I Hate Long Running

I've been told that long runs are very important. They increase aerobic capacity. They strengthen the heart. They help lower resting heart rate to a level that would alarm any doctor who didn't know that you were a runner. They are the most important thing to do in training for a marathon.

Here I am training for the DisneyWorld Marathon, now only 2 weeks away. I want to run it as fast as I can and beat last year's time which was/is my best ever. To do that, I have to long run. So you'd think that I might have some affection for the work out that can help me do what I want to do.

And yesterday's 20 miler went well. I ran it faster than recent long runs, I didn't injure myself, chafe myself or even raise a blister and, "having run" it (see yesterday's entry) I am fully prepared for Disney. Furthermore, it is over and I can bask in the accomplishment.

It was also an interesting run. The first 12 miles were on the flats along the Hudson River. At W.60th Street I crossed over to Central Park where I did 7 hilly miles. Thus I prepared myself for Disney's flat course with the level Hudson River miles and toughened myself beyond Disney with the Park's ups and downs. In addition, I ran over 2 minutes faster than 3 weeks ago when I negotiated the same route.

Nevertheless, I am not happy. I feel no affection for my achievement. I don't care that I am now fully prepared for Disney. After the 20 miles I sat on a bench and coughed for 10 minutes, spitting up half the Chocolate Gu I took at mile 16 and, apparently, didn't fully digest. Now I feel sore, achey, out of sorts and not myself. My lower back is stiff, my knees hurt and I'm walking slowly and gingerly. I don't want to get out of my easy chair. My main thought about the Disney Marathon is that after running the same distance that I did yesterday I will still have 6.2 more miles of torture to go.

It's a good thing that I'm not running today. Or tomorrow. And that my planned mileage for this coming week is much lower than what I did in these last 7 days. I've begun to taper for the race. Tapering could not come at a better time. I've pushed my body beyond the point that it wanted to stop. Now I'm paying.

I hate the long run.