"My road calls me, lures me, West, East, South, and North; Most roads lead men homewards, My road leads me forth. To add more miles to the tally of grey miles left behind, In quest of that one beauty God put me here to find." ~Excerpt from Roadways by John Masefield.
One foot in front of the other, just one foot in front of the other. This snow is crunching so loudly under my feet. It's -8 below (windchill), my face is cold, but my body is warm. Too many layers. 22 miles in the winter? My sport beans are frozen. One foot in front of the other. Take it one step at a time. Why is the snow so loud today? All of the above are thoughts/statements/questions that crossed my mind as I ran 22 miles yesterday.
Heather needed to get 22 miles in, so I met her at 6:30AM to get 4 miles more than the rest of the group was doing. We ran our 4 miles and started running back to Lifetime, we then met KG, Karl, & Jim outside, and started our 18 mile loop. I know I am in good cardiovascular shape. I know my legs are in good shape. But it was so difficult! With five top layers on, two pairs of pants, three pairs of gloves, a hat and a facemask on, I felt so heavy! Every step felt like concerted effort just to move! After the run I weighed my wet clothing, and it added an extra 12 lbs. It was like wearing a weighted vest, but all over my body.
At mile 17, David met us with Gatorade and I couldn't have been more thankful and appreciative. I hadn't brought anything to drink, just frozen sport beans, and my body was cramping up. The sweet sugary Gatorade was exactly what my body needed.
We made it back to the club. 22 miles under my belt. Here's the total for the week:
Monday: 6 miles
Tuesday: 5 miles
Wednesday: 5.5 miles (6 800m speed intervals with a warm up and cool down); swam for 20 minutes.
Thursday: 12 miles
Friday: 5 miles
Saturday: 22 miles
I wish I kept better track of my lifetime miles, but this may be the highest mileage week I've ever run. I am very pleased with my successful training so far. I have added hills, speed, long runs, and swimming. I am thankful for good health (finally) and strength. I can't quite find to words to express how I feel when I'm working hard. I am reminded of God's faithfulness and love for me as I press on to do things I never imagined. I never want to take for granted the opportunity I have to get up and run or lift, or simply work hard.
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