As we prepare to enter our final month of training, Chris and I have thinking a lot about our evolution over the past seven months. We have learned a lot, both about the process of running and about ourselves. We know the science behind fueling and hydration for long runs; how to treat aches and pains and how to know when a twinge is turning into something more serious (Chris says pain is just weakness leaving the body--I say, well, I have a lot of weaknesses!); and the importance of recovery and rest. We also learned we can handle a lot more than we thought!
We have really enjoyed spending all these hours together; our runs are like little dates, time for just the two of us. Some runs we are chatty, catching up on events of the day. Other runs are quiet, as we work through soreness or lack of sleep, but we still find our steps synchronizing and definitely draw strength from each other's presence.
We also find ourselves saying things we never thought we'd say---for example, "Oh, our Saturday run is only 14 miles this week." Note the word "only"--at one point in our training FOUR miles was a huge deal! But when you have tackled 18 and 16 mile runs, and know you have a 20-miler coming up, 14 doesn't seem like such a big deal after all. Not to say we still aren't wiped out afterwards---we will always love our naps!
Weekly stats:
Monday 9/24 5.03 miles in 55:55
Wednesday 9/26 9.46 miles in 1:41:25 (this was supposed to be 9, but the GPS was off)
Thursday 9/27 5.01 miles in 53:41 (exact same route as Mon but 2 minutes faster!)
Saturday 9/29 14.01 miles in 2:32:00
Total miles: 33.51
Thanks for reading!
And today I liked running my cold away with you!
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