Happy FRIDAY! I'm currently back in Maine visiting family and enjoying the beautiful Fall Foliage (with some apple picking on the menu hopefully), but wanted to bring you a few of my favorite running-related headlines and also talk about how persevering/ accepting the pain has really helped me push through really tough work-outs (cough..cough..strength workouts...cough...cough..). 

Here's the top headlines that really caught my attention this week:

• Eliud Kipchoge won the Berlin Marathon last weekend with a time of 2:03:32, but didn't break any world records. He was part of the Nike breaking-2 project and came SO close to breaking that barrier, but fell short. This course is supposedly really flat (also added it to my bucketlist!), so it had been talked about being a possibility of creating a new world record (current one is 2:02:57). Honestly, regardless of whether it was a WR or not, this time is SO fast and hats off to all the runners who performed well! I'm certain that within the next 5 years, we'll definitely see at least a new WR (and possibly a breaking-2 barrier as well)...

• Fenway Park Marathon- 116.5 laps around Fenway! This race wasn't a Boston Qualifier (it was USTAF certified) and only had 55 participants, but talk about some serious history in the making on this course. I can't even imagine running around ANYTHING for 116.5 laps, but I feel like the amount of history and pressure put on by runners (and the fact that it's an open course) would push you to not walk and power through all the marathon pains. This was the first-time that a marathon was held on Fenway and hopefully it won't be the last! Hmmm...I may have to add this one to my bucketlist. 

• Best National Parks for Running- Ok, this one is an older article, but I loved revisiting it! I've been (and ran) at a bunch of these, but thinking maybe Hawaii or Northern Cascades should be next on my list to visit (or run/ race in)! 

Perseverance. I normally equate this word with going through difficult life choices or decisions, but starting to relate it more to those really tough runs or races where you really just want to quit on yourself and throw in the towel. I'm sure most of us have been there. Everything hurts, you're tired, and another mile or 2 seems so far. I definitely remember my last marathon and just totally giving in to the pain train and not even caring what time the clock said when I finally got to the finish line. The strength work-outs in my training plan definitely simulate that pain you feel at the end of tough race. I've been running through them and thinking that there was no way I could do this repeat again, but I pushed through and felt stronger afterwards. I love to repeat the saying to 'dig deep' when things get tough and remember that the pain is temporary. We should expect the pain to come and even embrace it, because living through tough situations/runs/ races is always temporary. 

What phrases do you repeat to yourself to get through tough times?

Favorite running headline from the week?

Can you imagine running around ANY field for 116 laps?