Today I finished the last run of a challenging four-day push in preparation for the San Diego Rock 'n' Roll Marathon on Sunday, June 5th. Getting myself ready for this race has presented unique challenges -- if for no other reason than because I let myself get sorely out of shape in the winter. Thus, reaching the final stages of my training for this marathon is a satisfying moment in its own right.
After being back in Michigan from Friday to Tuesday this week, I returned to San Diego ready to put in a few solid days on the road. I completed 10-mile tempo runs on Thursday and Friday, then followed that up with 15- and 20-mile runs through the Torrey Pines Reserve on Saturday and Sunday, the latter of which took me all the way up to Del Mar. Last summer, I ran up to Del Mar nearly every weekend, but summoning the tenacity to venture that far north had presented something of an insurmountable mental hurdle until today. Plodding along on a cool, cloudy morning was a invigorating, if exhausting way, to end this training period.
Suffice it to say, getting back into form feels good. Waking up before dawn and feeling the pavement roll away beneath my feet imparts me with focus and energy that I don't find elsewhere. Feeling light on the streets and fast on the trails is my reward for hard morning training, and it's a deeply fulfilling one.
