11 marathons completed in 11 days and 1,441 miles logged so far in 2012

The view at the start of Mile 2

Thought I would attempt an evening run just to see if it would feel any different on my legs and energy levels.  The weather was ideal for this because the warmest that it got was 64 degrees and during the run it was in the upper 50's with a light breeze.  In other words it was perfect.  My mind was in the right place because all that I was thinking about at the beginning of the run was what if you defined success (at running) as how you felt after the run.  In other words, how much pain would I be in?  That simple little question automatically put me into a nice little rhythm where I felt like I was not even trying that hard.

 My goal was not to achieve a specific time or to even survive completing my 11th marathon in 11 days.  My goal was to feel as good as possible after the run.  Immediately after the run, two hours after the run and even the next morning.  This thought process out me on autopilot.  Does this mean that I felt no pain at the end of the run?  No.  But I will say this, I enjoyed the run much more, and I wasn't feeling the severe pain and discomfort until around mile 22 or 23.  Whereas I was experiencing the same discomfort around mile 12 only a week ago.  Did the weather affect this?  Maybe.  But I do know this;  Whatever we focus on is exactly what we experience and whatever we focus at any given moment in time will always be our reality.

For the record, I began this evening's run around 5:15 p.m. and finished almost exactly at 11 p.m.  (I pause the runmeter for bathroom breaks) my official running time was 5:29:36 with an average pace of 12:34 (and that is a good number for me that will only improve over time).  

Marathon number twelve will begin about nine hours after number eleven and that will indeed be the ultimate test for me.  I plan on taking it easy and expect a little more discomfort than normal, but still plan on enjoying the run - after all the forecast is perfect - high of 48 and rain!