Running, swimming and other forms of training have taught me a lot about the peculiar, individual machine that is my body. Perhaps no lesson has been as fascinating as the knowledge that my body adapts to training the way Hemingway says a man goes broke: Gradually, and then all of a sudden.
That means that when I’m building up mileage or yardage, or when I’m first getting back into training for a particular activity, I can count on a series of workouts that feel terrible until, seemingly suddenly, one feels fantastic. I passed that blessed milestone with running last weekend, when I had two lovely runs on one of my normal, hilly routes (as opposed to my truncated, wimpy, “until I get back into shape” routes). I was annoyed that earthquakes and hurricanes and other natural disasters had kept me out of the pool, and I headed out for a quick run with no expectations besides squeezing in a quick workout.
My feet felt light. My legs felt strong. My spots that hurt (knee, hip, etc.) felt fine. My breath and heartbeat felt steady. When I got back to my apartment building, I felt a pang of sadness that the run was already done.
The next day, I couldn’t wait to run again. That’s all it took to motivate me to go farther, to go faster, to simply go—one good run.
What’s motivating you this week?
Amy Reinink 
I LOVE this. I can so clearly remember some of my first-good-post-injury runs that sound just like this. so happy to hear you running strong!
Hurrah!! I had one of those great runs a week and half ago. It really sends me over the moon when it happens. Glad you had one after your long layoff!!
This is one of the best feelings. Congrats on getting there!
That’s great you finally had that “yes!” run. I’ve found that instead of a constant slope of progress, there are lots of peaks and valleys and plateaus, but when a sudden jump comes and you have a race or a training run that lets you know you’ve made it to the next level, it’s very exciting!
So well said. I have been there the past two weeks. It came as such a surprise. Thanks for putting words to it.
Congrats Amy – so happy to read about good runs! And I’ll definitely think about this post when I’m having a bad run/day – and just remember that there’s good runs to look forward to!