I headed out this evening at sunset to plant a couple of Gatorades for tomorrow’s final long run. Final. Long. Run. Wow, time flies and yet I’m ready for this training season to come to a close. I’m ready to race.
I jumped in my car, turned on my heated seats (so what if we’re experiencing an Indian summer) and my mellow tunes. As I drove parts of my course to strategically plant my fluids for a warm day tomorrow, I felt so calm and so ready for this run. I’ve been nervous and out-of-sorts lately, with the calf/Achilles/shin issues lingering, but worst of all, I misplaced my mojo this past week. Each tentative foot strike conjured up visions of a strained this or a pulled that. I think I was being too careful. This morning’s 5 mile run finally cured me. I felt strong and I willed myself to stop focusing on my muscles or tendons. I simply went into auto-pilot mode, found my natural stride again, and really enjoyed my run. Tomorrow’s 22 miler is a far cry from today’s 5 miler, however my head and my mojo have found each other again. They’re a force to be reckoned with (when they get along).
Driving the pretty country roads, I took in the beauty of the sunset, the marsh area, the calm water, and the pretty homes. Most of all, I enjoyed the feeling of anticipation of my run. Not anticipation in a stressful or pressured way, but anticipation that comes from the pure joy of being healthy and able enough to plan and execute a 22 mile long run.
|Phone cameras just don't do it justice!|
22 miles….even when I say it, I’m still in awe of that kind of distance. And I’ve done it many times. I can only imagine what my non-running family, friends, and coworkers think when they hear me say it! And I’m glad I’m still in awe. It keeps me honest and it keeps me humble. I hope to run for a long, long time. I’ve got lots of running plans yet to unleash and lots of new roads to cover and sunsets to plant Gatorades by. For now, I celebrate the closing of my 9th marathon training season and look forward to more celebrations at the Finish Line of Cape Cod Marathon.
or not, here I come….