The Line

    Wow. What a run. Did my second half-marathon today, the Hagg Lake Trail Half. Honestly I felt my lack of rest, and the last few weeks of amped up workouts. My legs were a bit leaden at the start. My lungs, heart, and energy felt great, but my leg muscles felt this week's over exuberant plyometric workout, and yesterday's cycling and core work that was interrupted near the end by back to back medical calls that kept me from fueling up for about 3 hours after my workout. I was running decently well though, until mile nine. That is when the leg cramps hit. Oh dear gods did they hit. Fortunately they alternated legs; left inner thigh, then right calf, then upper right thigh, then left foot, etc, ad nauseum. Most I could at least keep moving, but a few were brutal enough that I had to stop, grit my teeth, try not to cry, and wait for it to pass. I know it was a combination of cumulative fatigue and electrolyte imbalance. I had to change my stride and gait, landing more flat-footed to take the load off of my calves and hamstrings, this put a beatdown on my knees, feet and ankles tough, and I may pay the price for a few days.
    Interestingly, instead of raging against the unfairness, being pissed that I would finish last (which I didn't, quite), and beating myself up for "failing," I felt a sense of triumph. I hit "The Line," that point in a race when your body is feeling used up, hurting like hell, and trying to convince you that stopping would be a great idea. The Line is the point that often spells the end of a race for a lot of people, people willing to give up, throw in the towel, let a little discomfort get in the way of finishing. I hit The Line and kept going. Yes, I had to stop twice, and walk out cramps a few times, but I kept going, and as soon as the cramp passed I ran. Yes, I ran a bit slower than I wanted to, but I ran. And when the finish line came into view my head was high, and I made a that final, hard kick, and crossed the finish line strong. Then begged for Gatorade to try and rebalance my poor body.
    Just as last week's Triathlon, with all the weird problems, trials, and tribulations was excellent practice in dealing with potential problems, today's run was excellent practice for hitting The Line. At several points I even thought to myself that this is very likely how I will feel 9 miles into the run after 56 miles on the bike. I don't expect The Big One to be easy, or pain free. I expect it to push me to the edge of my current fitness, push me to the point that I have to push myself to finish. That is the point, isn't it? To find new challenges, look them in the eye and rise to meet them.