The joys of long runs...

What does not kill me, makes me stronger. - Friedrich Nietzsche

Long runs are...well, let's be honest...they're a pain in the rear. My current training plan has 3 runs through the week, and one long run on the weekends. I dread them, but I also look forward to them...

But long runs have a polarity to them. "Polarity" is a term a good friend of mine uses to describe those tensions that pull us toward opposite directions at the same time--like the need to be individualistic while at the same time needing to feel just like everyone else.

I ran 10 on Sunday. The polarities abounded--I wanted to beat my PR for 10 miles, but I wanted to run slow and steady. Each lap of the track seemed like it was sooooo far to go, but when I finished it seemed like it took no time at all. I started out dreading the run but felt a wonderful sense of accomplishment when I finished. I was spent, but felt like I had another 2-3 miles in me still.

I love the challenge. I love knowing I'm better than the 10 (12, 15, whatever) miles that are in front of me. I know that if I set my mind to accomplishing a task (running, something in my personal life, business life, whatever), that I will accomplish it. It may take me longer than I thought, but I'll "git 'er done", in the words of Larry the Cable Guy. I also love knowing, as Nietzsche observed, that if the runs don't kill me they'll make me stronger.

So I'll keep doing them...not only because they're part of the training plan, but because at the end of it all, I secretly do enjoy them...

So, that's it for today...now get out there and run a few!