That's more like it!

Unfortunately my trail running friend could not run today as he's recovering from his race on the weekend. With only two days removed from my own race, I decided that I was feeling well enough to go for a run. It still amazes me that I'm able to recover so quickly from running an ultramarathon on Saturday. I suppose all those training runs in the winter are the reason why.

All last week I didn't feel "right" about my running. I'm sure it was the hangover effect from my 50 mile race. While I went out and did some runs, I never went beyong 8 miles. I think I was afraid to go a little longer as I needed to heal myself. Most of the time, doing the smart thing pays off but last week I really think it had an effect on me. It used to be that I needed to run at least 6 miles in order to feel like I accomplished something. More recently, though, I've been running a minimum of 10 miles per day (16 K). If I didn't run at least that much, I felt like I had cheated myself by not pushing myself hard enough.

Today I wanted to push myself so I went out and did my usual 10 mile route. The legs felt great and more importantly, my mind was very focused throughout. I went to bed early last night so I could get up at 5 AM and be on the road by 6 AM. I went out in a light jacket and shorts but forgot one important thing, my gloves. It was surprisingly cold today and I tried everything I could do keep my hands warm but that proved fruitless. I blocked out the cold by thinking of runners who have inspired me such as Terry Fox. I kept telling myself that if Terry could run on one leg surely I could run with my hands cold.

As I made my way home my hands were now red and it was so bad that I could not turn the key to open my door as I couldn't feel my fingers. I've always had trouble keeping my hands warm, even on days when you'd think I should be fine. Because I run so early in the morning, I'm going to have to invest in some light gloves as I don't want to experience what I experienced today any time soon.

Overcoming obstacles, though, is what inspires me to keep running and to keep climbing higher and higher to reach goals that seem unattainable to others. Running works the mind like nothing else I've ever experienced and I use that mental focus to affect other areas of my life. Anyone who questions why I run so much really doesn't understand the importance it has in my life. Then again, I don't run for anyone other than myself so as long as I remember why I run, nothing else really matters.