Pushing Through

I completed 17 miles on Saturday! My goal had been to complete a minimum of 15, and to add an additional mile if I still felt strong, since I had missed the 16 mile weekend and I did not want to add too much mileage too quickly. But at the end of the 16th mile, I decided that I really wanted to complete 17 miles, so that when the rest of the group does 20 miles in two weeks, I will be in good shape to do so as well. So even though I had to walk both of those last miles on Saturday, I completed them.
It is fun to actually feel my progress. I remember during the week at Balboa Park that we did 11 miles, how at mile 8 or 9 I started to feel as though I couldn't keep the pace at which I started, and how much my body ached. This time around, that feeling did not come until the 14th mile. But I pushed through the pain. I'm starting to get a better feel for what kind of pain I can push through versus the kind for which I need to rest. I am getting familiar with full body stiffness and soreness, and blisters...lots and lots of blisters. Those suckers hurt. But it's a pain I can work through. And I'm toughening up.
It's Monday and I am still sore, but I am also feeling a great sense of accomplishment for not quitting from the discomfort. As I was snail-pacing my 17th mile, Bridget told me something that I think will be pretty helpful. She said that people sometimes think of a mantra when it gets tough that helps them push through the pain. She said that some people think of song lyrics. Song lyrics won't work for me, because as much as I love music, I can never remember lyrics and I often make them up. But one thing she said really struck a chord (yes, pun intended) with me: She said that one mantra she heard was "define yourself." I'm not sure if that was intended to be the mantra, or whether the definition itself (i.e., "I am a marathoner") was to be the mantra, but I really like the idea of thinking "define myself" when things get tough. It's like giving myself my own personal cross-roads. I can define myself as someone who keeps going, someone who works hard for what I accomplish, someone who is mentally and physically strong...or I can define myself as a quitter. And both are choices. I like that it is an active mantra, and is basically a command.
The other part of my run that was of particular interest to me (besides the awesome gals with whom I run) were the animals at Balboa Park. There was a heron who just hung out in the same spot for over an hour (I know because when I completed the 5 mile loop, he hadn't moved). I checked that he was alive (he was) and I snapped a photo of him, but it didn't come out well. I've posted it with this entry. I also spotted some beautiful finches with yellow bellies and green wings, and a bird that was completely black except for two symmetrical bright red spots on its wings, close to the body. I ran past a rabbit, and I saw fish in the Los Angeles River. Seriously. Living HUGE catfish. They must be mutants or something. I hadn't realized that anything could actually survive in that water. But they seemed to be thriving. Or, maybe they're just goldfish that have been mutated by the pollution and are now scary and large. Haha.
The weather held up nicely. It started pretty cool (50-60s), and when I finished was in the 80s. But there was a nice breeze when it was warm, and that helped make the run more pleasant. There was an auto show in the adjacent park, so a lot of people parked along the path that we were running, and it kicked up a lot of dirt into the air. I was pleased to find that neither my asthma nor allergies bothered me so it seems like my precautions and medications are really helping. I'm grateful that I took care of them this month, rather than having to deal with them the day of the event. Now I feel prepared to handle whatever comes my way!