Altitude+Wind+Cold+Dehydration = One AMAZING run

I just remembered that I was totally going to take a picture of myself running in the cold and snowy weather to post on my blog, but it didn't snow...This blog needs some spice!

I went to Colorado Springs this past weekend to visit a friend (SHOUT OUT), but of course, just because I'm on vacation doesn't mean I get to skip training for the marathong. The plan was, I would fly out Friday, and get my 12 mile long run over with ASAP so that I could just enjoy the rest of my stay without the stress of thinking about running. That was the plan...

I knew going into it that I was going to be a possibly tough run considering the elevation that I would be at. In California, the elevation is around 20 feet. That's what this one website said anyway (YES, I looked it up). And where I was going to run...6008 feet. Tahoe is 720 feet and people warn me about that place... Anyway, my mom (SHOUT OUT) even emails me to make sure I "use caution" when I work out there...whatever that means. I'm either going to be okay about it, or be stoopy about it and give up. So I get to the house, change into my running gear, fill up the water bottle, and head out the door.

Then, like an old school Batman & Robin episode.... WHABLAM! This gigantic gust of wind starts blowing up a storm and I'm thrown back a little. "Okay...a little wind didn't hurt anyone. Let's do this!" I should have taken that as an omen, because I was about to have the worst run of my entire life...

I start running, the wind is starting to really pick up. I lead forward a bit more to try and take this wind monster head on, but I still seem to stumble back a little. At about mile 3, I start cursing under my breath a little bit because I'm getting frustrated. I'm in a place I don't know, the wind is blowing, like, 80 mph (no joke, that's what weather.com said), I'm 5988 feet above Sacramento, and to top it all off, I'm a bit dehydrated. FML. I almost called my friend to say, "I can't do this, come pick me up". ALMOST.

I turned the corner around mile 2 and looked ahead: It was uphill. WTF! I'm barely going negative 3 mph and I still have so far to go!...OMGFMLWTFetc. I pushed against the wind as I continued to try and run, but to no avail, I was slowing down and my legs were hurting. "I can't...I just can't...these are the worst conditions ever!" I continued to complain to myself as I just kept pushing.

I kept trying to stay motivated by telling myself that after this run, I won't have to do another long run for another week. Of course, I could just skip the whole thing, but then I'd feel horrible about not finishing the stoopy run and feel just as worse as I did at that moment in time. Might as well just trudge along...or quit...or keeping running...or quit...or keep running...

The wind died down a little bit towards the end of my run, but not by much. I ended up having to walk a few times because I was expending twice as much energy trying to run against the wind, but traveling at the same speed. Overall, this run was the BALLS. And to add some frosting to this cupcake, I forgot to start my Nike+ watch a few times during the run, so I didn't actually log in a full 12 miles. I RAN 12, but it only looks like I ran a bit over 10. BALLS I TELL YOU.

The one good thing to come out of it, though, is that I finished. 12 miles...less than half of the marathong I plan on running in February, but still. I finished. Under the worst of circumstances (and they WERE the worst), I was still able to continue running and not give up. To me, that will give me just another mental edge in the marathong. With every run I log in, I'm not only preparing my legs and lungs, but I'm also preparing my mind for one of the hardest mental challenges that anyone chooses to face. I'm really happy I finished, and I'm really proud that I didn't let mother nature bring me down....because good lord, she was kicking my ASK (Not a typo, read my other posts...you'll get it)!

To all you runners and goal getters out there (and that should be everyone): Set your mind on something and just get it. Even if it's just ONE run. No matter how small the goal is,  if you want it bad enough, nothing should stop you. The road might suck, but the finish line is great :)