Run Farther

A while back, I ran 10.1 miles and blogged about it, after which I swore off running, declaring it the most boring thing I could think of to do with my time.  Well, just like when I retired from the Not Celebrity Not Fit Club, I went all Michael Jordan and started running again.  I didn't blog about it because, well, it is the most boring thing I could think of to do with my time.  I wasn't trying to be obsessive or become a real runner or any of that crap.  I was just...running.

Last week, I ran that 10.1-mile route again.  I do not normally go that far.  I don't think I should even be able to do that.  Of course, any time someone has found out about it, they seem baffled.  How could I do that?  Well, here it is, friends:

How to run farther than you ever thought possible

I start running at a comfortable pace.  I prefer to run at night.

About six steps into it, I start mentally preparing myself.  I tell myself that it is going to be a very long run, that I can do it, and that I will do it regardless of how it feels.

My brain begins to wander.  I don't think that helps, that's just who I am.  I don't think about how it feels, or whether I'm hungry or tired or thirsty, because it doesn't matter--I'm doing this run and I'm not dealing with any of that other stuff right now.

If I start to feel discomfort, I ignore it.  I know that in my physical state I am not going to kill myself or seriously damage myself by going on a little run today.  My legs are the only part of my body that even has the right to complain, because my legs are doing all the work.  Even the legs don't matter, though.  No one has ever died of a leg attack.

Eventually, regardless of your physical fitness, you are going to feel like you can't go on any farther, or at least not much farther.  Congratulations!  You may now turn right.  Once you feel like you cannot go on any more, you may turn right again.  Congratulations!  You're half done with the longest run of your life.

You can't stop now.  You're quite far from home.  What are you going to do, walk?  It would take hours to get home from here.  Since you're tired now, why don't you just run home and rest?

There it is.