Confidence

random

runnings
I’ve read articles from other runners about bad runs turning into a good run but not until yesterday have a really believed it. Our run started out feeling fairly average, but I would consider approximately miles 9 – 15 a bad run for me. I tried hard to exercise positive mental thinking but my mind game wasn’t quite winning. Once we headed up Summit, however, I actually found myself smiling. Maybe there was a bit of a grimace to the smile, but I knew we were going to make 20 miles. It might have been the stop at the satellite, the recent gu, the brief walk or the mental game was kicking in, but I decided I could keep my legs going. The run started to feel doable. In fact, we finished the run feeling the marathon will be doable. We knew the route was about 20.4 miles and briefly considered trying to make it 21 but decided to quit while we were ahead. It wouldn’t have felt good, but I definitely felt like I could have kept my legs going. Come to find out, our route was slightly more than 21 miles. I know we can make the last 5 now. In fact, RF and I agreed we felt better after the 21 than we did after our 18 mile run. I now know that if I hit a rough point during the marathon it will get better. This is what I needed to give me the confidence that we will complete it. I’m still nervous, but I know we can do it.