Changing Perspective

It’s become something of a joke between Superman and I, that I don’t actually enjoy running. I’ve said all along that I like being able to say I ran 10 miles, but the act of running those 10 miles sucks.

But I can run them, which is what I like.

But it’s really hard to do, and it’s uncomfortable, and sometimes it hurts.

Only recently, my runs haven’ t always sucked. Even when they end up painful and disappointing and I walk, I still classify them as “OK.”

This is new.

It's all about perspective

I can now run 6 miles nonstop, and consistently call that a “good” run. “Good runs” were not in my vocabulary until just recently. Yeah, they’re still hard. I’m still tired when I’m done. I may still be disappointed because I didn’t go as fast as I thought, or I didn’t go nonstop. Those things don’t ruin the run for me anymore.

Again, this is new.

So, I did run 10 miles yesterday. And it was hard. It was the first successful long run since last month's Cleveland Half Marathon. My stomach started cramping early on. My back was tight from sitting at my desk all day Saturday. My back being tight causes other issues, like knee and breathing problems. I started flagging about mile 5, and had to walk a few times between 6 and 9.

Still, it was a good run. Not a great run, but a good one. It was the first long run this year without a knee brace. It was my first long run in the Nike Free. I know why my stomach cramped, and I know why I had other body issues. That is all correctable in the days and hours leading up to the long run.

This run tells me I am ready for next week’s Towpath 10-10, where I'm running the 10-miler with The Energizer Bunny. If I can correct the issues from yesterday’s run, I will be able to run the race non-stop, which is still my biggest goal for racing this year.