I am marathon training again.
Today was the first double digit long run – eleven. I’ve not run eleven miles in over two years. Winston has been training with me and we were both wondering how it would go.
It went just fine.
Well, I shouldn’t speak for him, but it went fine for me. I remember years ago the first time I had to run nine and the timidity I felt. It seemed like such a long way to go.
This time around it was a piece of cake. Ooh, I shouldn’t have mentioned cake. I’m trying to clean up my eating a bit too. Lemon cake and chocolate cake. Where was I?
Mentally, I didn’t struggle with the distance. You just run and keep running until you’ve covered eleven. You know roughly how much time it will take. You know the route you plan to go. It’s just a matter of doing it.
Physically, I didn’t struggle. My body just keeps a base that I can find. The muscle memory keeps my posture correct and my stride in check. It’s a beautiful thing.
The first time we do things, they seem daunting. We wonder if we can do it. If we do try, we wonder if we will ever get it done.
And then we do it.
The doing of the thing convinces us that we can do it again. And when we do it again, we find that its easier the second time.
Joel Stiff's Adventure 