I finally did it!!

I finally did a long run over 10 miles... alone!! I ran a totally different route so I couldn't psych myself out. I intentionally ran far away from home so I knew I had to get back somehow. This was a good idea. My mantra while running was "you're not in a race". So I kept it nice and slow. I know I'm the most impatient person in the world... I want A to B immediately. Funny thing is, it started to rain... hard!! I actually enjoyed running in the rain. I must do this more often, aside from my feet feeling like lead!!! But it gave me a cooling effect. I was a little sore the next day, but nothing out of the ordinary. It felt kind of like how I felt muscle-wise after my last half, but to a much lesser extent. This was a major milestone for me, because I'm not for the lengthy runs. In my previous life, I ran no further than 5k, and did OK in it... now this looooong distance thing is another story. I know the principles of running, but there is so much I am still learning... like how to pace. I'm the "bat outta hell" type runner, but I've learned to tune it down. This body aint what it used to be. No more sub-6 minute first miles for me!!!! I'm still experimenting with the even pace, negative split, positive split thing. I'm still determined to get under 20 minutes for a 5k again. Sounds simple, but with a LIFE, its hard to run like I want to. I need pace partners.

Today I decided to do a recovery run of just 4.5 miles. If you know me, you should be saying "yeah right" at this point. I kept the first 3 miles at marathon pace, but felt like I had something to prove to myself, so the last 1.5 I ran at 10k - half pace... so it turned into a tempo run. I'm starting to regret it, because tomorrow I'm going to do the hill repeats. I hate these, but need them.

OH... almost forgot. I ran my first TRUE cross country race this past week. It was a 8k/5k. Now "this" was what XC was all about. Tree stumps to trip over, mulch to run thru, dirt to get into your eyes, mud to trample, branches to avoid, mosquitos using you as a buffet, mountains to climb (ok i'm exagerating)... but you get the point. There was NO PLACE for racing flats for this run... and guess what I had on?? LOL. Granted I got there like 2 minutes before the gun, it was fun, reminded me of the old HS days. I could have used a warmup or stretching. This place was in the middle of nowhere. It was supposed to take less than 30 mintes to get there but took 45. Of course I was the oldest person there by like 15 years. All them highschoolers!! I had to show them that this old man still had something left in the tank... (I see you laughing). Mile 1... 6:40, mile 2... 6:55, and it was downhill from there (actually uphill). I decided after seeing the 5k mark that this was enough for me, no need to kill myself for another 3k. And the mosquitos got the best of me. Final time? 23:09. Pathetic I know, but it put me back into reality... I aint young no more!!!! So now it's time to re-start speed training, and this time stick with it and push myself. No more 85 second 400 repeats... so here I go!