No big deal

The best thing about running 26 km today was not that I managed to run them. The best thing was that I was able to walk afterwards. That it felt good throughout. That I did it with style. That I had energy left to do other things. Like breathe. I still remember one of my first long runs of the year, together with the group. I ran 26 km then, too. Or crawled, more like. Towards the end, I was running on pure will power, because my legs had given up. That was 6 months ago, and a lot has happened since then.

And just now I told J how I don't take food with me on such ”short” runs. A lot has happened, indeed, not least when it comes to my mindset.

It was a lovely run in the sun, with 11 other runners. I've written before how time seems to fly when I run with the group. There's always someone to chat with, always someone who asks you how you're feeling, always someone to carry you through the toughest bits by keeping you distracted with conversation. I caught up with the people I knew and got a chance to chat with the ones I didn't.

Sky's the limit

Meanwhile, several puzzle pieces are falling into place. Skövde Ultra Festival takes place a week from now, offering several time races, everything from one hour up to 48 hours. I've been thinking about entering the 6-hour race for months now to see how far I'd get. The successful run from Alingsås a few weeks ago gave me a big push in the right direction, but I still wanted to wait until the last minute and see if some other factors would allow me to run this. In the immortal words of John Lennon, life is what happens when you're busy making other plans. So I'll decide some time in the following days. Until then, I'll enjoy knowing that, after all the hard work I've put in the last 6 months, I can run 26 km and think it's no big deal.