October 2, 1996  –  the day Lance Armstrong was diagnosed with testicular cancer.

A couple of nice spots to motivate you on this day.    One makes me tear up and the other just pumps me up.

today was a beautiful rainy day, which made for a great run.  it was raining just hard enough to keep all but the die hard runners inside.

i love running through my neighborhood on days like today.  i take the time to appreciate the cobblestone streets and the cute shops along charles street.  i cruise out to the esplanade and take in the grey haze that hovers above the charles river.

i felt great during the run.  my calf wasn’t bothering me like it was yesterday and i was running a pace 45 seconds per mile faster than normal.  originally i planned on only running 6, but everything felt so good that i went for 10.5 miles.

today made me feel better about cutting yesterday’s workout short.

“in a sport where compulsion is necessary, it is difficult to have the confidence to take a rest day.”

i originally planned to run my final long run, 23 miles, today and begin my taper to the marathon.  however, my right calf and left foot have been bothering me since last weekend’s 21 mile run.  going into this weekend, i was concerned that i was on the verge of making myself worse by asking my body too run too far.  i had been increasing my long run for the last 4 weeks.  i knew that most training plans will suggest increasing mileage for 3 weeks and then take a step back on the 4th week and that most training plans do not go longer than 20 miles.  to go for 23 miles may be a bit unnecessary, but since i had the time in my schedule i thought it may be a nice mental boost.

a friend called me on last night asking if i wanted to run a half marathon on this morning, since she had an extra bib.  i explained that i had a different run in mind but she suggested that i run the half and run a loop of the course twice, making it my planned 23 mile run.  even though the 7am start time did not sound too appealing, i decided to run the race as a training run.

after 13.1 miles, my calf was really bothering me.  my legs were heavy and i was still concerned about hurting myself.  however, i also knew that it was too early to skip a long run and start tapering.  i really did not know what was the best decision.

i opted to stop at 13.1.  i felt guilty all day.  i felt that i cheated myself.

i love fall. 

it’s my favorite season for many reasons:  i love the clothes (jeans and sweaters), i love pumpkin stuff (pumpkin pie, pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin ales, pumpkin candles), i love the trees, i love the head of the charles, i love playoff baseball, i love the weather (cool, but not cold),  i love that ice climbing season is just around the corner, and i especially love new england in the fall.

and apparently, i’m not the only one that loves fall…. here’s an amusing article about the lovely things about fall.

“Marathoning is like cutting yourself unexpectedly. You dip into the pain so gradually that the damage is done before you are aware of it. Unfortunately, when the awareness comes, it is excruciating.”
           – John Farrington, Australian marathoner

“We are different, in essence, from other men.  If you want to win something, run 100 meters.  If you want to experience something, run a marathon.”
          -Emil Zatopek

“The marathon’s about being in contention over the last 10K.  That’s when it’s about what you have in your core.  You have run all the strength, all the superficial fitness out of yourself, and it really comes down to what’s left inside you.  To be able to draw deep and pull something out of yourself is one of the most tremendous things about the marathon.”
          – Rob de Castella

“Running is a lot like life.  Only 10 percent of it is exciting.  90 percent of it is slog and drudge.”
           - Dave Bedford

i stumbled into our apartment last night after a 21 mile run and immediately reached for my phone.   my legs cramped up during the last 2 miles to the point that i could barely run, but thankfully my fingers were still nimble enough to text.   text to my friend who is running marine corps with me: “oh. my. god.  running a marathon was the stupidest idea i’ve ever had.”   her response:  ”i know!  i went 21 today and now i can’t move!”

ah…..long runs.  i have a love-hate relationship with them, depending on how well my legs feel after pounding pavement for miles.

although many people question the intelligence of a person that chooses to run, the new york times has given us proof that running can actually make you smarter.

on the other hand, climbing mountains, has been known to make me dumber.

maybe they balance each other out.

i busted out my first 20 mile run yesterday.  or i should say, it busted me out. 

i’m amazed at different every mile of a long run can be.  running is not uniform — mile 3 can be drastically different than mile 7, and god knows mile 20 is different than mile 1.  i’ve learned that my body doesn’t start finding it’s stride until mile 3 and i usually feel like i can conquer the world between miles 5 and 8.  miles 16 through 18 hurt like hell.  and although my muscles feel like they’ve been ripped off my legs by mile 19, i get an incredible high at the thought that i just ran 20 miles and i’m able to pick up the pace to finish off the run. 

i’m also amazed at how different each run can be.  a couple weeks ago i wrote about bonking on a 17 mile run.  however, last week i ran the same route, added another mile, (even after being sore from a 16 mi hike the day before) and felt fantastic.  i even picked up the pace for the final 2 miles and finished by jumping up and down to give my husband a high five.  yesterday’s 20 mile run was somewhere in between – i certainly wasn’t on the verge of bonking, but i didn’t feel good enough to jump for joy at the end of the run.

but, it was wildly satifying to know i could make my body ignore pain and run for 20 miles.   though my 20 miles certainly didn’t look as nearly strong and smooth as this girl:

npr’s “marketplace” recently highlighted the economics of running.   an economics professor at wharton states how “expensive” training for a marathon can be, in terms of opportunity costs.  of course, this argument stirred a response from runner’s world, claiming that running’s benefits outweigh the costs, even if the opportunity costs are thousands of dollars.

although i think the professor’s argument is overly simplified (e.g. doesn’t consider the mental and physical benefits of running), he raises an interesting concept.   he encourages us to think about how much running is worth to us by thinking about how much our time is worth.  i’ve said many times, the hardest part of training for a marathon isn’t the physical activity, but the time that it takes.  for example, i estimate a 10min/mile runner will run 73hrs in preparation for a marathon.  if we value that person’s time at their wage per hour and that person makes, say $50k/year, training for a marathon would “cost” them $1755.   not too many people would right a check for $1755 for a chance to beat up their body for 26.2 miles. 

but wrapping a space blanket around your shivering body at the finish line is worth every penny, right?

i like to keep  tabs on my favorite distance runner, kara goucher.  she placed 10th at the world championships in berlin yesterday.  she was quoted saying that she was in the best shape of her life but was plagued by a sour stomach and the inability to keep her fluids down which kept her from placing higher.