A Long Way to Go

I have done a lot of reading about marathon training, and one article that resonated with me was about learning to run at marathon pace early in your training. So with a year still to go until the marathon, I figured I might as well give it a shot. I ran a workout of 3X800 at marathon pace of 3:43 per 800. And boy do I have a lot of work to do.

It was tough, it was draining, I really struggled. I couldn't believe how fast that pace felt. I finished each 800 completely drained and had to rest nearly 4 minutes before running the next.

I ended the workout a bit frustrated. I had hoped it wouldn't be as difficult as it was.

But then I realized something...one of the reasons I wanted to use marathon training as I work to recover from addiction was to learn lessons like I learned today. Training for a marathon doesn't happen in one day, it happens workout after workout, day after day. Recovering from addiction doesn't happen all in one day either. It happens with my decisions day after day. "One day at a time".

One of my weaknesses is I want instant gratification. I want to be completely healed from my addiction today. I want to never suffer weakness or temptation or struggles. But that's not how it works. It happens over time with patience and hard work.

So I will be patient. I will enjoy the struggle as I train and work towards qualifying for the Boston Marathon. I will look back on this workout today as a stepping stone to get me where I want to go.

Days to Qualifying Marathon: 372
Total Miles Run: 13

Days of sobriety: 29
Days to one year of sobriety: 336