Hard Core

This morning I did a track session in the pouring rain at 5 am. As I was doing it, I thought to myself "d**m I am hard core."

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I have done plenty of speed sessions, and often run in the dark, and I don't shy away from the rain and wind. But somehow doing all 3 together made me feel like a total bad ass.

I don't typically think of myself as a hard core runner, even though I've done things that most people would call extreme. I mean, I ran a marathon in Antarctica! I still think of myself as just a slow, average runner and tend to get intimidated when I am around other runners because I always feel like they are better than me.

But today I went around with a swagger in my step for the rest of the day. Hard core man.

What do think of as being hard core when it comes to running?