Dog Days of Marathon Training - Drew

When I went out at lunch today for a three mile run in the sunny 70 degree weather it served as a brutally effective antidote for the running doldrums with which I have been afflicted. I would say that I’m right where I should be, which is to say that I have been consistently doing 20 midweek miles every week with a progressively longer long runs on the weekends, culminating with a 20 mile run a few weeks ago that in hindsight I recall as being a breeze (though I may have had a different opinion of it that day.) I also say that I’m right where I should be because, having run something like 300 miles so far in training, I absolutely abhor running. It’s normal for this point of training, kind of like the dog days of summer in the baseball season, where I have come a long way in my training but still have a considerable amount of time before my goal is accomplished. If this is spring, and it certainly seems to be the season’s initial volley, the easy joy of temperate outdoor runs is something that I can look forward to freeing me from these dog days of my marathon training.