Long runs

Yesterday I popped off a 30 mile long run in and around Jackson NH. Potentially one of my best long run efforts to date. 152 HR, 6:00 average pace. It actually felt somewhat routine, and yet I don't remember ever doing a run that long that fast before, and with a heart rate that low. I'd done a 30 mile and a 32 mile long run in the spring of 2014 leading up to Grandma's... but I really think this was a new level of quality. Even if it isn't in reality, I'm convinced it is so we're going to leave it at that. Be happy and move on because there's always another day to look forward to.

I got back to my car, sat down on the dirt to do some light stretches and looked around.

Take a second and really look at this picture. There's nothing hidden in it, just give yourself 8 seconds to try and put yourself there.

Grey sky, leafless trees, road curving slightly away from me-- on one hand it seems empty and isolating. It sure looks empty and isolating. As I sat there on the cold ground reveling in my body's soreness and looking as haggard as you'd expect, the typical fall scene around me started to feel especially...inviting... or.... approachable... almost comfortable. That packed dirt on the side of the road tapering off in the distance, the wind buzzing around me... it was all the way it was supposed to be and nothing more. I was who I was in that moment-- again--nothing more. The hard road and the freezing wind can be unforgiving at the best of times, but right then, BAM, it was like we got each other. That's what I'll always remember about this picture.

These are the things that happen to your brain after running for 30 miles straight.

AH