“I do not believe that sheer suffering teaches. If suffering alone taught, all the world would be wise, since everyone suffers. To suffering must be added mourning, understanding, patience, love, openness, and the willingness to remain vulnerable.”
At noon yesterday Jeff and I finally left the Y to head out for our 15-mile long run--the longest run scheduled on this
training plan. The weather couldn't have been better. Low 50s, sunny skies, and light breezes. We wore tights (for the compression), long sleeves...we had a packet of
Hammer Gel to share and a bag of sports beans; Jeff had stashed water and Gatorade at our 10-mile marker.
The first 5 miles was just right. We chatted, ran along the
Grand River to West River Drive where we stopped for our water break. We took off from there to
White Pine Trail to head up to Fifth Third Ballpark. Our buddy Mike told us to keep running until we smelled Wendy's...that would be 7.5 and then we could turn around. We passed Burger King and wondered if Mike got his fast food smells mixed up. Nonetheless, we kept running. Sure enough we entered an invisible cloud that smelled of grease and bacon. Wendy's was in sight! We stopped to celebrate by sharing our Hammer Gel and took off again for the trek back.
About 2 miles into the return, so approximately 9.5 miles, the reality of a really long run kicked in. Jeff, as he always does, ran faster when it got tough...I followed, slower than Jeff, but keeping an even pace. We made it back to the 10-mile mark--stopping for the last time to grab some water and Gatorade from our stash. We took a couple of minutes to regroup and took off for the last five miles.
We made it to Riverside Park, noting that we only had to get to the
Shell station on Monroe and Ann and then to Leonard Avenue and back to the Y. By the time we passed the Shell station, our legs were heavy and persistent pain moved in. Not feet, knees, or hips--everything...we just kept going.
My strategy is to welcome the pain...make room for it...observe it...anything but act like its not there.
The pain of running is as much a part of the experience as the beauty of the Grand River, the breeze, the sunshine...we just all have to get along in our reality.
We both made mention of our discomfort, but we kept at it..."take a step, take another, then do that again," I chanted as we kept our pace. Jeff practically cheered when we could see the Varnum Building--our reminder that the Y was just beyond. We took a walk break over the
6th Street Bridge, then sprinted along the River Walk...dancing around the ArtPrize tourists...knowing that we were within a mile of the Y. We made it to
O'Tooles, but didn't let up...until we made it to the parking lot of the Y. A high-five, shared pats on the back and some mild swearing ensued...but we were ecstatic to have completed the long run.
After a quick shower, we headed to
Founders!
