Most people think that the worst part of running is pain. That it's just unbearable to run for multiple hours. Surprisingly, that's kind of the easy part. I mean, once you train slowly and get to the point where you need to be, pain isn't too much of a factor. Sure, your joints might get a little stiff and tired, but the worst part is actually killing time. Running can be very montonous and boring. Which is why I planned on capitalizing on the Nashville Striders Training Run of 14 miles this morning. I thought, yeah, that will help keep the doldrums away, running with a big group of other runners. I was pumped, I was excited. I was going to be running with my peeps. Those other crazy bastards in Nashville that train for marathons. It was going to be beautiful.
And then, last night, I started thinking about what time I was going to have to get up to head to East Nashville to meet up with those crazy peeps. And then I decided that I'd rather sleep in a little and do the run on my own.
It's amazing the things that you find yourself interested in when you are trying to put off running. This morning, I woke up, went into the living room to turn on the tv to see what the temperature was before I got dressed. It was 32 with little wind activity. Hmm. Not too bad. And then instead of just turning the television off, and going to get dressed... instead, I change the channel just in time to see a preview for CBS Sunday Morning. Yeah, see, apparently they were going to have on this dialect coach... She was going to talk about how she teaches people to have accents and lose accents. Yeah, it totally sounded really cool (especially when you are looking for any reason to put off a 13 mile run). And then I eventually realized what I was doing, I got up and got dressed. Better to get this crap over with.
Boredom sets in early for me with long runs. And it's particularly harder for me when I'm feeling stressed or anxious. I tend to obsess over those thoughts while I run, and they make me antsy and crazy. So, to keep those thoughts at bay, I tried to think of other things... Here is a sampling.
1. Trying to understand the difference between a put and selling a call. I mean, it totally sounds like it would be the same thing, but it's totally not. I keep getting these two things confused. Ughh.
2. What I need to buy at the grocery store today. It's funny, though, I'm a terrible thinker when I'm running, like I can't calculate things or formulate lists very well when I'm running, so I kept going over: Tangelos, Apples, and Ground Turkey... I couldn't get past those three things. Productive, huh? The ironic thing is that I can almost guarantee you that I will forget one of those three things when I'm at the grocery store this afternoon.
3. What I'm going to put in a care package that I'm sending to one of my best friends who's having surgery next week! (Again, I got about to about two things on the list and just kept repeating them).
4. Why I don't have more Heart cds.
5. Why it is that everyone in the freaking world loved Atonement and I thought it was pretty crappy and depressing. I mean, seriously... am I missing something? It kind of makes me feel like a total idiot because everyone else raves over it and I just totally don't get it. I feel like Elaine in Seinfeld when everyone was raving over The English Patient.
6. Whether or not I will attempt to watch Lost this season, or just wait for the DVDs.
7. What I'm going to do this last week of being 27.
8. How Katherine Heigl's boobs looked considerably smaller than they usually do in 27 dresses.
9. If the chair I bought yesterday does in fact look good in my living room, or whether it totally clashes.
10. How if I'd ran with the striders, I'd already be done.
11. What marathon I want to run. Stick with Eugene? Run the Louisville? The Flying Pig?
So, yeah, see how boring 13 miles can be? But, honestly, it wasn't too bad and now its over and I've got a week to come up with new things for the next long run. I'm up for any suggestions!
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2 comments:
Run Eugune. The Meca of Running. The KY Derby Marathon is a decent marathon but has beginning and ending hills that are killers. Although, they need to have the marathon one day and then the derby the next so drinks and be established for 24 straight hours. Louisville has a flat marathon in October that is good for BQ'ing.
I always have my music w/ me. If I didn't I would go crazy listening to my own thoughts!
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