Wednesday, February 29, 2012

The clouds roll in

This morning’s run started off well. It was my normal midweek 15 miler, which (despite starting before the crack of dawn) I’ve actually grown to like. I always bring my Ipod along, thinking by mile five or so I’ll be in need of some musical relief, and I almost never end up using it. The sun comes up, the miles tick by, and I get into the runner’s groove.

Today started off no differently. I even brought my camera to try to capture some of the scenery from these early morning jaunts (see below.) While everyone else was sleeping, I was enjoying myself, having my own kind of fun out on the town. (Runners have a different definition of fun.) To add to the good vibes, these runs have gotten faster and today's first few miles followed the trend.

Points if you can guess what city I live in. A slap on the wrist if you can't.
But then, about halfway through, it took a turn for the worst. I hit a small molehill and my pace suffered like it was mountain. A few miles later, quite literally, the clouds rolled in. Often times, I don’t mind running in the rain, but today, five miles from home and unprepared, wasn’t one of them. I made it through the rest of the run, but it wasn’t fun. I got home drenched to the bone, exhausted, and far from invigorated from my early morning effort.

But that’s the thing about running. Often people compare running marathons to life; there are hills and valleys, good patches and bad. Sometimes you’re struggling and sometimes you’re high on life (or endorphins.) Training is no different. Some runs are great, some are terrible, some are a mix of both. But even on the worst mental days, be comforted by the fact that your heart and muscles are still getting the benefits. Training through the rough patches is excellent training for when they inevitably come up in a race. And even if you end up wet, exhausted, and just glad to be done, you can be comforted that there will be better days. And if you’re lucky, you’ll have the pictures to prove it.

Dream big,
Teal

1 comment :

  1. Runner Teal,

    Thank you for the lovely essay, celebrating athletics in general and also the joys of nurturing an adventuresome spirit.

    Keep at it!

    ReplyDelete