True Grit

I have a sweatshirt that I got in the 11th grade. I still wear this sweatshirt all the time. It is the most durable piece of clothing imaginable. The cuffs aren't frayed, there are no holes in it and the graphics are still clear. The only thing is I lost the string from the hoodie, but I lost that before it was 2 years old. this sweatshirt is still super comfortable and there is nothing I like pulling on more after a good workout than this. It is in the wash almost every week. Why am I telling you about my sweatshirt? Well, I have been thinking lots about durability lately. It is on my mind when I am out running trails for the better part of the day trying to coax along some lastingness into my legs.

This weekend I ran up and down and back up and back down a mountain. I was enjoying the up way more than the down. I thought I was a good descender- boy was I wrong. Just like I am led to believe I have mad bike skills when I compare myself to triathletes, I was tricked by all the same triathletes I fly by any time the road dips down on the run. BUT, ultra runners, now they really are good at downhill running. Instead of a downhill lasting 1-2 minutes, these last 45 minutes or more. That is a long time for me to relax, let gravity take over and not fight it. I start to feel like the trail is just taunting me for a face plant. My legs just don't have the moxie for it - yet. It is getting better though, my persistence is paying off. The true test of how much sturdiness my quads have developed is that night I was able to get on and off the porcelain throne without using my upper body I'll keep plugging away at it and maybe one day my legs will have as much true grit as my Russell Athletics sweatshirt.