours doing that yesterday. I was running for almost three hours as I completed the LAST (pause for trumpets blaring and crowd cheering) twenty-mile run of the training! Although my friend Michael and his daughter were running twenty as well, they were well over a mile ahead of me so I spent the three hours on my own.

Me being me, most of the material I'm mentally composing is sarcastic/funny. Jokes about the body falling apart, mental fatigue, the twenty bucks I offered the woman with the baby stroller to let me climb in with her toddler and push me up the hill, etc.

However, around mile 17, as I was jogging up yet another hill in Battleground Park, it occurred to me that even though I was aiming for funny, a lot of what I'd been thinking about that morning and what I'd been planning to write was, well... negative. So I asked myself, what's been good about this run? And the answers flowed in: 

• It was perfect running weather. Sunny, 40's, and everything has started turning green
• I got to pet a Great Dane
• People were in great moods, smiling, nodding, and saying hello
• As I jogged by a darling little girl and her dad he said, "Say hi to the runner," and she waved and whispered, "Hi."
• I saw a poodle make a mad dash for freedom before her owner caught up to her and scooped her up, scolding her with kisses.
• I felt like walking on several hills but pushed myself not to quit and I made it up and over without taking a break
• I got to quickly see several friends out doing their runs as well
• An orangish-red bird, very small, stayed with me for about a quarter mile, flitting from branch to branch just ahead of me
• The sun on the lakes was beautiful

And finally, I ran yesterday's 20 miles at the same pace I ran the Chicago marathon and yesterday's run had a lot more hills than Chicago. I find this encouraging and hope it bodes well for my performance at Boston.

So sorry, no humor today. Just gratitude for a healthy body and a lifestyle that allows me to fit in running. I hope all of you reading found things to be grateful for in your weekend as well.

Cheers,

Dena

Looking for Title Suggestions for a Book on Running

Ran 20 miles this morning. By myself. Turned into the lunatic who talks to themselves around mile 18, muttering, "Two more miles. I can do two more miles. C'mon, hang in there. One mile and 8/10's left. Don't quit." People gave me a wide berth. 

Driving home, Blair asked why I hadn't written anything for publication on my running. "You went from being a non-runner to qualifying for Boston in three and a half years," he said. "That would be inspirational to someone."

"Oh, sweetie," I said, love pouring out from my heart.

"Plus, it seems like you should be able to make some money on that," he finished.

Aaaaaand, the moment is over. 

Anyway, we came up with a few potential book titles for my as yet unwritten memoir on running: 

• Obsessed (This was Blair's contribution)
• I Lapped His Ass (my contribution)
• How Running (Nearly) Destroyed My Marriage
• Finding God at Mile 19
• I'm Too Old For This Sh**
• Greetings From Planet Badass (or is that "Dumbass?)
• Head Up, Breath, Baby Steps: How Running Imitates Life

 Blair also suggested something like, "A Woman's Journey" which I vetoed for sounding too much like a tampon commercial. 

I'm now on the couch, feet up, and slightly bummed because all the books I'm reading right now are non-fiction and I'm really in the mood to curl up with a good story. I'll search the house but I'm pretty sure I've read everything here with the exception of some Agatha Christie novels and I'm just not that desperate. 

Let me know which title you think I should go with, or feel free to suggest one of your own. If I select your title, I'll mention you in my interviews on Oprah and The Today Show, if there's time before the commercial break. 

A Really Good Run

Finally! A run I can be proud of. Conditions were perfect yesterday for a long run - 40 degrees, overcast, no wind. For all that, I still wasn't looking forward to my designated 17 miles. Mainly because I knew I'd be doing most of them alone. Poor lonely runner...

I showed up at the tennis courts, the popular starting point in Greensboro for most runners as it has a huge parking lot and leads directly to the Greenway. I ran a quick 3 miles before the formal Blueliner takeoff time of 7:30. Then I ran four miles out with the group. The majority of the group turns back at that point, but I was lucky enough to bump into a runner I'd seen before, but didn't really know. Dave overheard me say I was running 17 and he volunteered that he was going 18 and, like me, had already started the day off with an early 3 miles. Better yet, we ran an identical pace. WHAT A GIFT. The group turned back and Dave I carried on, running together for another hour and a half and chatting along the way. 

Time passes much faster for me when I'm with another runner, even if we're not talking. It's the steady beat of our feet hitting the pavement, listening to our rhythmic breathing, and knowing that even through I'm tired I can carry on a bit further, because the person running alongside me expects me to. 

During the first 4 miles of the group run, Thad, Lisa and me were talking about how, in general, most runners are really good people. If you want to get to know someone, run 15 miles with them. Hard exercise breaks down barriers and you get a quick sense if someone has a sense of humor, is driven, what motivates them, are they a whiner, are they generous... The joke is that around mile 10, everyone starts spilling their relationship and personal and work problems. You can't help it. It's something in the sweat...

So today's blog is a thank-you to Dave, for making Saturday's long run seem so very short indeed. And we pushed each other. Both of our training schedules called for a 9:20 pace but we completed our run with an average per mile pace of 8:50. Sweet.

Dena