Running The Last Mile

The Mental Challenges of Running

The sun's rays pierced through the tree branches above. The intense heat softened the patched asphalt to a sticky taffy. The black tar ripped away from the soles of my shoe with each step. My perspiration rolled to the corners of my mouth. The taste of the salt reminded me of the last few ounces of water I had left in my bottle. The last few miles of my 20-mile run felt like a never-ending trail of twists and turns.

My 20-mile run is my last long run before my event. In 2 weeks, Ill be running the San Diego Rock n' Roll Marathon with Team In Training (TNT). I have been thinking about my last long run since last week. I've been dreading it because of the thought of running 20 miles by myself. I couldn't make it to Team In Training's group run in Monterey last weekend so I had to make up my mileage on my own.

I decided to run at Sawyer Camp (from Bunker Hill to San Bruno Avenue and back). If you've ever been to Sawyer Camp, you'll know that the path winds and every turn start to look the same. Every time I approached a turn, I kept thinking that the end of the trail was right around the bend. I got excited...until I got past the bend and saw another turn... and another turn... and another. By this point, I just wanted to finish. I got tired of seeing one turn after another. Each winding path gave me a false sense of hope that the end was near.

To keep my mind distracted, I decided to say a little prayer for myself. Realizing the path wasn't going to end, I started to pray for my husband, my kids, my parents, my extended family, then my friends...After running out of people to pray for, I figured that I must be near the end. I finally decided to look at the mile marker-1-1/2 miles to go. Yay! I decided to pick up my pace thinking I could get to the end quicker. Over the course of my run, the temperature was quickly rising. It was unusually hot for this time of year. The intense heat got to me.

The next ½ mile was the longest mile. I kept thinking about my personal honoree, Minnie, and how she struggled with her battle with cancer. I thought about the discomforts and pain she endured during her treatments over the years. She's still fighting today. I thought about her strength and undying faith in the Lord.

I thought of our team honoree, Doug, and the shirt he wore to one of our meetings. It read, "If you think training for a marathon is difficult, try chemotherapy!" I kept on running, constantly reminding myself that this was nothing compared to what cancer patients go through. Finally, I reached the end of my path.

But wait! I needed to run another 1.5 miles and back to make my 17-mile trail into a 20-mile run. I stop. I sigh. "Only 3 more miles," I say to myself. By this time, the sun was at its peak with temperatures rising to unbearable records. I already finished 42 ounces of water (which, by the way, I had to lug around). I had a few sips left in my water bottle. In this heat, I needed at least 8 ounces more of water to finish my run. With no water left in my bottle, I decided to run to the ½ mile mark and turn around. I ran 18 miles-- 2 miles short of my goal today. Hey, I may be crazy, but I'm not stupid.

I called it a day. It was a challenging run, but I didn't suffer from any injuries, body aches, heat stroke, nor dehydration. So, I congratulated myself for a good run. I convinced myself that what's more important than completing my goal is running safely!