Hey... this isn't a sprint!

This isn't even a marathon.

This is marathon TRAINING!

This week's lesson: it's a lot harder when it gets harder.

wtf? Last week I was a stud and ran four miles outside when it was less than 10 degrees outside. About 3 miles into the run I took off my scarf because I felt like I couldn't breathe well enough. Afterwards I realized that was a bad idea. My lungs burned and I couldn't catch my breath. But, I pushed on, and ran 7 miles the next day. That was a bad idea too. My runs this week have been crappy, and this morning I tried running the 6 mile run but ended up walking most of it. Anyway, it all made me really angry.

And both trainers told me that I needed to slow down, calm down, ease up, and get better. So what happens when you've dedicated 90 more days to running and you just can't? Marathon training isn't about just one awesome glorified day where you're tired but it's all worth it. It's having 3 more months to go, and worrying that it's all falling apart. It's looking at the previous 3 months, and not wanting to waste all that effort. It's getting a picture in the mail:

and realizing how far I've come, and how far I still have to go. Marathon training is seeing the forest AND the trees at the same time. It's not easy. It's falling short of completing a 6 mile run, but still believing/hoping/knowing that the 26.2 is possible.