Today is my daughter's birthday. She would be fifteen years old if she were still with us. I know that this day is always my most difficult day of the year. In the past, I've isolated myself and tried to just make it through 24 hours without completely falling apart.
Last year, I ran a 5k on her birthday, and that was a miserable experience. I was still horribly out of shape and part of the run went through a cemetery. I would not have signed up for the race had I know that ahead of time.
This year, I'm in the middle of my marathon training plan. This weekend called for an 18 mile run. I've never ran that far before. My wife decided to do it with me, so we both took the day off work (a Monday) and planned to do the weekend run on this day. She would ride a bike while I ran.
The weather was cold, rainy and windy. I was unsure of how to fuel for this run, and was still ignorant about many other things related to distance training. Strangely, this run wasn't as bad as it could have been. With Rose by my side, we talked and were able to get each other through the day. It wasn't easy or fun, but it was a victory.
As far as my pace goes, well ... I struggled with that too. It took 3:32:47 (11:49 average pace). It wasn't about the pace, it was about imposing my will on an obstacle and conquering it.
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