The Ultimate Long Run Contemplation

As a self-employed individual who spends more time talking to his dog during the day than he does to others, I enjoy the opportunity to run with other people. In fact, I'd rather do an agonizingly slow run with a good friend and catch up than I would like to go to to the track for a speed workout by myself. Of course, the latter is purely hypothetical thinking that I would even think of doing a speed workout, let alone by myself.

Thus, when a friend invited me to join her for a 33 mile run on her birthday, I didn't hesitate to respond in the affirmative. She's training for a 50K in March. I'm training for a marathon in May. But the question is whether I go for the gold, throw out all my conventional wisdom and just see if I can actually run 33 miles. It's as daunting as the thought of running a marathon was 4 years ago as I contemplated my first.

I begin to wonder whether or not I have hit a new level in my running. Is a marathon no longer good enough? Am I no longer feeling that a marathon is a challenge? Am I looking for the brag factor that comes from running 30+ miles at one time. After all, you should see the "likes" and comments I got on Facebook after the lake run. Could I be looking for that type of self-gratification? If that is my reasoning, then I think I have issues...ok, additional issues.

If my reasoning is because i've never done a run over 27 miles than maybe it's worth looking at.

There is also a rational part of me that says "You haven't run anything greater than 26 miles since September..." But, I remind that part of myself that came up with that quip that I did rock 12 miles today on a really hilly course and I did do 10 miles on the track last Friday which should be the equivalent of a 30 mile run in terms of "wanting to die" before I finished the run. All of these are very valid points.

It also solidly reflects that I spend way too much time talking with the dog...