Beyond the Threshold
Three weeks to go. Well two weeks or regular training then a more relaxed week before the half marathon. Little butterflies swell up in my stomach just thinking about it. I know I can do it. It is just a matter of doing it in a time I can be proud of, and of course, injury free.
I'd like to attempt thirteen miles again this week, my only day to do it might be tomorrow, since I am substitute teaching all week. This time I plan to bring my hydration belt and a few GU packs, and probably eat more the morning of than I did last week.
It would be a good boost for my confidence if I can get at least a thirteen mile run in before the marathon. I need to get past that threshold that I reached towards the end of my run last week. That's what adding distance is all about: pushing past the threshold of what you think you can do. It's amazing the way your body responds when you do that. Usually when you build miles you do so by adding two miles to your long run every week. It is gradual but you can feel your body adjusting and improving each week.
Six miles used to feel hard, then I pushed past that to eight miles and on the eight mile run the first six felt relatively easy and the last two miles hard. When I moved on to ten miles the first eight felt easy then the last two hard. It continues like this as you add miles. Every time I train for a marathon I'm amazed at what my body is capable of; when you first start off 26.2 feels impossible but as you gradually build towards it you realize that you're doing it. And so it is not a question of weather or not you body can do it; the question is can your mind make the decision to walk out the door and start putting one foot in front of the other.
I honestly think that you can apply this mindset to any goal, any circumstance in your life: the big picture may seem daunting, so much so that you want to give up without even trying. But if you take a piece of it, a piece that you know you can control, you know you can conquer and do that, then it will lead you to accomplishing what you've set out to do.
I'm not sure if I'll ever run another marathon. But I do know that the ones that I've run have taught me a valuable lesson on overcoming life's most challenging circumstances.