But today's story is not about me. It is on the person (let's call him Spider) with whom I had the privilege of running the last of my miles with. It was the first time he had run more than 8 miles - he wanted to get to the magical 10! I told him once he got to that point there was no turning back - he would always crave that mileage and more. The run went really well - good pace, great conversation, and the miles quickly accumulated. I reminded him of a few things as we were ending - rest, refuel, roll, etc. He reminded me of a few things I sometimes forget!
Determination - mile after mile, hill after hill, nagging knee, cramping calf, he continued on with a fierceness we all should have. At one point he turned to me and said "If we get back to the car and we have not reached 10 miles, we are going to run until we do!"
Joy - the look on his face as he cruised into the parking lot and extended a hand for a high five was pure elation!
Drive - less than 8 hrs following his run he was already planning out his summer race schedule and on that list was a half-marathon. His text to me said "I KNOW I can do it!"
Do you remember when you first started running? The first time running felt great? Your first "runner's high?" How you felt when you crossed your first finish line?
How do you remind yourself of determination, joy, and drive in your runs??
I ran past the two of you (going the other direction) on Judson Bottom just outside of town. I was just starting mile 2 of 18. Glad to hear that your run went well. Mine was rough at the end but my body recovered fairly well today. However, my feet are still a bit sore. I'm glad the last 8 were on dirt. Your friend didn't look tired at all.
ReplyDeleteI remember seeing you! Are you training for something?
DeleteFargo Marathon and a 50k (my first) in September
ReplyDeleteVery cool! You should check out the Muddy Shoes and Brews Trail Series at 7 Mile Park this summer! Lots of trail runners there!!
ReplyDeleteI plan to. I sent Lutz a Facebook message but he never responded perhaps because were not "friends." I just saw your post on the Multisport page. What troubles/issues occurred last year? I only know something happened because Lutz mentioned it during his report at the last Multisport meeting.
ReplyDeleteHmmm, I am not sure what Lutz is talking about. I only heard positive feedback. There was one time when he marked the trails quickly and some got a little lost. But nobody really seemed to mind - they rolled with the punches!! Of course, every race has some glitches, we learn from them, and make things better the next time!! Hope that you will join us!
DeleteNow that I'm thinking more about it, it might have been an issue with having events at Minneopa and Flandrau state parks. Are all the runs going to be at 7 Mile? That's a great place to run although I like it best when the stream is low.:-) As for hearing anything bad, I only heard good stuff at the meeting. It was probably more on the planning rather than participating end.
ReplyDeleteYou're right. He'll begin thinking...how far is a marathon?!!!
ReplyDelete