My 8 miler this morning was difficult. I have many ideas about why it was so hard and they are all within my control. The interesting and a bit fulfilling part of that is what I call difficult now and how I respond to difficult now.
I look back at my early 'longish' runs - the ones where I thought I was gonna die and I actually stopped running because if I didn't, I was gonna die. My 'self-talk' has shifted. In the beginning of this training, I heard myself say "You can't keep this pace up - you have to walk." or "Only 1.5 miles left, maybe I can do this." or "Thank God this is almost over."
This morning, I heard things like: "Lynnie, those chips last night were not a good idea." and "Looking like you have more sessions of stretching in your future." and my generic favorite "Some days are good runs and some days are not."
The first run I was afraid of was the 8 miler. I did it with Amy and Lois following me on bikes on the bike trail in Yorktown Heights. I was so proud of myself when I was done. It was a first. That was on August 14.
Today, the 8 miler was a long mid-week run and one that did not have me concerned. While it was difficult - I didn't stop and never thought I would or had to. While it was difficult, I finished while making plans for my day and for the corrections to make to impact my ability to run and have fun.
8.03 miles
1:19:33 duration
9'54" minute miles
This has been one of the best things about the training for me: discovering that I can complete a thing I am not very good at. You are way better at it, but there are days it doesn't go as well, and you complete it anyway. That's the point, at least that day.
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