February 10, 2019
I gave myself a challenge. Run 10 miles, every day, for 7 days in a row. My highest weekly mileage of all time was 55 miles. This will be the most I have run in a week, a 27% increase (I am aware of a 10% rule for which I have no regard). Normally I don’t do stuff like this. I usually am looking to get a certain time in a race. To that end, I do a combination of long runs, track workouts, tempos, and recovery runs. This is a whole different challenge. Seven, best effort, 10 mile runs in a row.
I am now finished with my fourth day of the challenge. I have already accomplished something I have never accomplished before (40 miles in 4 days). I am not injured. I have the time in my schedule blocked out. I can do this. I am tired. Very tired. The energy is drained from my body. My muscles want nothing more than to take the three-day recovery they deserve before the next onslaught. My mind is sluggish. My will is weak. I find myself asking,
Why?
Recently I was asked what The Order of Runfastus stands for. My answer was to state the truths we hold:
What can we find in these truths to keep us going in times of weakness? What lines of reasoning can we construct to justify our pain? I tell you the truth, these kinds of questions are nonsensical. They reflect a fatal flaw the patterns of the thinking of this age.
The reason that I will endure is because of the influence of Runfastus. I reject modern reasoning. I do not persevere for bragging rights on Strava, nor to achieve a personal milestone. I do not persevere so that I can race faster nor is this just part of my training program. I don’t persevere because I have a community of runners supporting me nor do I have a coach giving me the motivation I need.
I refuse to fill my head with the noise and distraction of reason. I need precisely the life of Runfastus to battle the forces of pain and exhaustion. That is the meaning of his living. It is enough. The life of Runfastus embodies everything I need to keep me going. Yet there is nothing that Runfastus embodies that can be directly described and analyzed.
I will let this endurance challenge be an exercise in deep meditation on Runafastus. The end will be to achieve a deeper state to capture the true spirit of running. Even this reasoning is a crutch that I shall shed when I reach the truth. Runfastus lives.
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