I went to my class reunion on Friday night. Not much to talk about, light showing for a combo of the '87/'88 classes. Only two hundred at most from classes which combined for over 1200 graduates.
Anyway, Saturday morning found me hooking up with an old flame. At first it was fun and exciting again. My heart was racing, I felt young and full of energy. An hour later I started to remember the pain that the relationship had caused. It hadn't taken long for the glimmer to wear off and I remembered why I had walked away before.
Saturday night found me back with my wife, attending the spouse night of the reunion. The pain of my earlier folly was still fresh, but I pretended as if nothing had happened and pretended to enjoy the evening. Today, the pain still lingers, yet I find myself longing for another encounter. So this week I'll try to put the pain behind me and then next weekend, slip from my bed and sleeping spouse to hook up with a long run again. This time, 14 miles, who knows maybe I'll start to feel comfortable with it, but for now, I'll savor the pain.
OK folks, if you've never tried it and are wondering, going two months with nothing longer than a 5 or 6 miler and then reeling of a 12 miler is not the brightest idea. Don't do it. I did it to see if I could pick up with where I should be in a marathon training program, but building up slowly is the only smart way to go.
I'm confident I will be fine and will log a 14 miler this week with a friend who is prepping for the same race. To jump straight into this mileage I'm going to have to be much smarter than I've been in the past. I tried that this morning, opting to log an extra 2 hrs of sleep instead of getting up to run. Instead I came home and ran 4 miles after work, 2 of which I was accompanied by Jina on my bike hauling the twins and my oldest son and one of his friends on their bikes. Wow, I felt like an elite, or maybe Lance Armstrong, with my on training entourage.
Anyway, I'll keep you posted on how the training goes, let's see if I can keep it together and do this. For some reason a switch got flipped in my mind this past week and I'm focused in on doing this marathon again.
Side Note: Remember my adulterous relationship in Columbia, SC when I found myself cavorting with a pair of Asic 2130s instead of my loving New Balance 768s. Well Saturday's long run and the resulting hip pain were enough to convince me the Asics had seen enough miles. Me and the 768s hooked back up tonight. I think we can salvage our relationship.
25 August 2008
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3 comments:
James,
The eros of your runs is a little troubling. Only a little, as I understand that affair as well.
The shoes are simply the lingerie, my friend, for the love affair that is running. (However, I may have taken this metaphor a bit too far...)
Because I run trails, I use shoes with toe caps and more rugged lugs on the soles- yes, I practice safe running!
I could go further in this, but out of respect, I think I'll stop here.
Glad to have you back on the long-run team! Enjoy the pain...it's making you stronger, my friend.
Wow, you really didn't follow the 10% rule did you? Be careful not to injure yourself.
I know how you feel. After a month of merely going back and forth to the kitchen for another snack, I actually went out to the curb to get the mail today instead of sending Max out to go get it. Whew. I need to work my way back up to that. :)
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