Strong Finish

When MK and I were training with Get With It! (TM) last year, our coaches had a strange form of torture for us to endure each week as we finished our runs. About 300 feet from the finish line, a coach...or possibly more than one...would run up next to you and "run you in". This consisted of picking a random spot on the street (usually a bumber of a foreign car...like a white Honda or a maroon Nissan) and upon reaching that spot you would "sprint" to the finish.

A few weeks ago, during a easy 12-miler, MK and I decided to relive our past and ran from the fender of a dark blue Saab all the way through the barricade that marks the end of the line. KC, a cheering bystander, was disturbed by our gusto and confused by why, after running 12 miles, we were voluntarily putting ourselves through that much more agony.

I think the party line is that you want to finish strong on the days it doesn't matter so that come race day you can finish strong when it really counts.

I have been running for a year and a half now, and it has only been recently that I think I understand why people (myself included) really run. You never reach a point where it stops hurting. You never reach a point where it's easy. You just reach a point where it feels right, and that's the moment when you forget all the pain and push it just a little bit harder. Before you know it, you're running farther, faster and longer than you have ever run before. For me, that moment happens when I cross through the final barricade on the Luke's course.

I used to push myself to finish a 30 minute run, and now I push myself to run for 5 hours. But sprinting my way across the finish is just as sweet every time I have done it. There have been a lot of differencest pop up between 30 minutes and 5 hours, but one thing remains consistent, if you can finish strong, you'll come back again week after week, just to cross the finish line one more time.

Timmy