Tri State Long Run

Long runs are usually my time to think.  They are slow enough that I can meditate as I move along.  I often plan blog posts in my head.

Yesterday’s run allowed for no happy thoughts.  It took every drop of mental power to convince myself to keep going.  Adding a 10 lb. backpack (which I’ve never run long with before) weighed heavy on my legs.  Someone from the heavens was pushing me down to earth with unrelenting force. Darn you, gravity.  It pressed painfully on a sore shoulder.  Sore from what you might ask?  A snowball fight and shoveling a driveway with nothing more than a dustpan.  Yes, you can call me a wimp now.

Standing in Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio, all at once!

The plan was to complete two 15.5 mile loops, returning to the farm for water.  On the first loop, we ran into a strong headwind.  Adding a neoprene facemask and sunglasses protected my face, but I had forgotten how difficult it is to breathe through one of those masks.  I’m sooo not used to this anymore.  About mile 12, I was nearly in tears.  The heavy legs didn’t go away.  How was I going to make 18 more miles of this? 

By nature, I’m an extreme introvert.  Spending time with others is mentally draining for me.  I seem to have a limited amount of time that I can be social with people and then I get irritable and anxious and want nothing more than to go hide by myself.  So after a week of constant socialization, I feel absolutely fried.  So when I had to tap into more mental power for the run, I came up empty.  Mentally broken and running across a changeless landscape, it almost paralleled the boredom of a treadmill.

Matt, the super hero that he always is, swooped in to save me once again.  He took my backpack and placed it atop his.  I’m not sure if he was doing it to be nice or if he was thisclose to killing me for all the whining I was doing.  Either way, I was thankful.

By mile 14, I was feeling a little bit better, even with my still-sore shoulder.  He convinced me to do a little more.  The sun came out and I actually began to have fun for the first time in almost three hours.

We changed our second loop of monotony for an 11 mile loop around Clear Lake.  We marveled at the summer homes and chatted about the ice fishermen on a lake that had many many open areas.  Hopefully they were wearing life jackets.

27 miles, 4:53 and our last long run before Little Su.

 This run helped us figure out, even if it was through our errors, what gear we plan on taking.  I plan on running the Little Su with a full mental tank and fresh legs.  I hope that’s enough.