Runner’s Diary: Dipti Gore
For the first time in the past two weeks, I have finished running a distance of eight miles, and I am having mixed emotions after that eight-mile run.
On one hand, I feel extremely proud of achieving what seemed impossible a few months ago and getting closer to that target. On the other hand, I feel concerned that the body needs to be trained and built so much more for that 13-mile run. Here is what my body and mind went through before, during and after the eight-mile run:
One thing I have started doing before the long runs is getting in a positive state of mind. Earlier, when I used to do the long runs, I used to be quite overwhelmed by the amount of distance I had to cover in front of me. Although I was able to finish those runs, I used to continuously keep thinking about the long distance, which made it a difficult emotional experience. One thing I have recently changed, and something that has had a huge impact on my emotional state is getting in a positive state of mind before the run.
Now, I prepare my mind by thinking about and actually trying to feel that happiness that I will experience when I am at the finish line. I keep doing this mind exercise throughout the run, and I feel in a much better emotional state now when I run. It is also impacting my running speed.
The eight-mile run was pretty all right until the seventh mile. We have been running 6s and 7s for awhile now, so it was pretty all right until there. During the eighth mile, however, the body was going through a totally different experience. I was incredibly tired to the point that it was not in my control anymore to increase my speed. I was not really feeling my body anymore except just the strong pain in my right leg at the knee joint. The only way I ran that mile was because my mind was in a state where the only thing I knew was to keep moving forward.
The body obviously was very tired after finishing the run. The next morning as well, I was feeling extremely low on energy. The pain in my right knee joint continued to the next morning almost to the stage that it was difficult to move my leg. Things however turned fine in the next couple of hours.
This eighth mile has been a very different experience physically and emotionally. I am a little nervous now that the body needs to be ready to run the 13 miles. Frankly, running that eighth mile seemed out of my control. At any point, if my body would have given up, then there really was nothing I could do. This is concerning. My body cannot give up, and I need to prepare better for that. It’s about one month to go for the marathon, and I need to get comfortable with the eights and the 10s.
At this point, feeling mixed emotions.
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Dipti Gore’s training plan for this week:
Monday: Three-mile run, yoga
Tuesday: break (due to personal commitments)
Wednesday: Three-mile run, strength training
Thursday: Nine miles
Friday: Strength training, yoga
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