Saturday, August 1, 2009

Runner's High: No Big Deal


I can remember when a 10-mile run was a huge undertaking. Hell, I can remember my first 10k, which at the time was the farthest I'd ever run. Oh, and it was in my first-ever Olympic distance race (stupid, stupid, stupid).

Last Saturday, I headed out to Derby with one of the athletes I coach for a moderately-paced 10-miler. Weather was perfect, if a little humid: minimal wind, overcast, and cool. There's a surprising amount of elevation change in Derby, so the course I planned was pretty challenging.

And know what? It was no big deal. It was a 10-mile run, and it was no big deal. Which, when you're looking at training for an Ironman (and I'm not, by any means, saying that I am or will be any time soon), should be expected. Because 10 miles is really not that far.

On the other hand, 10 miles is HUGE! That's more distance at once than most people--even most everyday runners--will ever consider doing! And when I consider the fact that two years ago I had never run more than 6 miles at a time . . . that's pretty cool.

Okay, now that I've written that out, it really seems like not a big deal. I feel a little silly.

Silly, but still awesome. 

3 comments:

  1. It is amazing that you and your body feel like 10 miles is not a big deal. I am still trying to get my body used to running a 5K.

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  2. when i first started running I remember thinking that running 3 miles was SO GREAT and now I am training for a marathon....crazy

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  3. I hear you. Even after just taking a few weeks SUPER easy, I did an 80 mile bike. Nothing major compared the training I had done early this year, but being able to pull it off without specifically training for it was SO much fun.

    I love getting little confidence boosts from mini events like that.

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