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| Navigational Artwork and Directions by Colleen Yorke, © 2015. |
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| Beverly Hills, CA. |
It often seems easier to relocate to
the other side of the world than it is to put one foot in front of the
other for more than five miles. As with a lot of things in life, it
often takes a major event to shake
things up. Whatever it is that got us into running, the only time we
should look back is to see how far we have come. Training for a marathon
presents us with diverse challenges - how to fuel, how to maintain a
steady pace, how to run...? Extreme temperatures, cracked and crowded
pavements, and limited time between work and workouts are testing
obstacles for any beginning long-distance runner.
Today,
as my alarm buzzed at 4:44 am and I had gone to bed three hours earlier, I was just not feeling it. True, it seemed like a nice day for a
run,
but something more in the 3-5 miles' range with a foamed latte
afterwards. But, as race day is only days away, and being the novice to
long distance racing that I am, it seemed critical that I tried to go for an ultra
long
run. 3:15
hours later, I completed the longest run of my life, 23.1 miles from
downtown Los Angeles to Beverly Hills and back. I hit a brief moment of weakness around the 18th mile, but familiarity with the roads (and knowing that five more miles was not that much further to run) motivated me to keep pushing until finish. My knees feel a little
tight now, but they do not hurt. I feel proud and relieved. From here onwards, the route is still
undetermined, but I am certain, it will be an adventure!
