Getting through a tough run.

Sunday, January 29, 2012 · Mike Davis

The last weekend in January and you would have thought it was March! Running this morning in 40 plus degree weather was pure joy. I will retract that, the weather was pure joy, the run was pure hell! Pretty much everything hurt from mile 5 on and I had 7 miles ahead of me! How do you get from 5 to 12 or from 1 to 6 when you feel like all you want to do is go home?

I had high hopes this morning when I woke up, had my coffee and saw that the weather forecast changed for the better. I was off to Hampton to run with 3 of the people I’m helping to get ready for the Hampton Half marathon next month. My week has been a great week of running, albeit a bit more intense than the past few. Increasing my distance for each run and finishing with an easy treadmill run on Friday, left me feeling confident that I would finish my week with a great long run. Not so much.

After a quick discussion of the route, we got running and everything seemed a bit tight for me. No big deal, I would surely loosen up after a mile or two. Mile two came and the tightness passed and things seemed better. We moved along at a reasonably easy pace chatting about men, woman and comforters, as well as other deep subjects. Mile 4 hit and my legs felt tired and lazy, but again, I figured if I kept moving, they would work out their issues. Mile 5, my legs still felt sore and now my bursitis hip was hurting. Great, I had 7 miles to go, I’m supposed to be leading this group and I was ready to find a shortcut.

What do you do? I wasn’t about to tell my partners that they were on their own and walk back to my car. Had I been by myself, I may have given that option some more thought but would have done just what I did; keep running. Now I changed my thought process to a run of individual miles, instead of a run of 12 miles. My hip hurt, but not bad enough to think I shouldn’t run, so I forgot about the previous 5 miles, didn’t think ahead to the 7th mile, but just ran the 6 mile as if it were my only mile. I got to mile 7 and continued to focus on that mile like it was my first and possibly last. Mile 8 came and my thought was now I have less than a 4 mile run (3.99). Mile 9 came and I was now down to less than a 3 mile run (2.99). You get the point.

Thank goodness not every run is like that, but there is a lesson there. When you’re struggling for whatever reason, let every mile be your first, forget about what you’ve done or even how far you have left to go. Focus on the mile you’re running and think about your form, breathing and relax. I was happy when we hit mile 11 and I knew the end was near. Despite my strategy, my body was still feeling far from 100 percent, so knowing the end was near, made me happy! Chances are my aggressive running this week had much to do with how I felt and I will pay attention to that in the days ahead. However, getting through a tough run will help me in the days ahead, as there will be some tougher runs.

Never give up!

Have a great week!

mike