When I started running a few years ago, I had this fantasy about the perfect long run. The weather would be lovely, sunny but not too hot, I'd look good running wherever I was, and the run itself would be challenging, but not so difficult that I'd want to melt into a puddle of goo by the end. Yesterday, I had that run I'd always fantasized about, and it couldn't have come at a better time.
My hip ached for a few days after my disastrous 10 miler and truthfully, I was afraid that I'd really screwed up and was feeling pretty low (if that wasn't obvious from all the "woe is me" I've been posting lately), but I managed to get it stretched out and thought I should try an easy 3 and see how I was doing. Before I attempted this, I happened to come across a copy of last month's Runner's World, which had an article in it about meditation and running that caught my attention. I think I'd looked at the article when I first got the magazine, but I didn't really read it. I did this time. And for some reason, things just clicked this time when I read it and I had an epiphany. I've used breathing techniques to control pain and discomfort before. Hell, I had three non-medicated labors and used breathing and relaxation techniques through all of them (my last labor was shorter than the marathon I did last January, too). I don't know why it never occurred to me to use the same techniques while I was running. "Return to your breathing and your feet", the article said, and this would help to center you as a runner. It also said something to the effect of that we shouldn't spend so much time worrying about doing things without pain. Life is pain, you deal with it. The proverbial light went on and I somehow felt like I'd stumbled onto something that had been missing. I went out without my iPod to do my easy 3 miler.
It worked great! I thought about my breathing, my feet, and when anything hurt, I just accepted that it would hurt and tried not to worry about it or obsess on it. This kind of thinking probably would have been really helpful to me during the marathon, but for some reason I thought I would be able to finish it without my feet, and every other part of my body, aching and screaming for me to stop. After the success of my easy 3 miles, I felt brave enough to attempt the 12 miler and did it the next evening.
Folks, runs like that are the reason I run. At no point did I question why I was out there, and at some point I realized that I was in the middle of one of those rare runs that was just pure pleasure. My pace was good, I only had to stop for water every 3 miles, and when I started to feel sore or my mind started to wander where I didn't want it, I just brought my focus back to my breathing and my feet. Amazing. It worked so well, I went out and bought myself a copy of Chi Running today and will hopefully read it over the next week and pick up a few things at least. I am continuing on with my marathon training renewed and full of confidence that I really *can* do it. Hopefully this feeling will last and I'll have even more fabulous runs like the last one.
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