Learning to Run

"The struggle for justice is not a sprint, it’s a marathon.” -- @GaryHaugen 

I saw this quote and liked it.  Gary Haugen is the president and CEO of International Justice Mission, "a human rights agency that brings rescue to victims of slavery, sexual exploitation and other forms of violent oppression" (quote from their website).  I am learning more and more why people use so many marathon analogies.  I have never been so aware of how every aspect of my life affects my physical endurance until now.  What I eat, drink, how much I sleep, what I wear...all of this plays a role in how well I run.  Seeking justice is much harder than running, requiring more training and mindfulness.  I like that I've been able to kind of combine the two.

I finished my longest run yet today: 5.4 miles.  Matt and the girls dropped me off by the Gamble House (as seen in Back to the Future, where Doc Brown lived in 1955).  From there it was about half a mile down the the Rose Bowl--and by down I mean all downhill.  That's a great way to start a run.  It's like flying.  I ran around the bowl, then stopped and got a drink and used the bathroom.  Going back up the hill was much less fun.

I felt proud of this run, not because it was fast or anything (it wasn't, except the first mile which was mostly downhill), but because I really, really didn't want to do it and I did it anyway.  I figured that if I can keep the pace that I had today for 13.1 miles, I should be able to finish in less than 3 hours.  When I signed up for the race, I had to tell them how much time I thought I would need to complete the course. I think I said three and a half hours.  My new goal is 2.5 hours, which might be a little hard (okay, maybe impossible, I just did the math).  At least now I'm pretty sure I'll be able to complete the course without the pace car picking me up.

Stats:

Distance: 5.4 miles
Duration: 1:11 hour:min
Average Pace: 13:16 min/mile
Average Speed: 4.52 mph

Total miles: 89