the Mother Runner

Well, we’re four weeks into training and I feel like maybe I’ve peaked already. I mean, I managed to wake up four days in a row and put in 5ish miles before breakfast. Yeah. That’s not going to happen again.

I mean, it might, but I don’t anticipate it. I never anticipated it happening at all. And yet . . . just goes to show that you should never say never. Maybe one day I’ll wake up and discover that I’m a morning person. Just like that. (Hahaha.)

So, four days in a row. It wasn’t pretty, but it happened. One day I ran on 5 1/2 hours of sleep. Another I felt frisky enough to “race” a girl up a hill. I managed some speedwork (3×1 mile) at a nearby park just to remind myself that I’m still working my way back. The last day felt like spring. It was nearly 50 degrees out and I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t take advantage of that particular mid-winter gift.

And then there was the long run. The secret to long runs, I’ve decided, is podcasts. Music is nice for shorter runs and easy days. But when you’re out there for a couple of hours, the songs run together. You think, “Is this song still playing?” You get bored. But when you’re listening in on the Pop Culture Happy Hour crew discuss metacommentary in media ranging from 30 Rock to There’s A Monster at the End of This Book, you feel like you’ve fallen in with friends. And even if the miles don’t necessarily fly by, you’re grateful that you’ve had 2 hours of witty and intelligent conversation to eavesdrop on while you slogged your way through them.