I'm a Double Digit Runner!

I am a double digit runner! I ran 10 miles! I must repeat: I ran 10 miles! Just 6 months ago, I could not even run 10 minutes. I must say, all the stars were aligned correctly for this one. I drank tons of water all day. I picked a nice flat 10 mile course. There was NO wind. It was a cool 55 degrees. I ate well all day. I planned the run and ran the plan.

I tried GU for the first time tonight. I was a little nervous as I have a pretty sensitive stomach, but I had no problems. I decided it would be a test run for the race. I wore the clothes I plan to race in, took the GU when I plan to during the race, and took water and walked at the mile markers I plan to during the race (yes, I have already scouted out the race map to see where the water stops are and which ones I will take water and walk through). I took no unscheduled walk breaks! I did, however, switch 2 around because my shin was killing me, and I really needed to stretch it. I stretched and took water at 2 miles, took water and GU at 5 miles, took water and power walked 30 seconds at 7 miles, and took water and GU at 9 miles. Other than that, I did not walk at all! Huge accomplishment for me!

I really worked on starting out slow this time. My goal was between 11:30-12:30 pace. I still ran the first mile too fast, but did well otherwise, finishing at just over a 12:00 pace. The first 2.5 miles were brutal--calf was cramping up and shin was knotted. I stopped and stretched and eventually it worked itself out. I need to remember that on Sunday---"this too shall pass". The last 2 miles were pretty brutal, too. Every ache was completely exacerbated, and I developed a blister. One thing I was totally pumped about though was that my breathing was great the whole 10 miles. I had to concentrate on my breathing to slow it down the last 2 miles, but it was light years better than previous runs. My legs really didn't feel like lead either; it was just the aches and pains that bothered me (feet, knee, blister, shin). I was so pumped when we finished! 10 whole miles! I got home, took an ice bath, called my sis to tell her the good news, and stayed up late. I can't decide if I was so excited over joining the "double digit runner club" or so juiced up on 3 GU's with caffeine, but either way, I wasn't sleepy.

So now, I really think I can do this thing. Those last 3.1 miles are gonna hurt; there's no doubt about that. But I do think I can finish them now. Hopefully, I can trim a bit of time off the miles and do so in a decent time as well.