Will power

If I do manage to run a marathon on 9 May - Visè or Prague, the latter depending on having my leave application approved - today's long run of 2h45m will have been a major milestone in the build-up for it.

The past week I had to stop for a couple of days due to a painful achilles tendon, a strain that was probably caused by running in the snow for the past several weeks. I had rested enough to be able to run my standard 10km on Friday, and this morning it was still touch and go if I would be able to run at all, let alone keep up my scheduled 'upgrade' to a 2h45m weekend run.

So I decided not to venture too far from home, just in case the pain suddenly flared up and I might need to abort the run. In fact, for the first couple of minutes it didn't feel like I could go very far... but it wasn't so bad either, and the first out-and-back sortie towards the Overijse bus station, total 30 minutes, went reasonably well. After that I proceeded in the opposite direction, along the main axis of Hoeilaart towards the forest at Groenendaal. I could have gone on into the Foret de Soignes, but the pain was still there so I decided to backtrack again to a safe distance - another 30 minutes gone.

One and three quarter hours still to go. I decided to do my two standard weekday 10km runs, one after the other. The first goes to Overijse, taking the road that leads to Huldenberg, and then runs back home. My heel was holding admirably well, and in fact it was hardly hurting at all. Maybe the pain was camouflaged by various aches that were spreading throughout my leg muscles as I approached the end of the first of these two 10km loops.

This would inevitably be the toughest part of the run. The later part of a long run is always tough on the body. It's here, after all, that the long distance runner gains in endurance. Moreover, today I was increasing the length of the run by another 15 minutes, using leg muscles that were already strained in various parts. It was a risk that I had to take to stay on schedule for Prague (or Visè), and I'm still anxious to find out the consequences the next couple of days.

Normally, at the later stage of a long run, after close to 2 hours running, with each step I'm getting closer to home sweet home. But not today! I was just four minutes away from home, tired and aching, and I still needed to go for a full 10km loop. I could have contented myself with 2 hours and come home to rest, and do a full 2h45m next weekend. I almost did just that. But then I realised that this overwhelming temptation was only due to being close to home. If I'd done my normal 1h23m out and 1h23m back long run, on the way back I would simply keep on running the whole distance until I reached home. So I decided to ignore the fact that with each step I was getting further away from home. It was a supreme act of will power, but it worked! I ran on, all the way to Groenendaal and back, a full standard weekday 10k on tired, aching legs.

To finish off a most difficult run today there was a further 'sting' at the finish, because I still needed to run on for an additional 3 minutes to notch up my 2h45m. I remember thinking that it would be a pity not to go the whole hog, having gone through all that trouble for so many kilometres...

I have mentioned before that, apart from races, here I only chronicle my runs that are remarkable for one reason or another. Today's run certainly qualifies for that description.