Faith is not belief without proof, but trust without reservation. -D. Elton Trueblood
As I sit in my bed telling myself I need to get to sleep so I am well rested for my 22 mile run tomorrow, I find myself experiencing, for the first time, anxiety and fear about my long run. I knew I had 14 in the bag, which made me confident for 16. 18 came and 7 miles of those I did in tears because of knee pain. I saw the chiropractor right before the 20 and that went off without much of a hitch. Tomorrow is the longest run of my entire training. To a non-marathon trainer, 22 miles seems impossible to comprehend. For a marathon runner, 22 miles is 4 miles short of the race, so the big 22 doesn't scare us--as much.
It is at a time like this that I again review the best advice I was given when all of this started: Trust the training. I have added a second sentence to it, which is trust the trainer. And undoubtedly, I trust both. I have confided in my coach several times that I don't know if I can really do the whole race without having practiced running that full distance--and she has assured me that I can. At those moments, I take a deep breath and remind myself that I trust her and I trust her training program. It had me thinking tonight about the idea of trust and having the faith.
I remember a song I listened to as a teenager that said something to the effect of "we cannot see the wind, only the effects of the wind, and that's how we know it is there." This can be applied in various areas of our lives, but for myself at this very moment, I don't have proof that I can run 26 miles--or 22 for that matter. And assuming I complete at 22 tomorrow, I still won't have proof that I can run 26--not until I do it. I have 2 options: Violate my Coach's training plan and choose to do all 26 just to feel confident, or follow the plan, as written, and have faith in the training--the trainer--and myself--that when October 16 comes along, I will knock all 26 of them out. And while I'd love to do all 26, I know I would never EVER do anything other than what my coach instructs me to do....so I guess I've just got to keep the faith!!
As I will be doing my long run tomorrow, I will not plan to post tomorrow--but I will do a normal post on Saturday after the Autism 5K. It is not too late to donate online or to show up in person to register for the 5k! Hope to see some of you there!
2 comments:
When training for my first century, the longest ride our group did was 70 miles. That was the plan. The day of the 70 miler, we were experiencing winds of 25-35 miles per hour with gusts of up to 45 miles per hour. It was brutal. I was blown off the trail 4 times. I bonked for the first time. And I walked the last 2 miles in tears. Needless to say, I was pretty discouraged. I thought I would never be able to handle 100 miles if I felt like I went through hell trying to accomplish 70. (uplifting part coming next...) The training works. I had no problems finishing 100 and feeling strong at the finish line. I wasn't even tired a couple hours after I was done. (However, I did eat the local Qdoba out of all food.) I trained really hard for months to prepare my mind and body. The taper works too. I needed to rest my muscles and gain energy to pull off a 6.5 hour ride. Keep the faith my friend. And, keep on running.
ABC
This was exactly what I needed to read. Made it through the 22. So sore by the time I finished--and for hours following--but I survived. Another 4.2 and I would've done a full marathon. 28 days to taper/mend and I'll be out to do the real deal. Thanks for your encouragement!!
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