Bonk.  We’ve all been there at one time or another.  Wikipedia describes “bonk” or “hitting the wall” as a condition that endurance athletes face when glycogen stores are depleted and this manifests as sudden fatigue.  I describe it as those moments when I’m running and I want nothing more than to lie down right where I am, with my cheek to the ground and never move ever again.  Not even if someone offered me a million dollars. But knowing that if I do cave to that temptation, I will lay there in the fetal position until wild animals come to drag off my rotting carcass.

Today I had to do a 20 mile training run.  Total bonk.  I knew by the time I reached the end of my driveway it was going to be rough.  My body was tired, I hadn’t carb loaded appropriately and it was hot.  Trust me, I am NOT complaining about the heat, I’m just sayin’.  It was a delightful change from what we have grown accustomed to this spring.  But my body hasn’t had time to adapt to the humidity.  Seriously, last week when I did 19, I was wearing gloves.  And today I had to stop at 4 different places to refill my water bottle.  Welcome to marathon training in the Midwest.

I tried everything to enjoy running today, but it just didn’t happen.  I listened to the words of each song on my ipod, hoping that something would inspire me.  But it seems that the line I heard at only a tenth of a mile in kept replaying over and over in my head.  “Life ain’t a track meet, it’s a marathon.”  I’m not even going to tell you what song that’s from because then I have to admit to the trashy, inappropriate music I listen to.  I’m sure some of you will google the lyrics out of sheer curiosity, don’t judge me.

When my Garmin beeped at mile 4, my body said, “Are you kidding me?!  We have to do that 4 more times?!”  My brain said, “Yep!  And we’re gonna be that much stronger for it.”

At the point where I finally got to turn around and head home, I celebrated, for about half a second, before I realized “Holy Schnikes!  I have to do it all again.”

With 3 miles left to go, I was like, “3 miles.  What’s the big deal?  That’s a 5k, we can whip that out no problem.”  Except for the fact that by that point, my pace had slowed nearly to a crawl and I began to wonder if I would even finish by dark.  (I started at approximately 10:30am)  I had eaten a pack of Cran-apple Gu Chomps, a Berry Blast Powerbar Gel and almost an entire package of watermelon Sports Beans.  And yet, my body felt depleted, drained and dead.

1.9 miles to go, I walked long enough to eat the last 4 sportsbeans.  Keep going.

Only .7 miles left, I stopped at Mobile on the run to fill up my waterbottle that was completely empty, again.  Could I have made it the rest of the way without more liquids? Probably, but I needed water (and a 30 second break) to boost my morale.

You know you’re tired when you think to yourself, “The faster you run, the sooner you’re done” but you just can’t make your body move any quicker.

I finished my 20 miler at the end of my street, but I wasn’t home yet, so I kept running, or shuffling rather, until I got to my house. 20.23 total miles for the day.  Ouch.  I hurt.

Sometimes when physical strength fails, we have to rely on mental toughness.  Mental toughness is when our brain convinces us to do something that we really, really don’t want to. My brain made my body keep moving when I really didn’t think I had the physical capability to keep going.  It’s important to listen to our bodies, if there is an injury or some logical reason to stop running, we should.  But “I’m tired” and “It’s hot”, those are not reasons.  We have to train our bodies to go farther and faster, and we have to train our brains to see through the excuses our bodies make when they hurt.  My brain got me through that run today.  My brain, and my heart.  I’ve said it many times, where I lack in ability and speed, I make up for it with determination and heart.  I know what I need to do and I get it done.  Today was no exception.

Just go one more mile.  Just get up this hill.  Just make it to that fire hydrant.  Just go one more step.  And another.  And another.  Some days are just like that.

On my way in to work this afternoon, armed with Ibuprofen, GU Brew Recovery and CEP sleeves, I got a phone call that I didn’t need to come in thanks to the Cardinals who  demanded the attention of the vast majority of West County St. Louis today.  Oh, Praise the Lord, I have never been so happy to live in St. Louis on the day of the home opener in the Lou.  So, what did I do?  I took the rest of the day off.  And I went to get a pedicure.  I think I earned it.  The best part?  The color I picked is called “It’s my year”.   Heck yeah it is.

So what else can I say about that brutal, painful, grueling 20 mile run today?  Two words: Bragging rights.

This is how RRG wrote today’s post