Week 2 - Day 6

6 miles!! First time ever!! What a rush!!

To tell you the truth, I was apprehensive about running today. I don't know why that is. I've noticed I'm almost always a little nervous before my long runs. Maybe because there's a certain amount of expectations tied to them: Will I be able to go as far as I'm supposed to? Will I be able to pace myself properly or will I burn out fast? Will my breathing be stable or will my lungs feel like they could explode? But since I need to be able to run increasingly larger distances, there's always the question, can I do it? And God forbid I can't, it's disappointing..

But that wasn't the case today! No sirree!! My long runs are usually supposed to take place on Sunday but we really wanted to go today instead so that we'd have Sunday free for other things. So I started preparing myself since yesterday night. Early dinner, relatively healthy, slept on time (which was a MAJOR plus) and woke up rested. Had a great breakfast. I'm such a bran flakes junkie, it's not even funny - I could snack on it plain. And no, it doesn't taste like cardboard :) That, soy milk, cranberries and walnuts and you've got yourself a power breakfast with all the right nutrients.

Today was chilly - another reason for my apprehension. So I wore two layers to run and took my jacket with me. Basically I took care of everything that could prevent me from having a great run: I ate right, I made sure I was rested, I dressed appropriately, I stretched before the run so I remained limber and I was off!

Towards the last half mile it got tough - I kid you not. I was like how bad would it be if I walked this last portion? And right away I shot myself down. Was I kidding? To come this far to quit? No way! And just at that point in time, the song 'Under Pressure' by Queen came on :) That helped and before you knew it, I was pumping my arms, running faster and saying to myself, 'Come on - just a little further - come on!' Seriously, if someone had passed by me on the trail they'd think I was talking to myself. But I just didn't want to quit.

The result? 6.04 miles with an average pace of 11:32 per mile!!! Not only did I run my longest distance ever but I set a personal best in terms of pace!! :) I'm so glad I didn't give up :)

Now I can enjoy the rest of the weekend :)