Have you ever had a run that made you want to quit the sport of running forever? That was yesterday and a little bit today. We desperately needed to get a good long continuous long run and went out for 22 miles on the road of the BWI Trail. I was excited to run someplace new, but I had no idea that by mile 10 I was ready to give up the sport of running forever. Mile 10 felt like mile 20 for me. My hips and knees hurt and I ached all over. My legs were so tired that when I went to use the port-a-potty I ended up peeing on the back of my leg and shoe because I couldn’t get the right hovering position, and ya’ll know you don’t sit in one of those things. I knew this was going to be one of those runs where I will have to dig deep to keep going. I had to make my mind push my body to get through it….had to find my inner bitch.

My Facebook post from yesterday.

The loop was 11 miles so we did it twice reversing direction for the second loop. I have to admit that I did have to walk here and there, but I finished with an average 11:36 pace and I ran up every doggone hill so I can’t be disappointed about that. And while I was at the back of pack, I didn’t finish too far behind the group in front of me. I should be happy with it, but I hurt. And if I didn’t already make a commitment to myself to finish an ultramarathon, I’m sure it would’ve been easier for me to just to walk away. I remember telling Frank on the run that I wanted to go home and withdrawal from every race that I signed up for this year. Who wants to run all those races anyway? Why would someone be so stupid to have an aggressive race schedule? I guess, me.

That’s me at the back. Thanks Frank for taking this picture!

During the second loop I was really struggling. I was on my own for the most part without my usual running partners. There came a point where my legs were so heavy that I couldn’t even maneuver round the goose turds on the paved trail. Heck, I could barely pick up my feet to jump over them. Instead, I kicked them. Hey, it was a shitty run so I might as well kick shit.

Today’s 10 mile run was no better. Thank goodness Kurt went out with me otherwise I would’ve quit before I started. He had to put up with my whining and my constant need to take a break or walk a little, but he made sure that I had 10 miles of running in. Grant it, it took over 2 hours, but he didn’t let me count my breaks or walk time towards my 10 miles. I thank him for that. It’s good to have a running buddy who understands and knows how to push just enough without annoying you so that you get to your goal. We did see a couple of blue birds on today’s run, so not all was horrible.

OH, and have you heard? We’re getting MORE SNOW! As of an hour ago, we’re getting 10 – 14 inches. I was chatting with my group Friday night on what happens if the race course is in the same condition as it was last Saturday. The trails were impassable. The race is 20 days away and we’re getting dumped on again. We would need a couple of nice warm days and/or some rain to get rid of the ice and snow. I guess it could happen…it is Maryland where one week it could be in the 70’s and the next we could have a blizzard. But, I’m anxious about it. I’ve trained all this time for this race, what happens if I can’t run it? We talked about other options…ummm….okay…but it’s not the same.

Needless to say, this wasn’t the best training week I’ve had. And I do have to remember that I had some pretty awesome runs. I’m not going to let this week get me down, but I’m not over it yet. I’m going to allow myself to stew over it and be annoyed by it and then I’m going to move on. Because as I’ve said many times before, a better run is right around the corner.