Long distance relationships.

I know that Steph posted yesterday, but I think that two posts to celebrate the first success of a Saturday is well deserved.

Our run yesterday, which was supposed to be 4-5 miles, ended up being the best run yet. Recently our runs begins with a text message from the other person saying something like, "Morning! We're running (insert number of miles). Love you." Usually, its Steph that texts me and usually she has already finished her run. Which means that I'm in bed and have to make a decision: to get up and run or sleep in.

Usually its an internal struggle to decide.

Yesterday, however, was different. Steph sent me another text that read, "Morning! I ran four miles and didn't stop once. I don't remember the last time I did that!" Who wouldn't want to run with that kind of achievement?

That text message did it. I got my butt of out bed: put on my running get up, tied my shoes, headbanded my head and started my iPod. I ran, successfully, I might add 4 1/2 miles and only stopped to stretch twice. I know, this doesn't seem like very much in retrospect to the 26.2 miles that we have to run December. But like any important cliche says, a journey starts with a step and you can't run a race sitting down.

There are always going to be personal achievements in the training. It starts with the decision, the registration, the training, the marathoning and finally that sticker that you can put on your car. Within this arc are the little things that make it worth the struggle, and at times, misery. For me its every morning getting a text Message from Steph telling me what we're running, because we're doing it together. There is distance in this training that I haven't really realized. Steph and I registered together 400 miles apart on Skype. We started training separately. Even who and what we're running for involves state and continental distances. This is who you know when something important is happening, when you are able to struggle through the long distances because you that there is a relationship vibrating from yourself, to your running partner, to your new friends in Colorado and that special baby boy in Africa.

Its simple, but not easy. We just have to run, but it takes a lot of work.

Daniel