On Saturday, I completed a training run at Saylorville Lake that was 10 miles long. It included MANY hills, lots of friendly hellos and some serious will power. It was a little bit cooler than my runs during the last few months of training so I pulled out the long sleeves and pants. I am used to doing my runs early to avoid the heat but today I waited until 7 to let it warm up a bit.
Because the last few weeks of my training are longest run personal records for me, I am really trying to work on pacing myself to not run out of gas at the end. I started my run right where I had planned and felt good at the beginning.
As I continued the run, my thoughts turned to how much I have changed throughout this training process. I used to start a run and hope to just finish it. I now have specific goals and aspirations that drive my training. The most interesting realization that came to me during my run was that I am now in control of my body. I decide how fast or slow to run and when to push myself.
In high school, I would have given one of my fingers away to run a 10 minute mile and yesterday I had a 9:55 average for ten miles. I ran each mile faster than the one before while dealing with difficult hills.
I finished my run feeling good, not sick. I even took Abigail to the Farmer's Market after a quick shower.
Running a double digit training run is something I had never even dreamed of completing before this year. Next weekend I get to run with Patrick and the weekend after that is the big half marathon! I am super excited about the race and proud of how far I have come. It is truly awesome sharing a hobby with my hubby and pushing myself to the limit. Thanks to everyone who has asked about my training, given me a compliment or waved a hello. I am now officially a runner!
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