Remember Mad Libs? I always think of those when I'm on my long runs: Meghan _____(verb) over the Brooklyn Bridge and feels _____ (adj). After 7 miles she's _____(adj) and needs some _____(noun). At mile 13, she's thinking ________ (R rated phrase). That's pretty much the dialog I have with myself during marathon training long runs. Sometimes those words are: happy, fresh, invigorated and the phrases are: I could keep running! However, a lot of the time, the words and phrases are a bit more off-color and not suitable for all viewing eyes.
I've learned to love the runs where my body hurts and I mentally feel beat up. I allow myself to say "this run sucks" because I finish it and put those miles behind me. I believe that if you get the crappy miles out during training runs, you'll only have good, strong miles left for your race.
So, play the Mad Libs game this weekend during your long run. Fill in the blanks with whatever adj, noun, verb or phrase you choose. Just remember, you are out there, putting one foot in front of the other so throw in a positive word every now and then! Share your adjs, nouns, verbs, phrases from your long with us.