Endurance

Endurance:
–noun

1.	the fact or power of enduring or bearing pain, hardships, etc.

2.	the ability or strength to continue or last, esp. despite fatigue, stress, or other adverse conditions; stamina: He has amazing physical endurance.

3.	lasting quality; duration: His friendships have little endurance.

4.	something endured, as a hardship; trial.

I have always considered myself an endurance runner. I am not a sprinter. I am not a fast runner. But, I can endure long miles. For me, training for a marathon is all about endurance....enduring the multiple months of training and long runs, enduring the pain that comes along with running injuries, enduring little sleep and early Saturday morning wake up calls. And, hopefully, having the endurance to complete my long runs. However, I will say that being sick pretty much the entire month of October has resulted in the dreaded endurance eradicating monster. My ability to run long distances is gone! I get tired so quickly. My legs feel like lead. My stamina evaporates. And when this happens, like during my 10 mile run on Saturday that turned into a 6.5 mile run, I get sad and frustrated. Darn the flu! Way back when (otherwise known as September), I had stamina and endurance. With only three weeks until M Day (aka "Marathon Day"), I hope to slay the monster and regain a bit of my endurance. After all, fuel gels will only get me so far during my 26.2 mile quest.