Day 113: Long run...

As you know I'm training for the Colfax Half Marathon next month and today was my long run training day.  A long run is a relative term.  For some it's any where from three to five miles.  For others it could be 20 - 30 miles.  For me my long run was 12 miles.  It was actually a "time trial" of sorts.  My goal today was to run at my planned race pace and try to sustain that pace throughout the run.  Even with a few challenges here and there I was actually pretty pleased how it all worked out.

The run started off well enough. Got right into my pace pretty quickly, in cruise mode within the first mile.  Sometimes you can run miles trying to find that perfect comfort zone, or as I like to say "being comfortably uncomfortable".  Hell, I've had plenty of runs where that comfort zone never materialized and I had to struggle through every mile until I finished.  But this morning was perfect.  A nice nip in the air and no breeze.  Neither the prairie dogs nor bugs had woken up yet so no distractions.  Very few runners so the trail was essentially mine.  Just the way I like it, Mr. Solitary Man.

A little something about "runner's high".  I'm sure many of you have heard of it and some of you may have actually experienced it.  There have been a lot of explanations but the simplest way I can describe it is "balance".  Some folks hear "runner's high" and they think runners attain some euphoric state of being where you're running on clouds, surrounded by unicorns sprinkled in glitter.  Trust me, the pains and discomforts you attribute to running are still there but their voices are quite muted.  I'm very much aware that my left hamstring is twisted up in a nice boyscout knot and my right knee is ready to buckle at any moment.  But there's a strength in me, a lightness in my step, a rhythm between my breathing, my pace, the sounds I hear around me and in my head, all combined to put me in a cruise mode that literally feels like it could last forever.  It's like attaining perfection, a balance between all things of and around you.   Once you attain that, it truly becomes your drug of choice, especially among runners.  That's why we're always out there, pounding that pavement.  Just gettin' our fix!

But as with all good things, this too must come to an end.  I was probably about 2/3 into my run when I could feel that "runner's high" start to dissipate, and it sure didn't take long to completely disappear.  Now the voices of my once silent hamstring and knee started to speak up.  I was wearing an inexpensive heart rate monitor and could see that my heart rate was increasing while trying to stay on pace.  At this point the mental game comes into play.  You focus on your form.  You identify the areas that hurt the most and work to reduce as much of the pain as possible by trying to relax your body, maintaining good posture and in my case try to find ways to keep up the pace while avoiding blowing out my knee or ripping up my hamstring.  For me that's where anger, and eventually rage, becomes my energy drink. 

I know I speak a lot about love, compassion, etc.  But when it comes to my running or anything competitive, I pretty much turn to my dark side to get me through the rough stuff.  A healthy dose of self-loathing does wonders.  Telling myself, "You have no right to quit, you worthless piece of shit!  There are other folks out here doing more than you and not whining nearly as much!  Don't be such a frickin' pussy!"  The tirades will go on for quite a while and usually with a lot more venom than what I'm sharing right now.  So, forgetting the fact that my hamstring feels like Eddie Van Halen is ripping through "Eruption" on it and I've got gnats swarming around my face like teenage groupies, I plod along as best I can, counting off the mile markers and even managed to catch my first ponytail in years. 

I ended up with a relatively respectable time.  I know that injuries, age and lack of disciplined training over the last few years have slowed my times but I generally felt good about this one.  My goal for the Colfax Half is to finish somewhere around 2 hours.  I figure if I can nurse this hamstring back to health while still maintaining my training regimen I should do pretty well.  Hell, I better.  My 5 foot something trainer will probably kick my ass otherwise...