This is now officially the long distance that I’ve run in one go. By the time I got back to the store my Garmin said that I finished off 14K. I felt awesome. In all honesty, I was feeling so good that I could have gone on for another kilometre or two.

Only a few of us showed up this morning. We all steeled ourselves for another long one. The instructor was away at the cottage, so the group leader was the only one there to take us through. She said that we’d be attempting to run slower than usual today at which I just smirked. Well, I kept up for the first kilometre. By the second and third I started to lag. I kind of prefer it that way, because really that’s sort of what I’m used to. Actually, I slowed down partly because again my left ankle and right shin were acting up. It’s not the first time they’ve been stupid, so maybe I should get my biomechanics checked out.

Anyway, the rest of the group did pull up far enough ahead that I was no longer able to see them. It was at that point that I felt a bit at ease. I mean, whenever I see them with my eyes off a couple hundred metres in front of me something subconsciously makes me push a little harder just to catch up even when I’m physically in no condition to do so. For example, at the end of 4K I saw the group waiting at a stop light. Without much thought I just gunned it up the hill to catch up. And I did. However as soon as we started again I was so wiped out from pushing hard that they just easily pulled away, leaving me in the dust again. It was at that point that I remembered how foolish it was to try to catch up. These LSD runs are supposed to be well-below race speed–so if I’m pushing ridiculously hard then something is wrong.

Well, as I was left to myself, I meditated upon the route. The instead of thinking hard about how much was left to the end, I just focused on the next point of reference. For example, I remember thinking at one point that it wasn’t far to the 7K point, at which point it’s all just a return trip. No problem! I was able to mark out 3K legs along the way. Doing so made the distance seem much more manageable. I spent a great deal of time focusing on the achiness. I was willing for it all to not become pain–that was a big possibility. I could sense that one misstep or bad position would cause me to collapse in a heap of goo far away from my car. Not good.

I eventually eased into a pace that felt kind of good. It was a relaxed pace. Even though it was slow, my heart rate was where I needed it to be, meaning that I knew I was going at the right speed for me. Without even thinking about it, the discomfort in my legs left me. Time passed by quickly. It was so relaxed that I didn’t feel a need to stop after 6K. Usually I do my 10/1 intervals religiously on Sundays, but today I felt strong enough to keep going. Even if I wanted to speed up, something mentally anchored me and kept me to pace. Time stretched on but I felt free of it. I was in my own world, just continuing on without a care. At about 13K the skies opened up and it started raining on me. I just laughed! What else could I do? I thought about running faster, but I thought: “I’m going to be wet no matter what–it really doesn’t matter.” So, I stuck it out.

When I got back, I was feeling strong. Fourteen! Whoo! If someone asked me to do a few more, no problem! They’d be slow kilometres, but they’d get done! In store, the group leader was still around and cheered me on. She said she was proud of me for completing the distance. I guess I had a dissatisfied look because she was urging me to believe that she was sincere. I guess part of me wished I could be with everyone, but really the awesomeness of what just happened didn’t really strike me until I got home.

So where does that leave me now? If you recall, I’ve been trying to figure out what to do when the 10K clinic ends. Well, now that I know that I can do the distance, I don’t want to lose any gains I’ve made. So that means that I won’t do the 10K again for now. Yes, I could benefit from getting stronger and faster, but I suspect that building distance will help that come more naturally. Will I join the half-marathon clinic? I’m not sure yet because I know that I’m going to be a lot slower than most of the group–I don’t want anyone to slow down their own training just to keep me company. Although I might really benefit from having something scheduled.

So, another piece of the puzzle is in place. Time to figure out the rest.