A mile is a long distance. Driving on my way home after my run today, I measured a mile using my car's odometer. It took a while to drive a mile, even at 55 miles per hour. Yet today, I clicked off ten of these by running them. The miles didn't go as fast on foot as they did in my car.
I just don't remember the exact point and time where double digit runs became routine. I guess I could go back at my training log and look. Doing this wouldn't explain when "Oh Lord, I'm going to go for 10 miles" became "I'm only doing 10 miles tomorrow." A month or so ago a friend asked how much I ran the day before and my reply was "Just 12 miles" He mildly mocked me "Oh, just 12" and we kind of laughed about it. A year ago I probably would have said "12 miles !!!"
Somewhere my health, fitness, and mentality during the past year caused longer distances to become less intimidating. My training methods changed. I changed my diet and eating habits. Recovery times got faster. My energy and drive increased. All of these changes enabled me to build up my endurance to do these distances. As the months passed, longer distances got to be routine.
Don't get me wrong: the miles didn't become easier. Often the first mile of any run is always the hardest and most strenuous. Honestly, today's first five miles were kind of grueling. Yet the second half of today's run just zipped by. It's hard to predict when the run is going to feel good, bad, or, ugly. Some days I could mentally be up to the task but not physically. The reverse is also true. Then there are the days where I am not motivated either mentally or physically. That is usually a sign to take one or more days off.
I think some of the 'distance' intimidation was wiped out by my wife. She recently ran her first 50k. It's been amazing to watch her grow and develop as an endurance runner. She registered me to do one early this fall as an anniversary present. The fact that she did this for me gave me a confidence boost. As an experienced runner, she wouldn't have signed me up for it if she didn't think I could do it.
Running for fitness is great, but somewhere along the way we, as long distance runners, go beyond that. A person doesn't need to run over twenty miles in a morning workout for fitness. Something in our brains cause us to push ourselves mentally and physically. To strive for longer and longer distances. Then we get comfortable at those distances and look further. Each person has their own reasons for doing so. There is something inside us that drives us toward these goals and distances. If we're lucky, we can keep chasing after these goals by staying healthy and avoiding injury to ourselves.
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