Crossing that "mind" barrier can be tough

"It's very hard in the beginning to understand that the whole idea is not
to beat the other runners. Eventually you learn that the competition is
against the little voice inside you that wants you to quit."
- George Sheehan

So, there I was, knowing that today I would have to run at least 30 K's to keep up with my training for my 50 Mile race. Unfortunately none of my friends were up to running that distance, so I had to run the first 8 K's on my own. That part was relatively easy. The hard part was running with a group of runners who were all fresh and ready to go while I had just run for the past 50 minutes. To make matters even worse, I forgot to charge my Garmin (a GPS watch which tells me how fast and how far I've run) after my train run yesterday, so the battery died just after I had finished the first part of my run.

Because I have been training in Miles instead of Kilometres, I've gotten used to not looking at my Garmin. When you run in Miles it takes forever for it to change from mile to mile. This has allowed me to focus more on running slowly, which will help me with my Ultra Marathon race in April/May.

When I arrived after my first run, there were about a dozen runners waiting to go. Because I wanted to go nice and slow, I made sure to stay well behind the rest of the pack. As we all arrived at an intersection many of the runners were able to cross the street but there were three of us who didn't. I couldn't have been happier about that as it turns out. I was able to run with two other runners who I haven't been able to run with in a long time, but who I know very well. We were able to keep a nice pace and get caught up on what's been going on in our lives.

We ended up doing about 24.5 K's which put me at 32.5 K's, which obviously I was very happy about. Part of our revised route took us into the Seaton trail which I had run on Saturday and that wouldn't have happened had we stayed with the other group of runners. Getting past 32 K's (20 Miles) is a very imporant step with regards to my training. As I continue to go further and further, I'll be able to look back on today and use it to motivate me.

I was surprised at how much I didn't miss my Garmin and also the fact that I ran with no music. Today's run was definitely one that challenged my mental toughness as I really had to call upon my inner strength towards the end of the run. There were times when I was asking myself what I was doing and that I just wanted to get home. As I write this I have a very "numb" feeling in my mind. My stomach is queezy, I'm dehydrated and very tired. I put my body and mind through some difficult situations today but the fact that I was able to finish makes it so special. I'm lucky that I have plenty of Advil at home......