Run: 18 miles in 2:14:34 min. @ 7:45 a.m.

Pace: 7:29 min./per mile avg.

Weather: Fair, 45°F
Course: Starting at the Lock 32 on Clover Road, heading East on the Erie Canal to Turk Hill Road, in Fairport, and back.

"Good for the body is the work of the body, good for the soul the work of the soul, and good for either the work of the other."~Thoreau

Having never run more than sixteen miles, just last week, outside of the three marathons I have run, I was a little intimidated at the prospect of going eighteen miles this morning. To alleviate my personal concerns about being able to stay focused for the duration I elected to run on the Erie Canal, a course which continues to become more and more familiar to me. At first I thought I might go West toward Greece, New York, onto uncovered ground, but once awake this morning, I quickly switched to a more comfortable Easterly direction. A couple of reasons made me glad for having made the change.

First, this permitted me to run into the sunrise, which was still low behind the trees and not in my face going out, and to my back on the return trip. Secondly, I came across one of my relay teammates about three miles into my run. He is a much younger, and better trained, athlete than yours truly, but we ran the next twelve miles together which provided me the impetus for a much more quickly paced training run than I had planned.

Walking onto the canal path this morning I had mentally prepared myself for anywhere from a 8:30-9:30 mile pace, but due to the increased paced running with my friend, I averaged much quicker 7:30 minute-per-mile pace. Of course, while running with my friend we pace at about 6:30-7:00 and the last three miles I ran by myself I would reckon I padded along at a very pedestrian pace of about 10:00 min-per-mile.

Those last three miles were very psychologically draining, and my mental exhaustion just helped to further reinforce for me my need to quickly build the weakest part of "my game," staying focused over the long haul of a long run. I have found a few strategies, most dealing with the practice of mindfulness exercises to stay "in the moment" and, therefore, in the run. By maintaining my personal presence within the physical experience, I hope to help strengthen my ability to keep my head in the run, in addition to fully experiencing the run.

Breathe in, breathe out... YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!