One More Mile

One little mile shouldn't make a big difference, right? Well, I did my first 21-miler on Sunday. My reflections are: one miles does make a difference. Prior to this experience I maxed out at 20 miles per the Hal Higdon schedule. Based upon previous experience in the marathon, I thought it would be helpful to surpass 20 miles to get more time on my feet. Last week may have just been challenging, but after the 21-miler, my recovery seemed more difficult. The day after I took a rest day. On Tuesday I resumed running and struggled through five miles. Last night I finally felt fairly well, and threw in some speed miles at 10K pace between easy miles for a total of five. My plan was to up the long run to 22 miles for my final long run next Sunday, but I'm not sure if it's worth it.

Last night on my commute home from work I was thinking about all of the same people I see every day. In a city of millions, people continue to follow along the same schedules and routes. We all move through our day simultaneously, interacting during these encounters waiting for the train. I've never spoken to anyone that's on my "schedule," but I think there's a silent recognition that we are somehow banded together. I imagine that we're all just molecules of oxygen being sucked in by big lungs, then exhaled at the end of the day as something completely different and spent. We return home to our homes, families and hobbies to regenerate, only to repeat this cycle the for each day that follows. These larger rhythms, the breathing of time, govern our days.