The Long Haul

The Long Run reminds me of the Long Haul.
That place in life you wonder if you are ever going to get through it.

As a child, when chaos was brewing in our little trailer I knew I had to figure out how I was going to get through it. I would play out several different scenarios to make sure I had all my options covered.
It didn't take long, a case of beer, a bag of weed and Eric Clapton shaking the walls to know you were in for the Long Haul.
I would sit in my bedroom with my cassette player blasting Prince or David Bowie, hoping to drown out the dysfunction going on less than 30 feet away.
The clock would stare at me, haunting me. Father Time was like a bomb, the more he ticked the worse I knew the party was going to get.
 I would break the night up into segments, trying to make it easier to get through.

This in many ways reminds me of the Long RUN. I tend to have anxiety over it. I have found that it is best to break it up into compartments. Rather than looking at the run as a 20 miler, find a way to section it out making each segment a victory.

The Long Run teaches you so much. But you have to get through it to learn what you are made of.

Kensington Metro Park and Huron Valley Trail.
Lacey and Danielle were my running partners today.
Danielle took the time to map and organize our run. Over the last week, I don't think you want me in charge of keeping track of the route,  keeping your keys or cell phone!
Originally we were going to run Island Lake, However, because we are not familiar with that trail system we decided against it.

We all know what a challenge Kensington is when it comes to a long run , therefore, we accepted the fact we were going to have to step it up.
 No WHINING.
What doesn't kill you makes you Stronger.
Suck It up Buttercup.
It's just a Hill GET over it.


Lacey was running circles to get her Garmin caught up to Danielle's, while Danielle was filling her water bottle!

Between the 3 of us, we had a shocking amount of quiet time.
3 hours of running, you do a lot of thinking. It is not just trying to Control your legs it is more important to Control you mind.
"Strong Mind Strong Body"
It goes Back to the word I spoke about a couple weeks ago: DESIRE.

The three of us held each other accountable when it came to keeping our Target pace. We all whined up the hills but not too much where we would lose out energy.
The Last 2 miles we did at a threshold pace:

RUNDOWN
Distance: 20 miles
Time: 2:59:53 
Average Pace: 8:59
Mile 19-8:33
Mile 20:8:14

The days total Miles 21. I told the coaches I wasn't able to run with them, I ended up running a mile, it was ugly!

FUNNY STORY, Andy took me out to lunch after my long run. As we were leaving a very attractive lady stops me. I was embarrassed because I  look so bad . Shyly I approached her. "What perfume are you wearing if you don't mind ." I didn't want to laugh because I couldn't imagine I still smelled good. "Well, to be honest I am impressed you still smell my Versage, I just finished a long run and feel like I shouldn't be smelling good at all!"


Do you have a favorite route for your long run? What makes it your favorite?

 Anita