Sunday's are my long run days and yesterday was intended to be a typical long effort on the flat and soft Katy Trail near St. Charles, Missouri. The rough weather of the past week made some alterations to the trail that added an element of adventure and a few obstacles. I ran with my good buddy and consistent running partner Mark who is super fit and ready to hit a good marathon up in Duluth this month. He has come really far with both his mental and physical fitness, but a weakness of his is anything that breaks rhythm while running. Shocking right? Anything that knocks any runner off of a comfortable pace is hard to deal with and you can see it all levels of running. So his weakness is every runner's weakness including my own. It can be a change of pace, a big hill, a lot of stoplights, or in our case yesterday lots of large trees fallen and completely blocking the path.
We ran down the path for about three minutes before we hit a wall of foliage and broken limbs. I looked for a way through but did not find one. We elected to turn and go the other way and a few minutes later hit another gigantic tree that completely blocked the nearly 10 foot wide path. Mark was ready to turn back and head to Creve Couer Lake which is an asphalt path that is about 3 miles from where we were running. I understand what he was wanting but honestly I was a bit selfish and wanted to stay on the soft path if at all possible. I found a way through the downed tree and Mark reluctantly followed. The next 2 miles were filled with down trees and I doubt we ran more than 2 minutes straight without stopping and climbing through something. The run was turning into Mark's worse nightmare with constant stopping and going. He had just done a big week of mileage, was feeling tired, and now his long run turned in to his inconsistent nemesis. On top of that, he was running with me which I'm sure isn't always a delight. I was trying to talk to him and joke around to take his mind off the run but I don't think it worked.
As the run progressed Mark's spirit was visibly diminished and at the turnaround he planned to consume a GU as practice for his marathon. Despite his greatest effort that little packet would not tear open and in his frustration Mark decided to just continue on with the run. (Actually in a fiery rage he chucked it into the woods followed by a few harsh words) So to put it plainly; Mark was tired, he was pissed, and we still had 9 miles to go. Not a great spot to be in for anyone who isn't feeling great and may even have to use the bathroom.........
The run continued and we dealt with the downed limbs as Mark's rage came and went. As we hit mile 15 he began to lighten up and even seemed as if he was starting to enjoy himself. He embraced the attitude which I had tried to maintain for the run; which was it doesn't matter how slow we go as long as we get the mileage in. He even began to smile and laugh and seemed to enjoy hurdling branches and scaling downed trees. He smacked his back on a branch at one point and he simply shook off what was likely very irritating. It clicked for him that this was fun and to take it too seriously can make it miserable. Yes, we had a goal and an important day of training that was set up to be less than perfect but when it came down to it we simply needed to run long. I started this off talking about the gains Mark has made in fitness and I have seen him improve drastically on certain runs. Yesterday was nothing special in terms of the run itself. We did our 18 miles in roughly 7 minute average which is pretty standard considering how much we run. (Not to say it's easy.....) What was impressive yesterday was to see the development in Mark's mental attitude and strength. He dealt with the stress of things not going perfectly and then in the end even came to a steady view of the positives on the day. We got our long run in and we had fun doing something out of the ordinary. Well done Mark. This is a huge barrier for any runner as it's easy to get down but to persevere with a positive outlook even on a bad run shows how strong you really are.
The takeaway from this is that when things don't go like the perfect plan we have in our head we have to adapt mentally. This could be on a normal run, in a race, or even in our daily lives. Small mental adjustments about the way we view a situation can turn a huge burden into a huge opportunity to have some fun. The important thing is to stick with your goal and make the best out of what you have available. Be committed, get the work done, but don't view it as simply that. If you can't enjoy the process then you will most likely struggle to maintain and be successful. I hope this finds you well and safe after all the harsh weather of the past few weeks. Be safe, take care, and run steady my friends.
