20 Miles at Last!

After 6 months of training I have finally accomplished one of my goals this year: to run a 20 mile training run. After failing to complete the 18 mile run due to hot weather and struggling to finish the 19 miler last week, I was apprehensive about the 20 miler. I was also determined to accomplish it. And yes, it is fun to watch people's eye's pop out when you casually mention how far you ran.

That is, when you don't get the most common reaction which is no reaction at all. I find that most non-runners just don't understand. Long distances and personal bests are two things that I find it less than useful to report to people who don't run.

And to be fair, I used to laugh at amateur marathon runners. Plodders who had no hope of winning who were happy to waddle to the finish in 5 hours or so. "Anybody can just move their feet for 5 hours" I would say. Well guess what? I don't feel that way any more! Especially in the last 2 months my respect for ANYBODY who trains for and completes a marathon has grown immensely. This isn't easy and it takes alot more than just moving your feet.

I now understand that when you see people running 26.2 on race day, its really the final 26.2 miles after hundreds of training miles. The final running day after hundreds of running days. The tip of the training iceberg. For many, this will be the greatest day of their life! And yes it should rival marriages and graduations and births of children because it represents a long term daily commitment to overcome fatigue, pain, self doubt and injury. It requires a complete change in the way they view themselves long before they have any evidence to support this new self image. The photo at the finish was created in their minds long before it was snapped. It was created long before anyone else could see it.

Sometimes, most of the time, in life you have to be your own one person cheering section for a very long time before anyone else cheers for you.

I am not certain I broke my ankle in November, the xrays showed a small bone fragment consistent with a small fracture but not conclusive, no cast was necessary. But badly sprained or broken I still couldn't walk right for six weeks. There was a time last December when I was sure I would never run again. But I made a plan to try to run. It started with seeing a physiotherapist as soon as possible and following their instructions diligently. I began range of motion exercises and trying to walk with as much pressure through that ankle as possible. Then, after two months of no running at all, I went for my first jog. I limped for 5 minutes but it was a start. Through January and February I slowly built up to be able to limp 15 minutes on a treadmill and then icing the heck out of my ankle afterwards. I began to believe. I began to feel that I was still a runner, an injured runner, but I was an athlete.

By the end of February I had a plan to run 1 mile more every Saturday until I ran 20 miles. This of course would be supplemented by running 4 weekdays. I ran on the grass soccer fields at Seabird and the treadmills at the gym. At first the ankle hurt with each step but I soon learned that it wasn't being harmed. Soon the ankle hurt only occasionally, and then rarely. Now, I often forget which ankle was injured. So finally, yesterday, after months of preparation I completed 20 miles. I am no longer an injured athlete.