Confidence?

After a combination of slacking and feeling like crap during my runs this week, I went out for my longest run yet. This morning's run was between 17 and 18 miles (not sure of the exact distance). It started off well, and I did the first 8 no sweat (not literally). After stopping at the house to hydrate, I took off for the second leg. I started struggling somewhere around mile 13, but I pushed through it.

Today's pain was, first of all, a general fatigue and sluggishness, most likely caused by dehydration (by the end of the run, I was caked in more salt than water ... probably not a good sign). My right knee was ... well okay. I have new insoles and was also wearing a cheap brace that I bought, which somehow seems to help a little bit, though it is a pain in the ass to wear for 18 miles. And finally, by the end of the run, my quads had had enough.

What scares me is that at the end of the run, I knew there was no way I could have done any additional mileage ... I felt that bad. As of today, the longest my body is physically capable of going is between 17 and 18 miles. Of course, we're still 7 weeks out, so there's time.

All of my ailments aside, I've found that as of late running has been more of a mental struggle than a physical one. Too often I've found myself saying "I just don't want to run today." That's not a good place to be, and so as I move forward with this little adventure I know that my biggest challenge will be to overcome my own thoughts and lack of motivation.

This quote courtesy of an ad in Trevor's Running Times magazine, and it seems appropriate:

"If you ran without sacrifice, congratulations. You just jogged. Running hurts. It always has. Wooly mammoths didn't just roll over onto a plate and serve themselves up to prehistoric man with fries and a shake. They had to be caught - and running down wooly mammoths was a bitch. Guess what? Running is still a bitch. But one with a purpose. It teaches us that good things do not come easy. It teaches us that we are capable of more than we think. It teaches us that hard work will be rewarded and laziness will be punished. Don't expect to learn those life lessons from running's shiftless stepchild, jogging. Next time you suffer on the roads or trails, suffer proudly. It means you run like an animal."