A Guts Race

Days in come in many flavors.  Some days are tasty and awesome, some are sour and nerve-racking.  But just as there are bland flavors, there are also days that resemble those mashed potatoes that, while homemade and the product of much sweat, lack the seasoning to be anything but bland.  Yesterday, for both my lady and I, was those mashed potatoes.  I ate them, of course, but I didn't particularly enjoy it.  So, when I got up, had breakfast and some coffee, I wasn't sure where the energy for running would come from.  But, as I have come to start reminding myself, I affirmed that I would have to do this thing, like so many others, because it needed to be done.  A funny thing happened right after that resolution.  I started stretching, and started feeling pretty enthused and energized.  I remembered that against my own predictions made so long ago, I ran a straight 5 kilometers two days ago.  I'm not just beginning anymore, I'm knee-deep in this, and all I have to do is keep moving.  When I got outside and hit the start button on my watch, I rushed off, determined not just to run the same distance again today, but to run in faster.  Cue the music....

Somewhere in the trail of imaginary dust that I left behind me, I left yesterday and it's *blah* sentiment as well.  As I pushed on, a mile in about 8min, going uphill, then around curves, 15 minutes past halfway, I started making calculations.  If I slowed my pace for a few minutes, then ramped up at the home stretch, I could beat my 5K time and push myself a bit harder.  As I hit about 22 minutes, with about 3/4 mile to go, I got the beginnings of a cramp.  I knew if I pushed through it, I might have to rest for longer, so I gave myself a minute, no more, to hit a fast walking pace.  I picked it back up, went on the last major uphill, and then started taking big strides.  As I hit what I've come to know on this route as "the home stretch", I felt my stride hit its limit, feeling like I might not be able to sustain it to the end.  As that thought hit my mind, so did the quote that Steve Prefontaine offered to explain how he planned to win the 5000 meter (also 5K for those keeping score at home) race in the 1972 Olympics: "I am going to work so that it's a pure guts race. In the end, if it is, I'm the only one that can win it".  I realized that, though I wasn't trying to beat a fellow racer, I was looking to beat my own time.  If I wanted to do that, I had to have the guts to do it, to push myself to the end.  I did, beating my time by a full minute, even with that minute walking break.  With a new best time under my belt, I now have a new best time to beat: 28:45.  Can I do it?  Absolutely.  The only question, then, is: do I have th guts to do it?  Stay tuned, and as always, stay positive.