This question is based on Literary Appreciation 'It was January and Monday my father had to gather his nerve to go back to teaching During the Christmas vac...

This question is based on Literary Appreciation

'It was January and Monday my father had to gather his nerve to go back to teaching During the Christmas vacation he became slack and in a fury of screw-turning had to retighten himself. The long haul he called the stretch between Christmas and Easter.'

John Updike, The Centaur.

The long haul in the narrative above describes