The Long Run

The forecast for the last couple of days has not been pretty: wind, rain, cold. And the forecast for Wednesday morning was 32 degrees with rain/snow mix and 15 mph winds. I considered postponing the run until Thursday because although it is supposed to be colder, it should be less windy and dry. And then when I checked the forecast last night before going to bed lo and behold the precipitation had vanished and the skies would be clear.

So it is that I got up at 5:10 am for a 6 am departure time. The temperature was 43; the winds were stiff but not too bad and the streets were dry. I drank my strawberry flavored ensure, mixed my Gatorade and mentally prepared for the hours ahead. I decided that I would run as much as I could outside, planning to be in the Rosslyn vicinity at 1 hr 30 min in order to duck into my office to refill my water. I did a lap around Hains Point, turning around when I got to the end since the wind was pretty fierce on the backside (as it always is). I didn’t want to waste any mental energy on things out of my control. It was dark and lonely. After turning around I saw two people, but otherwise, I was the lone soul in the dark. Sunrise was 7:32 and by the time I got to Georgetown the sky was getting lighter and the number of joggers and bikers (and traffic!) brightened the morning. I crossed over the Key bridge and did a lap around the Roosevelt Island and then headed to my office as I was totally out of fluid by that point.

I decided to finish the run on the treadmill to make sure I kept the pace steady and could concentrate on hydrating. So the last 38 minutes I drank a sip of water every 3-5 minutes and kept the pace at 8 min miles. I was never so glad to hit stop when my watch showed 2 hrs 30 min.

Chad is in West Virginia preparing for his own run. He has a relatively free day today to work on a proposal so he was going to wait until the conditions were a little more conducive. He listened to a motivational speaker yesterday. Some former pro football player that said you will have many more instances of wanting to quit in practice than in the actual game. Indeed, that’s why our training workouts have to be tough to mentally prepare us for game day. And then all we’ll want to do is strive for the finish line rather than give up. Can’t wait! Our friend TJ is on his way to Panama City Beach today for IMFL. Can’t wait to cheer him on Sunday!