14 Miles. 2 Hours. Zero Motivation?

My goal this week is fourteen miles. It is going to take me more than two hours to run that. I am scared.
 
These are all declarative statements, and I am sad to say that all three of them are true. I am scared to run fourteen miles, and so you can imagine what the idea of running an entire marathon is doing to me.

 
Regardless, I know that I have to do it. I want to do it! But sometimes I don’t want to do all the things that will make running the marathon the most positive and successful venture of all: the training.
 
As you can imagine, running long distances can be tedious. Some days I wake up and think, “Wow, the last thing I want to do is run for a couple hours.” Is it a struggle sometimes? Of course it is. Do you want to run fourteen miles? I think I know the answer to that question. So, in order to make the long runs seem a little shorter, I have developed a few tips for you: 

• Become enraged/fuming before you start running. Read an article about how women are inferior to men. Talk to your mom about your desire to get a tattoo on your lower back (and listen to her response). Do something, anything, to get yourself angry. Because rage makes everything go faster. 

• Listen to Eminem. That guy has figured out how to make even the silliest of lyrics sound totally hood. And he gets you pumped. Might I suggest “Lose Yourself,” “Not Afraid,” and “Love the Way You Lie.” 

• Walk it out. Sometimes you just need to take a walk in the middle of your long run. I have not eliminated the idea that I am going to be walking some of this marathon – yes, it’s that long of a distance. 

The next time you plan to run fourteen miles or more, use some of these tips. And call me, because I really want to know if anyone else on this campus will be running crazy distances like me. 

*Photography by Karleigh Ash