It might be cliche to say that running is metaphor for life - all that talk about life being a marathon rather than a sprint, for example. But the metaphor rings true for me, and perhaps rings most true when I think about the LTR - the long training run.
My marathon training schedule has me doing 4 runs a week. 2 of them are relatively short (5 miles or less), 1 of them hits a medium distance (5-8 miles), and you end the week with your longest run. In the beginning of the training my long run was 9 miles. Yesterday, I did my second longest training run of 18 miles. These long runs serve many purposes, and as I have completed them I have begun to realize they are not only training me for the race, they are proving to be a training plan for life.
As my long runs get longer and more difficult, life has a tendency to do the same thing. As I grow older the challenges that face me have higher stakes as well. My actions in life have a great impact on those around me. At 40, I am no longer living my life for myself like I was in my teens and twenties. I have a much greater awareness of my responsibility to others. I take my marathon training seriously so as not to injure myself on race day. I take my actions in life seriously as not to injure myself or those I love with rash decisions, selfish actions, and poor choices.
The long training run is my time to "practice" the marathon. I can test out what clothes feel most comfortable, which shoes and socks repel blisters, when to stop for fueling breaks, and what to eat before and after the runs. I would be stupid if I didn't fix mistakes on a long run, for it would make the next long run just as painful. While we may not realize it, life also provides us with many "practice runs". Everything we do is a learning experience. Every mistake we make teaches us what not to do next time. As with running, I would be a fool to continue hurtful behavior. It will only prove to be continually painful as the years go by. But while running mistakes provide almost instant and obvious pain (such as blisters, cramps, and muscle tears) that requires immediate remedy, the pain that results from our own life mistakes can often be buried and ignored. Consequently, we don't always alter our actions and we continue to hurt ourselves and those around us.
Happily, however, there is another similarity between life and the long training run - we almost always get another crack at it. Last week my long run of 17 miles was disastrous. Weather conditions were poor, my virus had not completely gone away, and my legs were screaming in pain from mile 13 on. I literally hobbled that last mile and honestly thought I might never run again. But, oh, what a difference a week made! Yesterday my long run of 18 miles had me mentally on edge - but it was successful from start to finish. I began to feel pain around mile 12, but learned from previous runs not to panic and to just keep an easy pace, while putting one foot in front of the other. I am thankful that life provides a similar second chance (and third, and fourth, etc.). I won't always make the right decisions, or act in the right way, but life will often give me a "do over". It's never too late to fix past mistakes. Just when we think we've screwed things up for good, around the corner lies another opportunity to try again and do better next time. Kind of how every Monday brings a new long run.
But what I love most about the long run is what it represents. It is not only the run that lets you "work out the kinks", it is also the run that makes you stronger and stronger each time you experience it. My body may be a wreck at the end of my long run, but by the time the next one rolls around I am stronger and ready for an even longer distance. I can honestly say that life has made me a wreck sometimes. But when I get through such challenges, it only makes me stronger to face the next ones. And the beauty of the long run is that it is, in fact, LONG. Yesterday I ran for over 3 hours. In that amount of time I can work through a lot of things in my head - and that's where the line blurs for me between running and real life. I can work through my struggles on my runs. I can think about my latest plan to help Jayson in school, or help Katy with her confidence, or help Erik with whatever he needs. I can think honestly about my own failings and how I can do better next time. The long run makes me physically stronger but, more importantly, mentally stronger as well.
Katy looked at my training schedule the other day and asked why the longest run I do is only 20 miles. Isn't the marathon 26 miles? I laughed and told her I wondered about the same thing myself. After all, 6 miles is over an hour more of running. How on earth do I face that challenge the day of the race? But I told my daughter what other experienced runners have told me before - you have to trust your training. The 16 weeks of running I have done before the race will have taught me everything I need to know. It will hopefully have trained my body and my mind to go the entire distance. And, ladies and gentleman, so it is with life. I have 40 years worth of experiences that lay before me. Life will throw me many more problems, worries, and crises, to be sure. I will simply have to trust the training. And I truly believe that it will all work out - in the long run...
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