I managed to sneak in a few climbs between runs and rain drops. Steve, Dagmar, Kevin and I went to Pinnacle and I led Zamboni, which was new to me and pleasant, and then Steve and I TR’d a few of the usual suspects. The Entertainer felt easier than I remembered it, which I can only assume is because I’m getting lighter (although the scale insists otherwise). It certainly isn’t because I’m climbing all that often or all that well.

Aside from a few stolen hours at Pinnacle, the weekend was devoted to running. I was more than pleasantly surprised by my performance–I was nearly ecstatic. Not only did I finish my long run on Saturday in good shape and good spirits, but when I dragged myself out for a short follow-up run on Sunday I found myself unexpectedly fit and fleet of foot. In fact, I felt so good I considered going some extra distance but reined myself in figuring that sometimes discretion is the better part of valor.

The best part of the running weekend was my mental attitude during my long run. Two weeks ago I ran 21 miles and every step after about mile three was a battle of willpower. Last week I posted that it’s (not) all willpower, meaning that your attitude can affect the degree of willpower needed, but as I ran along on Sunday I realized how heavily that post leaned towards the willpower side. With lots of time to think, an analogy occurred to me.

In my early twenties I had a roommate with a cat. The cat had never been outdoors, though it loved to look through the window. I got the idea of taking it for a walk so it could experience the great, wide world. I bought a collar and leash and practiced walking the cat about the living room. It wouldn’t go. It would lay flat on its back and make ghastly choking sounds while I dragged it across the floor. Even outside, with so much to explore, even on concrete sidewalks, which have to hurt, no matter how quickly or slowly I moved, the cat wouldn’t walk. It would only lie down and choke. There was no way that cat was going to enjoy being outside, not if it killed it.

Two weeks ago, my brain was like that cat. I dragged it eighteen miles and it choked the whole way. Last weekend, running 28 miles, my brain was like a dog. It was going running! It was outside! This is fun! Even towards the end, even as it got hard and tedious, my mind was running along with me. So much nicer than taking the cat for a drag.