March 16, 2014For Week 9 of training we met at LA Fitness in the South Side. Runners were outfitted with a bit more green today, as St. Patricks Day was the following day. Today we would tackle 18 miles and hopefully luck would be on our side. Fortunately it was; as the weather was quite pleasant. The sun was shining and there was no form of precipitation in the sky. It was a great day for running! Our run included South Side, North Shore, Lawrenceville, The Strip District, Downtown and Uptown. In other words, you can visit a lot of neighborhoods when you run 18 miles! Around mile 14, I started having a mental battle with myself. My feet hurt, my body ached but I still had 4 miles to go. One of the hardest parts about long distance running is telling that voice inside your head, "No, I'm not going to stop." Sometimes it only asks you once, but sometimes, like today, it lingers with you for a mile or two. "I'm not stopping. I'm not stopping." 18 miles is a long. In fact, I think I forgot just how long it was. During these long runs, I have to remind myself why I am doing the marathon. The simple answer is that it's for me. It's to stay healthy, keep my weight down, keep my knees working and accomplish my goals. But something interesting happens when you take on such a large challenge: you start to impact others. It was apparent as our group ran through the city. Once we reached LA Fitness I had 18 miles under my feet. I couldn't help but feel proud. No, this wasn't the marathon, but it was starting to feel like it. With a distance of 18 miles, you experience the ups and downs, the happiness and the pain, the doubt and uncertainty, and finally the excitement and thrill of knowing you've completed your journey. And with all our hard work and maybe just a little bit of a luck, a completed journey of 26.2 miles is waiting for us.
2 Comments
Joyce Henderson
3/20/2014 01:49:54 pm
Can't believe you're up to 18 miles already!! Keep up the good work! Love the pics, too.....as always!
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Sarah
3/20/2014 02:19:29 pm
I can't either! The marathon will be here before I know it!
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Author: Sarah WarmanI like to run, take pictures and write. I've combined all three in this blog. Archives
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