Remember What Just Happened...

I just came back from running the Northern 7 with Jean and Eve. For Jean, still recovering from a head cold, it was her first seven mile run. For Eve, it was her first seven mile run where she didn't walk, and I have to say that she ran the whole thing at a very respectable clip. There were times that I might have gone a little slower... It was great for me, too - it's been a long time since I took a long run with good company, and at the end, I felt like I could have run it twice. It may have been the sugar from the leftover red water, but I actually felt that rare feeling of euphoric invincibility. I decided, though, to take my winnings and leave the table.

I now want everyone to know what's important about the run, so you can marinate in that for a while. Months ago, when I was just loosely running with a few of you, I put the seven mile run together by quite simply stealing a portion of the marathon course. Clearly, I called it the Northern 7 because it's the northernmost part of the marathon course. I didn't just take this portion because, as we all know, I'm a thief, but rather because it's a critical chunk of the marathon course (if you're a half marathoner, keep reading, it's still relevant).

From a course perspective, when you turn onto Shoal Creek, you're a few miles of flat road removed from what I think of as the back of the dragon - the early, hilly part of the course through Tarrytown. The first 10-12 miles of the course are a matter of running smart as well as tough - they really test your discipline and planning.

The course from Shoal Creek at mile 13 or 14, all the way to North Loop, seems to be what I think Douglas Adams wouldn't mind me calling "the long, dark teatime of the soul." Long, straight stretches of flats and slight grades, and somewhat sparser crowds (only relative to other parts of the course). These are the quieter miles you just have to get through, and where thoughts of, "this is not a really good idea, let's walk" start creeping in.

Similarly, when the five mile route hits Burnet Road, you half marathoners are joining the 3M course at a point where you'll have settled into the race, and are just doing the work to get through those middle miles.

It also seems that while we all hear about hitting "the wall" somewhere around mile 22 or 23, the span from 14-20 miles is a physically tough one for a lot of us. For me personally, in all three marathons I've run, I've run at or close to my goal pace up until 12-14 miles, at which point my mile times begin approaching infinity at an exponential rate.

It was important to me that we run this at this point because the mileage fit, and because it's an early "win" that I want you all to associate with these difficult portions of your goal race. Both runs represented a bump up in mileage, which means that for some of you, it was a major milestone in your running. For others of us, it was the farthest or maybe the best we've run in a while. It's not a breeze of a route, but it's not a killer, so most everyone had a good day, which is also a tribute to your will and the work you've all been putting in every week.

So for all of you, take some time now and over the next few days to think back over the route you ran. Not to put too fine a point on it, but you all kicked its ass. Maybe you had rough spots, maybe you walked a little, but everyone got through it and finished and seemed to be pretty happy. Do not forget that feeling, and do revisit it often, so that you associate it with that part of the course.

Do this, so that when you're running 3M in January, and you hit Burnet Road, or when you're running the marathon and you do enter the long, dark teatime of the soul (or at least Great Northern), you'll remember running it on Saturday. You'll remember the nice weather, and the good company, and the encouragement of your friends. You'll remember sharply that you put in some hard work there, but that you got through it, and got through it well, and accomplished something new.

And Christine, you aren't trying to run a half marathon, but you ran farther Saturday than you ever have - the memory will be a source of strength for you someday, as well, in a race, or otherwise.

I know personally that the memory of the run I had this morning will make my experience in the Northern 7 very different in 2008. I promise you all that if you can keep your memory of this run alive and real, it will dramatically reduce your suffering, and you will kick ass all over again in January and February.