Darkest Before Dawn

The first raindrop came down from the heavens and splashed on my windshield just as I shifted the 6-speed into 1^st. When I finally got there, the sky had grown threatening and the wind had picked up. I cursed myself for ending up in this situation – it was either now or not for another 5 days. I decided to go for it.

I started with a positive state of mind – determined to better myself over my last failure. By the end of the first mile, the wind had risen to a gust, and not just leaves and dust but also tree branches were flying through the air. Midway through the second mile, it started to rain – heavily. For the uninitiated, a runner’s body generates so much heat that the ambient temperature is said to have a “feels like” rating of 20F (8C) more than what it actually is. The temperature then was in the low 80s (about 30C) with a humidity of over 80%... you can do the math! Then, nature played its ace – the sun came out _while_ it was raining!

I pushed on in spite of the insane conditions, determined not to be defeated so early. As the first few miles rolled by, I started to gain confidence; from glances at my Nike+ iPod screen, I realized that I was averaging 8min/mile! And then it stopped raining (mostly), and I hit my first target of over 7 miles in the first hour. 2 energy gel packets and 1.5 bottles of Gatorade later, I was at the 14 mile “marker” with a time of 1:59:23!

Then during mile 15 it started raining again, and this time it was cold rain. The ambient temperature dropped 5 degrees, the sun had set, I was drenched to the core and my shoes felt like they had lead weights attached. I decided to call it a day* at mile 18 (2:35:36). The most important outcome of this run, however, is that it shows me I can actually achieve my long term target of 26.2 miles in 4 hours! I believe I had enough stamina that, had I had a change of clothes and shoes right there, I could have pushed on to complete my goal! And I can say that so confidently because I only needed 10-minute miles all the way to the finish! :)

* This is the hardest part of running – knowing when to quit. When you’re so close to your goal but you know that something has the potential to cause injury – a fatigued calf muscle or hamstring or even a wet sock – you have to stop no matter how (emotionally) painful it may be!