10 miles??!?!

Well, I am feeling better. There's still a bit of icky-ness holding on, but I really do feel more human than I have in a long time.

I won't wait until the end of the post to include the big news: I ran 10 miles yesterday!

Now, to the beginning. My runs during the week were pretty uneventful. Since I did my long run on Sunday, Monday was an off day. Then I ran 30 minutes on Tuesday, 35 on Wednesday, and 40 on Thursday. I didn't have any trouble doing then runs, but they weren't enjoyable. I just can't seem to get into running.

All 3 of the runs were my "normal" route. I am definitely further and further at the 15 minute mark each time, so my pace is improving. My legs are fairly constantly sore, and they complain a lot at the beginning of the run before just numbing into acceptance.

What makes running so difficult to me is that lack of distraction. Running really is a fairly boring activity for me. Music wasn't doing it for me anymore, so I followed Kelli's move to podcasts and books on tape. It's a little more distracting, but I still find myself spending a lot of time just wanting the run to be over.

I am also having a lot of trouble with daylight. If I rush out of work at 4, come directly home, walk and feed the dog, change, and head out, it is still dark by the time I finish my run. And it is dark when I leave in the morning for work, too, so I can't just move my run to the morning. Silly short days!

So, anyway, yesterday was our 10 mile long run. I'll admit that I went into it totally terrified. I wasn't convinced I could do 10 miles, especially with the disaster that was last week.

The route began with the loop at Memorial, went down Memorial to Waugh, crossed over to Allen Parkway, went down to Sabine (basically I-45), and turned around and went back to the park.

When we started out, I really didn't think I could do it, and I definitely started to flag around 3 miles, but I pushed on. I kept telling myself that once I got through the run, I had the whole weekend ahead of me to enjoy.

I did eventually make it through the whole 10 miles, and I didn't walk any of it. I made several short stops: once to use the restroom, 4 official water stops, and 2 stops at water fountains along the way because I definitely needed it. I'm not really sure how I made it the last 2 miles - I just wouldn't let myself stop.

My knee held up a lot better this time. I have been really good about rolling my IT Band all week, and I had my massage therapist work on it a lot Friday. I still had some pain this run (and plenty of it after), but nothing that I couldn't run through. If I keep up the routine, I should be ok.

I forgot to start my watch when we started out, so I can't tell you what my pace was. I did finish ahead of someone who says her pace is a 13-minute mile, but she might have been having an off day or something.

It was really cold out yesterday morning. Somewhere around 40 degrees. I started the run in one less layer than I showed up in because I was comfortable in what I was wearing, and I knew that it wouldn't take long for my body to warm up. I felt ok the whole run, temperature-wise, and it is definitely better than running in the heat. When I got home, though, it took forever wrapped up in my covers to bring my body temperature back to something reasonable - I was cold to the touch.

The important thing here is that I made it through 10 miles! I should totally be able to get through 13 when the time comes.

10 miles!