SIX!!

I DID IT!!

And boy was it NOT.FUN.

I woke up at 6am this morning, grabbed a bowl of cereal and read a book for a little bit. It was still dark out and I'm a fraidy cat so I wanted to wait until the sky was a nice light blue before I headed out.

Finally, around 7:20am, I was dressed and ready to get the show on the road. I was not too pleased when I was greeted by a blast of humidity the moment I walked out the door. BLEH! I was sweating just making the walk to my starting point at the front of my complex!

I drove around to map out a few different route options last night (with Lily!) so I had a general idea where I was going. I've been using Map My Run to help plan my running routes so I wouldn't be running in circles trying to make the mileage. The part of town we live in actually has the name "Hills" in it and the area certainly lives up to its name, so I've found myself on a mapped out run going up about a 35 degree incline before. To avoid that from happening again, I map a run then drive it to check out the elevation. I don't completely avoid all hills but there are some areas more hilly than others. I've found a few flat areas that make the running a bit easier.

I decided to run with my water bottle today mainly because of the humidity. It isn't really an annoyance and I was glad I had it.

Overall, the run went decent. I was V.E.R.Y. S.L.O.W. I know I can run faster I think I'm just worried I'll exert all my energy in the beginning and not be able to finish the distance. That's what I'm most concerned with...finishing. And finishing without walking.

I did have to stop twice today. Once around Mile 2.9 and the second time around Mile 3.3ish. I had a TERRIBLE cramp under my right rib. I ran with it for about a mile, trying to rub it out before I finally had to stop. The same spot bugged me again less than .5 mile later. I don't know if it went away or my mind just ignored it because I didn't have to stop again. (BTW...I only stopped for about 30-45 seconds each time and I paused my workout so it didn't affect my time.)

There is one GIANT hill that you have to go up in order to get back to my apartment and it's in the last half mile. In all my other runs, I include it as part of my running route. After having run 5.5 miles, I wasn't too sure I would be able to get up that dang thing and I didn't want a stupid hill to be what stood in front of me and a 6 mile run. So when tracking my run last night, I decided I wouldn't turn around to come back until I was more than halfway done. That way, I would end right before the hill and walk home as my cool down. Well, I guess I either started to enjoy the run and didn't pay attention or I just didn't realize how far away I was because when I heard the little voice say "Congratulations! You have completed your goal of 6 miles." I was 2 miles away! YIKES!!

Pretty anti-climactic end to a run.

I'm not one to brag (okay, yes I am) but I guess you could say I ran 6 miles and walked 2 for a grand total of 8 miles logged by these feet!

I think I have yet to experience the "Runners High" everyone has talked about. My mom used to run all the time and she asked me, "Do you ever get the feeling that you can just keep on running forever?" "Um. NO." "Okay, you haven't experienced it [The Runner's High] yet!"

This run was TOUGH for me. I was panting and breathing heavily and praying for it to be over. At the end, I tried to sprint and go as fast as possible but my legs felt like spaghetti and I couldn't really go too much faster. It got me a little worried when I realized I have to run more than twice this for the race. I guess that's what training is for.

I like running around my neighborhood because it's convenient but I think for next week's 7 miles (OH MY LAWD HOW AM I GOING TO RUN 7 MILES?!?!?!?) I am going to try out one of the park trails in town. I ran a trail near my house last week and it was so pretty that I really found myself enjoying the run (and also found myself scared shitless and face-to-face with a deer...but hey I guess that's nature.)

I haven't loaded my Nike+ yet but I think my time was somewhere around 1:06ish minutes. Yeah a little slow, but I'm perfectly content with it.

Justin ran with me a couple weeks ago (actually, at one point he walked next to me just to prove a point at how slow I was...but in my defense he has super long legs and can walk really fast) and asked why I was going so slow...I told him I wasn't the least concerned with how fast I finished as long as I finished. And the good news is at least I know I'll run 13.1 miles in 5 hours or less...because that's all the time they give you!

See you next week when I add another mile to the mix!