Hard enough 2.0

Howdy all! Time for another mostly coherent post. It's 11-7 shift this week. Graveyard shift. And it's been a tough one. So I hope this stays on track and doesn't wander down some side trails!
I wrote a post a couple of years ago about effort, or the lack thereof. I've been thinking about this again lately. It's been a popular topic around the Svenofthenorth homestead.
This latest iteration came about after The North Face 50K. I had a great race and felt like I had a bit too much left in the tank at the end. I was running hard a few days afterwards. I'd like to think I just nailed it and my training finally came together. I'm just not convinced that that's what happened.
At North Face I kept to an easy pace up to mile 20. Mid 10's, a little slower when you tossed in an aid station. My fastest splits came after mile 20. Not fast mind you, but low to mid 9's. I kept telling myself to hold back, slow down, take it easy. But I felt good! In the back of my mind I had that evil voice talking to me, and I listened. "There might be some hills ahead. Better save your energy. You might start to cramp. Still ten miles to go. Anything could happen."
And that voice was partially correct, anything could happen. But what is the worst case scenario. I start going too hard and have to back off a little? I start to cramp and have to stop and walk or massage it out. I end up crashing and having to do the death march to the finish line? Certainly not the end of the day type of problems.
I ran the first few miles with a friend, who was kind enough to run at my pace. He's a much faster runner, and despite some limited running due to injury, I could tell he wanted to go! After the first aid station he took off and I didn't see him until the finish line. Joel ran over 45 minutes quicker than me. Really impressive when you figure he put a minute and a half per mile on me over that distance. Tammy said he looked like he was really pushing at the finish line. Looking at his race photos compared to mine shows the difference in effort. He looks like he is giving it his all. Me, I'm smiling. I look like I just did a jog through the park.
So, is it time to get serious and see just what this old body has left in it. I'm never going to be speedy or post any fantastic results. But I really think I can push harder and put up some decent times. I'm not going to be the guy who is puking by the side of the road/trail because I pushed too hard. Sorry, that just ain't me! I'm more concerned with finishing, than my time. Don't get me wrong. I'm competitive. I try to do my best. I'll give you a good sprint when that line comes in to view and there is somebody
I think my issue/problem is more that when it starts to get uncomfortable in a race or training, I tend to back off right away. I think it has helped me stay mostly healthy and injury free over the last 27 years. Then again there's the "no pain, no gain" thinking. If I want to do better and improve, I have to be willing to up the effort and hurt a little once in a while.
So, I'm going to push just a little harder and quiet those voices in the back of my brain. I want to give it a good honest effort and feel like I left it all out on the course. We'll see how it goes at my first test. I'm planning on running The Whistlestop in Ashland, Wisconsin on October 12. I still haven't decided if it will be the half marathon or the full. I'm being wimpy and watching the weather forecast. I don't mind giving it my all and seeing what I can do, just maybe not if it's going to be in the 40's and raining!! So much for suffering!!

Thanks for "suffering" through another post. And my apologies to Joel -on the left, myself on the right- for the finish line photo comparison. But I do think it shows how our efforts differed!!