Long Run to Philly - 13 Miles

Slowly but surely building back up the mileage. Travel played havoc with my training schedule. Managed to work in weekday runs. I searched some training advice that said I should be okay. I'm back on schedule and about ready to do the final mileage buildup. I can't believe I"m two months out. A couple of weeks ago it felt like I had forever to go.

Seventeen weeks down. Eight to go.

Long Run to Philly - 8 miles

I'm learning at my age that I get the runs I deserve. It's not like when I was younger and could roll out of bed and knock off a long run regardless of what I did or didn't do the week before. Ah, youth. This was a recovery week before more weeks of mileage build up. An 8-miler. I didn't eat, sleep, or hydrate well the week before. My body knew it on Saturday. I finished the run under my goal time; however, my mind and body were never into it. I had to push myself the whole time. Can't let that happen next week because it's a 13.5 miler. Begin with the end in mind as I plan my week. What kind of run do I want next Saturday? It all starts Sunday. Today.

Fourteen weeks down. Eleven weeks to go.

Long Run to Philly - 12 Miles

I'm halfway through training. So far so good. The past three months meant my schedule was at the mercy of business travel and with the exception of a couple of weeks, I was able to get out for the long runs. During next three months I will need to adjust around a different schedule-football. I shifted my long to run Saturday because I knew that there was no way I was getting up the next day to hit the running trail at 6 a.m. I could do it in my younger years, but not now. It was a good way to start the three-day weekend. I ran to the Capitol and back. The smell of fired-up BBQ cookers filled the air. People were tailgating already for a game that started at 7:00 p.m. It was a wonderful feeling to wake up on Sunday and know that I had already put int the work.

Thirteen weeks down. Twelve to go.

Only

I write the same quote on the first blank page of every month’s notebook. It’s by Natalie Goldberg and reads, “If you are not afraid of the voices inside you, you will not fear the critics outside you.” It’s a reminder of why I have the notebook at all and how I can be my own worst critic. It’s helped me professionally and personally. It’s my emotional coach.

I’ve noticed the “only” voice cropping up in my running and subsequent journal entries lately. I’ve read several articles that say it’s the voice of perfection, which is ironic given the state of the inside of my house right now. It’s the voice with a measuring tape and a stopwatch. It’s the voice that tells me I only ran X miles today, only ran/walked today or only ran two days this week. It finds an “only” even on my best days. Combine it with my “should have” voice and it’s a miracle I run at all.  

Still, I’ve been getting out there for three months now. I’m halfway through my Philadelphia Marathon training, I’ve finished eleven out of thirteen long runs, and even those missed ones were due to travel and meetings. The trick I’ve found is to tell myself getting out there is the bar. A bad run is better than no run so long as I get out the door. My mind may think I’ve “only” run so many miles, but my body doesn’t know the difference. Just get out there; that’s good enough and that’s a standard that even my “only” voice doesn’t know what to do with.