Why I Love Endurance Running

It's ALWAYS been about the distance for me

I love seeing how far I can go. How much I can push myself. I love the unknown.

I have a fascination with endurance sports and ultras. Pushing the distance versus the pace and stretching your mind to where you've never let it go because you've stopped pushing yourself before you've gotten there.

For a specific type of endurance, speed endurance, I have a fascination with that too. I love the rush. I embrace the hurt, breathlessness, and finding the ability to fight through a 400-meter repeat because I know it makes me stronger every time I do it!

If you've never worked your speed before, how do you know what you can do?

Let me share a quick story about myself to help you understand what I mean precisely. I went back to work on my basic speed during the pandemic. Was it worth it? So far, HECK YEAH. I pulled off a sub-20 minute PR, I ran my first competitive 10K in 40-minutes, and I dropped three full minutes off of my Half Marathon in nine months. These times aren't something to write home about for some of you, and the rest of you, you're most likely like, "what the f* is she saying?!" I GET IT!

My journey is different than yours. These are my small wins to celebrate. These are the staples that got me to this level and where I am today in my journey (so far, that is).

Your small wins to celebrate are fabulous, unique, and different!

I believe Sean Bearden, in his podcast, "The Science of Ultra," said, "the journey is your life, the destination is death."

Case and point: we might as well make the most of our journey. THAT IS ALL!

• When in doubt, remind yourself of everything you've accomplished, everything you've learned through successes and failures, and remind yourself of the steps you've taken to get there. If you can achieve that, you can accomplish whatever it is that's next for you. GO FOR IT!

• Tap yourself on the back. Time for you to celebrate every win. Whether taking your first step on the track or crossing that 26.2-mile marker with a new PR, every win is a win!

• Make the process challenging but fun and doable. If you focus, listen, stay hungry, and stay driven, you can get to where you want to be. It's just a matter of having the discipline that it takes to get yourself there. That's half the battle. I can attest!
  

I push myself too hard because I can be prideful and expect too much of myself for the wrong reasons.

I am also hard on myself because I love learning, I love experiencing, I love teaching, and I love doing. I love seeing the distance I can go when I put myself to the test. I love seeing how I can help others with a similar goal.

Let me what you love about endurance in the comments below!

Thoughts? Do you air on the side of caution, or are you a spontaneous adventurer? I’m always here for a listen. Also, for those of you who always LOVE to learn, this article might resonate well with you too!

P.S. More endurance training articles, including endurance nutrition tips and endurance fueling strategies.