Welcome the pain

It's been an amazing week with a mix of different training.  I'm preparing for a 125 km ultra over 2 days in 56 days time and building the mileage in my training runs.  I've also included a couple of quicker sessions just to remind my legs about speed.  They have been fun and the target was to get my heart rate over 160 and as my fitness is better, this isn't easy in a short run.  Funny really as a couple of months ago I couldn't get my heart rate below 160!  I was away on business in Belfast and had a lovely run along the river Lagan where it was a steady start followed by an increase in pace to get over 160 bpm.  It was my fastest run so far this year averaging 4:51 min per km, but I never got my HR over 156.
Contrast that with Saturdays challenge which was a real "mind f@@k".  This was my first hill session but the weather isn't good enough to get into the mountains, so I went down to Tinto Hill which is 711m high.  It's a bit  of a wolf in sheep's clothing as there are a few steep sections but when your target is to summit it 4 times in a row, you can understand why it's a mind f@@k.  Add to that the appalling weather, I needed full waterproofs to protect against the rain, sleet, snow & high wind.  As I set off from the car park the rain then snow was smacking me in the face and I was talking myself down from 4 summits to 2.  But I convinced myself that these were the perfect conditions to retrain my mind to "suffering".  I could either be miserable and give up or I could remain in my "bubble" and welcome all the weather that was being thrown at me as I power walked my way up the hill and ran down in tricky conditions under foot.  When I passed people for the second or third time they shouted encouragement like; "your mental but good on ya mate!".  All comments helped keep my spirits up and I also imagined my friends were also running with me so I didn't feel so lonely. 
I was using my new poles but on the last ascent my triceps felt every pole plant - more pain.  4 hours 31 minutes later with over 2,000 m and 28km and I was done - really done.  The last summit was so tough and I had to be extra careful coming down as my quads we shot to bits and my legs a bit out of control.  It will take me a few mountains before this pain won't exist but  I've been here before.  Getting out the car when I got back home was hilarious as I staggered into the house and fell into a hot bath.
This morning I had a 15km heart rate recovery run and my pal Stu kept me company and helped with the pacing so I could meet my HR target - 126-132 bpm.  Every step hurt my quads.  To make it more bearable I imagined that the pain I felt with each step was like getting a sports massage and that it was benefitting my quads.  Again more "brain training" to get me through something that was  painful/boring/uncomfortable. It's a large part of the training as I'll be in a lot more pain in my first race.  My mindset is that I welcome the pain and when you do multi-staged days you know that when you start each day there will be pain.  I welcome the pain because it means I am closer to achieving my goal.  If I'm not in pain then it's obviously early in the race.  Multi-staged events don't happen without suffering so to prepare for them you have to put yourself through the pain as part of your normal training.  With the weather improving I'll find myself in the mountains with my friends who will motivate and inspire me to keep pushing the bar higher.  My training base has been excellent and now it's time to step it up and welcome the pain that will bring which means I'm nearer to my goal.  In the end, like all things that are tough to achieve, the only question that matters is "how bad do you want it"?
Pain and suffering come before gain and achievement.