Two weeks from today. Ran 12 miles this morning. I’m at my parents house this weekend so I mapped out a course around here. Didn’t feel winded but hips and legs sore towards end. Need to lose some more weight. I think my 10 in 10 is going to be more like 10 in 15 or 20. But I’m working on it. Hips/legs take on robotic, Tin Man quality after working hard. I’m working on pushing through the discomfort, trying to keep a comfortable running form. I think I could be drinking more along the way too so I’m going to try sipping every 5 min or so. I still wear my fuel belt which has capacity for 32oz. In the race, there will be water/sports drink every couple of miles so I’ve been experimenting with two 8oz water and two 8oz Gatorade Performance (sometimes watered down a bit to prevent my tummy from upsetting).

I talked to Ben this morning about my run and said “I don’t know why I do this.” This was on the heels of me thinking if I want to run a marathon in the future, I would have to run 14 more miles than I did this morning and that is daunting. Scares me a bit too. Ben said if I don’t like running why do I do it? I said it’s not that I don’t like it, it’s that it is hard work and is the most challenging thing I’ve ever physically done. I like the challenge… not always the physical ache and struggle to push through, although I do like being physically active and healthy. It’s hard to parse out the different aspects because for me, it all intertwines. So if I complain after a hard run or a difficult race, I’m not saying I don’t like running. If I question why I do this, it’s not because I don’t like running…it’s that I’m probably second guessing my abilities or scared of what’s next. I wonder what is next for me?

Keep pondering,
Amy